Lakeside Amusement Park

I gave Lakeside a full 5 stars because when you look at black and white photos from the early 1900’s, the tower of lights looks exactly the same. The Art Americano is beautiful! Its like going to an inexpensive museum. I wish the owners would clean it up, add more cool rides, re open the disused ferris wheel, gollf course, old casino & dance hall.
You go back in time when you walk through it. Demolish the old racetrack but keep the old rides need and add new rides. I would pay more just to see the architencture.

This place sucks so much all I’m gona say it’s old and they clearly don’t keep this place up its very unsafe. Only come if u just wanna walk around and play the games but don’t get on the rides

While the park and its rides are a bit antiquated, there’s some charm found in this park. You can’t go wrong with the admission price and spend a nice afternoon, riding the old school attractions, especially the old style, Merry-​Go-​Round.
I did not eat there, and I would not recommend it either. I would eat before or after visiting Lakeside, or bring your own food, as seen by the few Birthday parties held at Lakeside when I went there.
I would recommend going at night, where the lights go on. It reminisced me of a nice State Fair or an old school amusement park.

I took my nephew here a few months ago and we had a fun time. the whole experience was a blast! as usual, the roller coaster always scare the s**** out of me. but we had so much fun. food is mediocre for the most part.

ITS FUCKING CLOSED UNTIL MAY ! I was a bit upset cause I came from Hollywood for a vacation and see this place on Unilocal and got super pumped drove from Greeley to here for it to be closed we called and to secure it was not open. And they’ll be open may next year !

Lakeside is great way to spend an afternoon for some cheap thrills. Cheap rides, cheap food, lovely ambiance. Of course the rides are not like the big theme parks. You get 3^rd world/​traveling carnival type rides that need manual braking, duct tape, and fire extinguishers on the side. But it’s awesome! I definitely could appreciate the rides and the retro decorations.
I bought a Groupon for a Thursday and it was surprisingly a packed day. We skipped rides that seemed to have huge lines and all the spinning ones.
And then there’s the food. Just don’t get it. I made the mistake of comming here without eating and so I ordered a corn dog. The guy behind the counter grudgingly takes one out if the freezer and fries it for a minute. It comes out nice and golden brown and cold in the middle. Made me feel sick biting into a cold corn dog. So I made the second mistake of buying a jumbo hotdog. He checks his little container of water on the stove and sees there’s no hot dogs. Goes into the refrigerator and pops a hot dog into the microwave. At least this time it was warm inside. The workers behind that counter definitely soured the mood.
The one ride I have to complain about is the train. Wtf is wrong with that horn. It’s not even a train whistle; it’s an air horn. Definitely don’t sit in the front if you don’t want to hear blaring air horns in your ear. The train would be fine without it. Please take it out. The scene at night on the train is beautiful though. You get a tour of the amusement park lights, the Walmart parking lot, and some for profit college. So… Lovely. But the lights in the background of the lake are picture worthy.
Aside from that, I would definitely come back in 2 years. Just eat beforehand, bring a camera, and appreciate how the rides are still operating. It really was fun :)

This place gets a bad rep. I’ve been coming here since I was a baby. My mother worked the ticket booth and front office for almost 25 years. It’s fun, it’s a fraction of the cost compared to eliches, and that’s including the waiting lines for rides. It’s historic to Colorado and it’s good old fashion fun! I will be going to Lakeside until I’m old and gray!

Lakeside can get a bad rap, particularly by those that have never tried it … It is great for young children and you have none of the insane crowds or parking nightmares that another local amusement park has (Elitches).
The rides for young kids are appropriate and the kids love them. The food is amusement park fair … I mean really, who doesn’t love Funnel cakes? The location is great, right on a good sized lake with views of the mountains. Lots of mature trees and places for sitting & eating.
Incredibly reasonable when compared (again) to that other local amusement park. Some of the staff can be less than enthused, but you are dealing with many teenagers working their first repetitious job out in the heat. hard to fault them too much. Come in with reasonable expectations and Lakeside will exceed them. Assume that they are high volume, High $$ and should have facilities to match and you will be disappointed. This park is as much amusement as it is a historical artifact for Denver (Opened in this same location in 1906). Much of the decorations etc can be traced back to eras long since gone, but I hope they are around for a long time to come!
NOTE: I am reviewing this from the point of view of younger children … while there are plenty of local teenagers in the park, I imagine this is not their 1^st choice … if you are bringing teenagers, then make sure they are not expecting Six Flags … this is more like a mall hangout for them, i’d guess

Lakeside is fun to go to when you don’t want crazy crowds and enjoy a warm summer night at this nostalgic park. A lot of the rides weren’t running, not sure why. Maybe understaffed or something. But the ones that were, were great. One thing to note is the hours. I checked on line and it said they opened at 5 pm but when we got there, we were informed that most of the rides don’t open until 6:30 or 7:00 pm.
Overall a fun place to go.

Great piece of Old Americana nostalgia! Old school fun at an old school price! Sure it’s not Disneyworld or Six Flags, but for the price and the ambiance — this piece of 100+ year history is definitely worth it!

My kids spent an evening here with their cousins and extended family. I joined them later on in the evening. I did not grow up in Colorado but heard all the stories of Lakeside in it’s heyday. You could definitely feel the remnants of that although the place is a bit run down now. As long as you keep your expectations reasonable and understand Lakeside for what it is. you’ll have a blast. I know my kids did! My daughter is 5 and rode just about every ride they had (she’s very tall for her age). She was deliriously happy and in heaven being able to ride everything and tearing around with her cousins and brother. The place is very affordable and its nice that ALL families have an option to take their kids somewhere fun. Not everyone can afford to take a family of 4 or 5 to Elitches these days. Now that I’ve been, I’ll be taking the kids back!

