Winter Photo Report: Ravine Flyer II Winter Track Walk

My goal in my Marketing role aside from Operations is to present the park in a way that most other parks haven't already done before. One of my absolute favorite winter things for our Blog is compiling what I now call the Winter Photo Tour. With a small park, there are only so many things you can photograph in an appealing way in the dead of winter. Each year I try to become more creative and adventurous with the Winter photos. After two years teasing around walking lift hills in the snow or standing on very low to the ground sections of track, I got a serious itch to be more daring. Believe it or not, Ravine Flyer II's lift hill, being most exposed to wind from the Lake, rarely accumulates very much snow to slip on. With permission granted to go on the track walk, new work boots, several layers of clothes, and a trusty harness I walked a large portion of Ravine Flyer II's track. There was about six inches of very fluffy snow on most catwalks which is not a lot by Erie standards, but anything more would have made a Track Walk near impossible. I did not walk up or down any major drops, but I accessed track at the bottom of the hillside using the access road. So here is what became of my adventure to have some of the most unique winter coaster photos of one of the most unique coasters around, Ravine Flyer II.

That may or may not be a Batman sticker proudly displayed at controls.

Since 2012 the lift has been very visible from the station due to Hurricane Sandy taking out a massive tree with a 8 foot wide stump.

This is more snow than usual for the lift hill. Unfortunately it is hiding a retracked lift hill. Hopefully the "rocking" feeling due to slight track variations has been eliminated.

The one time that blue color looks appealing. It was hand-picked by PennDot as a condition for the coaster's approval to go over a road.

Kind of an odd angle, but when there are no leaves you can see so much more of the layout from above.

Looking down 118 feet.

This is where the lower section of track can be accessed from the service road. Sorry urban explorers, you need a key to get inside though. One of my fall projects was to pressure wash and stain the bridge catwalks. Saying it was stressful avoiding spilling paint onto cars below is an understatement.

The second largest wooden coaster drop in Pennsylvania at 105 feet. Some fresh wood in this area too.

Back over the bridge.

Climbing 118 feet in the summer was pretty intimidating. I would love to walk a larger coaster like The Voyage.

One of my favorite parts to walk because it is so peaceful.

Looking back towards the final climb to the top of the hillside.

The track on the left is the home of a legendary TPR video theme.

You will never see the entire West side of the lift hill in summer.

Standing on the airtime hill that goes over the lift looking backwards. For some reason I thought this angle of the coaster was pretty neat.

Artsy shot I guess.

A lot of work has been done on the final stretch of track into the brake run in the past couple years.

Looking backwards down the incline leading into the final bunny hops.

Thank You for reading, I hope everyone found it interesting. The official Winter Photo Tour I compiled that includes many other attractions at Waldameer and Water World can be found here. If you scroll down to the entry before the Winter Photo Tour, you can also take a look into winter roller coaster maintenance at Waldameer.

Amazing photos man! Thanks for sharing! There's something just so beautiful about a closed roller coaster covered in snow. I think it's the stillness of winter juxtaposed with the dynamic structure of the ride.

I still have yet to ride this thing. I love Voyage, so I have a feeling I would love this ride too. If only it wasn't so far from me!

These are awesome pictures, AJ. Would be a sick experience I'm sure!

Hoping to get to ride this beauty for the first time this summer. I like the blue color...

Wow, really great pictures, It's really neat to see RFII like that. We finally got to ride it this past summer in late August over ten times on a really crappy, rainy day, (in fact the park was supposed to close at 10pm, but closed at 7 instead because there was virtually no one in the park that day) but boy did we have fun. The only problem was , is that I couldn't get any decent pics of the coaster, so it is very nice to see RFII in all its naked glory.

Thanks for the snowy look at Ravine Flyer II. It's a great ride after the snow melts, too.

Wow. Love these "inside looks." Thank you

Thanks for posting...great shots there!

Those snowy photos are amazing!! Thank's for sharing!!

Great pictures! It's always fun to see pictures of rides from angles you don't normally see. Plus wooden coasters in the snow are beautiful!!

Wow, that's awesome! Looks like an awesome ride, whether in winter or summer. This ride is definitely on my bucket list. Thanks for walking through that track and getting all those beautiful shots.

Since we live only a stones-throw away from the park on 6th Street, me and my wife go to Presque Isle quite a bit (even for rides in the winter, nearly every day).

Driving by Waldameer is always my favorite part during the winters. Seeing RFII coated in snow, as well as seeing the rest of the park asleep, is a cool view, and sometimes eerily creepy after sunset, as the offseason vacancy can almost give the abandoned feeling.

Anyways, great photos AJ! Keep up the great work on the Blog. Love always reading the new entries!

Very jealous of you! I must get out to this park over summer just to ride Ravine. Heard nothing but great reviews of it.

Very impressive pictures. Also, I've only seen and heard good things about working for Waldameer. I would love to be a marketing position for the park if it wasn't a 14 hour drive north for me.

Ravine Flyer II is one of the most unique wooden coasters I've experienced and it certainly packs a punch.