Amusement Park News

Founded as a trolley park in 1902, the historic Bushkill Park in Easton, Pennsylvania, has endured repeated flooding over the years, often when heavy rains cause nearby Bushkill Creek and its falls to overflow.

The most recent severe flooding occurred in 2023. Photographs taken by area residents and the press showed many buildings throughout the park partially underwater, with nearby roads flooded in several areas.

With winter conditions continuing into the new year, the park's general manager, Sue Klein, remains keenly aware that flooding is always a possibility. The plucky 13-acre venue has faced flooding multiple times in recent decades, including in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2020, and 2023. The 2004 weather event caused the most extensive damage, when Hurricane Ivan struck the region.

That storm triggered what weather experts described as a “hundred-year flood.” The resulting damage destroyed the park's Pretzel dark ride and mini-golf course. The Whip ride and the popular bumper cars were also significantly affected. Bushkill Park remained closed throughout 2005 and was flooded twice more within a two-year span, in April 2005 and June 2006. As if that weren't enough, the park also suffered vandalism in 2007.

Despite these setbacks, Bushkill Park proved resilient. Restoration efforts moved forward slowly but steadily, culminating in a restoration fundraiser in 2017 to celebrate the park's 115th anniversary. The park fully reopened in 2022. When flooding struck again in the summer of 2023, the park remained open even as staff and volunteers worked through debris removal and mud cleanup. Their dedication echoed a message posted by the Bushkill team online: “We firmly believe that adversity strengthens our resolve. We are determined to overcome this setback and emerge even stronger.”



Environmental efforts to reduce flooding damage from Bushkill Creek have since been implemented, though the creek can still overrun its banks during major storms. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has restored the Bushkill Creek channel, which has helped stabilize the creek and falls while reducing flood impacts. Removing old dams has also been a priority. Even so, the area's natural geography makes it difficult to completely prevent flooding.

Neal Fehnel, a former owner of Bushkill Park, noted at a Climate Action Campaign Extreme Weather Emergency Tour meeting that the park “had a strategy for when there's a flood coming, and then we had a strategy for after the flood, so that we could restore Bushkill Park and be open again as quickly as possible.”

Current park managers John and Sue Klein have continued adapting operations by installing removable motors on rides and closely monitoring water levels. These preparations have allowed the park to reopen quickly following flood events.



Bushkill Park is one of the longest-running amusement parks in the country. In 1933, Thomas “Pop” Long leased the park and brought in a hand-carved carousel he had purchased with his father. The success of that addition led to his purchase of the park, which he operated with his wife, Mabel Long. After his death, Mabel ran the park until 1989. Ownership later passed to Fehnel and business partner William Hogan, and since 2019, the park has been owned by Sammy Baurkot.

The park's rich history includes classic attractions such as The Bar'l of Fun, now known as Hilarity Hall, an in-house creation. The funhouse features a rotating barrel, a dark mirror maze, a sit-and-spin ride, and a deliberately tilted, shaky staircase leading to an upstairs hall of mirrors. Guests then exit through an outdoor passage with a rolling floor that offers a sweeping view of the midway. The walls are decorated with folk-art paintings dating back to the 1930s, and visitors return to ground level via the attraction's original, carefully maintained wooden slide. Hilarity Hall holds the distinction of being the oldest operating funhouse in the United States.



Bushkill Park employs more than 20 staff members, including Klein, who began working at the park alongside Mabel Long in the 1980s. The park features 12 classic rides, including a 1928-era carousel, a kiddie Ferris wheel, the last remaining Stingray coaster from King Manufacturing, a gas-driven 1960s-era scrambler known as the Merry Mixer from Garbrick Rides, W.F. Mangels dry boats, and Herschell-manufactured kiddie car and helicopter rides. While the park is primarily geared toward children today, adults also enjoy the vintage attractions, including the funhouse and the family-friendly Tilt-A-Whirl.

In addition to the rides, the property is home to one of the five oldest roller-skating rinks in the country. A food and snack stand sells pizza, burgers, hot dogs, ice cream, and hand-spun cotton candy, and a small arcade rounds out the park's offerings. Bushkill Park also hosts concerts, car shows, and seasonal Halloween events.

During the 2025 Halloween season, the park hosted a trunk-or-treat car show with Kings of the Night and live music from the Undead Express. Hilarity Hall was redesigned and operated on select evenings from mid-September through November 1, offering what the park described as “a spine-chilling night of horror at America's Oldest Funhouse.” The haunted attraction included an additional walkthrough in a spookily decorated field behind the funhouse, with tickets priced at $20.