Do not go here. Do not let them rip you off like they did with me. The staff is rude and they run a really shady operation.
I got a Groupon for unlimited rides for two people. This Groupon, if you go on weekdays actually costs MORE than the regular entry fee. Not only that, when I presented the Groupon at the ticket window, they claimed I needed two of them in order for my friend to get in. The groupon itself say states it’s for two people. I attempted to speak with the «manager» of the cashier and she was extremely rude to me and refused to allow us admission without purchasing another pass. The worst part is she mentioned this problem has happened several times before. Why have they not fixed this if other costumers have been screwed like this? Bottom like is they are too focused on making money than attempting to rectify a situation that has caused a lot of grief on otherwise happy costumers. I will be calling Groupon to complain as well.

Nostalgia at its finest. They have not updated or cleaned a thing at this amusement park since the 70’s and I love that! Not knowing if you are going to survive their coaster, the Cyclone, makes it that much more exciting! We come every year and several times. Great for the little tikes and if they are 42″ they can enjoy some of the adult rides as well

Lakeside Amusement Park is an old-​time family-​owned GEM that we are downright lucky to have in Denver.
The amusement park opened in 1906, and was named the WHITE CITY after the Chicago Exhibition and the fact that there were 100,000 lights! Later in the century, the park got an ART DECO makeover and at some point. Art deco Neon signage is still working and visible today and gives it that retro flavor. Many rides are quite old, and many have been refurbished. The carousel is the original, as is the little steam train that will run you around the lake. Just love love love this place.
On top of the time-​machine campiness, the place is a BARGAIN and great for families. I was having first world work related problems, and came here with my boyfriend one Saturday night, and hearing the kids laughing and screaming with glee on the rides just lifted my spirits. Used to be Lakeside went all Gang Central at dark (10 – 15 years ago) but that is no longer the case. FAMILIES! PICNICS! TEENS! GRANNIES! Grown ups like us, unaccompanied by kids… FUN FUN FUN!
It is $ 3 to get in and 50 cents a ticket, or an unlimited arm band for $ 20ish. I truly thought this was a bargain and everything should have cost about twice as much as they asked. That’s family-​owned for you! ALSO! Parking is FREE!
If you haven’t done this, do it!

The prices are cheap and the food prices are reasonable, but the park is dilapidated and desperately needs an influx of cash to bring it back.

The originality is what keeps my family and I coming back. The rides are old but I think that’s what people like. The food is not bad and it’s pretty cheap!
The people on the other hand are rude and pretty clueless, I witnessed a worked in the kiddie land be extremely rude to the kids and yelled at them. Other than that it’s always a pleasant time.

First of all to all the naysayers, I say boo to you! This place is great. Sure, it’s not as fancy as Elitches, but it’s half the price and parking is included (if you buy the Groupon, otherwise it’s only $ 3 for all day long). You get a whole day of family fun without breaking the bank. The rides are not falling apart as some other reviews might say (each ride has to be safety inspected before it can be used) and this place is a Colorado landmark for over 100 years, and it was awarded several distinctions throughout the years. The park was clean, the staff was friendly and the lines were short. What more could you ask for?

Not a normal Lakeside goer but went for my little siblings birthday. To sum it up, I was very nervous and scared (for my life) throughout the entirety of my visit!
It is very affordable all around, especially in comparison to other Amusement parks such as Eliches and Water World. Unlimited rides was 20 dollars and food, drinks, and treats were only a couple bucks a piece. As you could imagine, lower price means lower quality. And with Lakeside, that is an understatement.
All the rides were run down and didnt feel all that safe, as many things were out of order and seemed like parts haven’t been replaced in decades. The main roller coaster for example, seemed like it could completely collapse with each passing second.
The food was pretty gross all around. Seemed like everything was bought in bulk from Costco. I asked for a ramican or something to put some ketchup in and they gave me a soda cup. Every ingredient in my cheeseburger tasted so processed and cheap. Edible but barely.
Of coarse, being older and able to really asses the amusement parks features makes this review sound pretty bad. But from a child’s perspective, my little sister for example, she absolutely loved the park and asked if we could go there every year for her birthday. For an oblivious child, this park passes as fantastic but for an aware adult I was seriously concerned with how run down the place was. Affordability is the key word here but for me, I would rather spend a couple more chucks on going to a better run and built establishment such as Eliches. I will definitely skip out on Lakeside next time I’m invited!

A sketchy little classic. I mean this is a fantastic relic of bygone ages of rides. The oder roller coasters are always the scariest. The old open they have is wonderfully frightening. We have been a couple times. So you pay a gate fee of like 3 $ a person, with a 50 cent ride coupon. From there you can buy tickets for rides, or if you are in of the day, get a wrist band for 12 – 25 $. Some of the architecture is art deco. One bathroom is going through a remodel right now. I brought my mom and aunt here, they really enjoyed the ferris wheel and the merry go round. The Merry go round is a cherry of carved animals. They make their funnel cake from batter, which is refreshing as a few in the northeast everything come out of the freezer.

Lakeside is the dive bar of amusement parks. As long as you appreciate the novelty of the place and don’t go in expecting a corporate theme park, you’re going to have a great time. It’s very cheap, which is good because the rides are very janky and boring and most of the arcade games don’t work. The rides are all manned by sassy teenagers.
This sounds like a negative review, but trust me, it’s a super charming and fun place. Each ride has a giant neon sign with amazing typography and the popcorn is so cheap it’s almost free.

A welcome oasis of character and rickety history that has survived in a sea of bland chain stores and faceless stark-​itechture.
Took the kid to Kiddyland in the early afternoon and paid less than $ 10 for admission, parking, and a few rides for him. Then we roamed around the major rides and took some great pictures. Can’t wait to go back at night and see the lights reflecting in the lake.