Lake Winnepesaukah

Lake Winnepesaukah, often shortened to Lake Winnie, is an amusement park and water park located in Rossville, Georgia, United States. The park opened in 1925, and has been owned by the Dixon family since its inception. It is currently operated by IB Parks & Entertainment. In the park's early years, its primary focus was on its water attractions. In the late 1960s, the park began expanding with the addition of dry amusement rides, such as a carousel and a roller coaster. Today, the park has 38 rides and eight water park attractions History In 1924, Carl and Minette Dixon purchased approximately 100 acres (40 ha) surrounding a 9-acre (3.6 ha) lake in Rossville, Georgia. The park which they constructed on the land opened to the public on June 1, 1925, entertaining over 5,000 visitors with amenities for boating, fishing, and picnicking. The Dixons chose the name "Winnepesaukah", which supposedly came from a Cherokee word meaning "beautiful lake of the highlands". The following year, they opened a 22,000-square-foot (2,000 m2) swimming pool, the largest in the southeastern United States at the time. Carl Dixon later designed a Mill Chute attraction, which opened under the name Boat Chute in 1927. The National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPHA) considers it the oldest operating mill chute in the United States. In the 1940s and 1950s, several flat rides were added to the park, and in the 1960s, the first roller coasters were installed, beginning with Mad Mouse in 1960 and Cannon Ball in 1967. In the 21st century, the park has seen the addition of modern thrill rides such as the drop tower ride OH-Zone! and an inverting ride called Fire Ball. In 2013, the park expanded to include the 5-acre (2.0 ha) SOAKYa water park. In 2026, the Dixon family entered a partnership with IB Parks & Entertainment. The latter received the rights to operate Lake Winnepesaukah, though the Dixon family retained ownership of the park. Attractions Roller coasters Thrill rides Family rides Kiddie rides SOAKYa water park attractions Former attractions Roller coasters Incidents On April 19, 2003, a crowd disturbance described as a "near-riot" involving 500 to 700 youths took place outside the park after management decided to close the park 90 minutes early. Catoosa County sheriff Phil Summers claimed the incident was caused by parents leaving their children unattended at the park with little or no money, thus unable to participate in the park's activities. When sporadic fighting began in the crowded park, the decision was made to close the park early, which only escalated the fighting. Law enforcement agencies from Georgia and Tennessee were dispatched to the scene when the crowd began to disrupt traffic on roads surrounding the park. After the incident, the park instituted a new policy of requiring visitors under 16 years of age to be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Visitors were also required to buy some sort of admission. On July 16th, 2016, two children were ejected from the Fly-O-Plane ride and injured. The ride was removed following the incident. References External links Official Lake Winnepesaukah website Lake Winnepesaukah at the Roller Coaster DataBase