Not every community can claim to have its own amusement park and it’s rare to find one that’s as authentic and historic as Kennywood in Pittsburgh.

Kennywood dates to 1898 when Anthony Kenny leased land to the Monongahela Street Railway Company for a recreational trolley park. It started with a dance hall, carousel, athletic contests, and pony rides, growing over time to include things like roller coasters and bumper cars.

While the place has a vintage flair, the 2019 Steel Curtain ride is the tallest roller coaster in the state, has the most inversions in North America and the tallest inversion in the world. 

But that’s not why you go to Kennywood in December. Instead, the park is all decked out in Christmas lights so bright and glorious that even the Grinchiest among us will be pleased. We rode the Thomas the Tank Train around Thomas Town while strangers broke out into spontaneous Christmas carols. We enjoyed life sized gingerbread men, saw Rudolph and admired beautiful carousel animals.

With over three million Christmas lights and the tallest Christmas tree in Pennsylvania, the electric glow of the holidays is visible all around. Kennywood is a time honored tradition for Pittsburghers and I can see why. It’s a charming place.

We were there on an extremely cold night but we dressed in layers and were fine. Some of the rides don’t operate under forty degrees but there’s plenty of fun to be found even without the thrills and chills of a roller coaster. 

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