Taking the kids to Knoebels this summer? Here are some must-try foods from the park

There are two kinds of people: people who visit Knoebels for the rides, and those who visit it for the food.

I fall squarely in the latter category. Don't get me wrong, I love a good wooden roller coaster, but the food is what always brings me back.

The park is surprisingly still free to park at and enter, with visitors only paying for tickets to ride individual rides. In fact, Knoebels recently scored the number two position in a USA TODAY reader's choice vote for best theme park in the country.

The wins didn't stop there, as the park's Phoenix wooden roller coaster also scored best roller coaster in the country, and one of the park's restaurants scored best theme park restaurant. More on that later, though.

More: 2 Central PA theme parks voted among top 10 in America by USA TODAY readers

On a recent weekend, I spent a day up at the theme park in Elysburg and had plenty of great eats while exploring the park and riding the rides.

I'll admit I do have some dietary restrictions that differ from the average visitor — so in no way is this a comprehensive list, nor am I a food critic — but I wanted to share some of the delectable treats you can find at this Pennsylvania favorite.

Let's dive into a few of them...

Something new

Not long after arriving at the park following a two-hour drive from my home in Hanover, I was ready for a good snack.

Advertisements for one of the park's newest tasty treats immediately won me over, and my first bite of the day was a Liege waffle, which is new for the 2024 season.

The waffles, which are made with pearl sugar that adds a sweet crunch to the normal waffle texture, can be topped with caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, peanut butter, Nutella, bananas, strawberries, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream.

That's a pretty big list of choices, if you ask me! I went for some good old fashioned chocolate sauce, which was absolutely delicious. (Yes, it was minutes after noon, but can you blame me?)

This was easily one of the best things I ate that day, and I'm most definitely still thinking about it. If you haven't had one yet, I absolutely recommend trying them out!

Street corn

If there's one food I'm always going to buy when I get a chance, it's street corn.

Every time I've visited the York Fair I've made a beeline right for the street corn stand, so there's no surprise I jumped at the chance to try out the Knoebels offering for this savory snack.

Street corn is typically corn grilled in the husk, then lathered in mayo and spices and Cotija cheese.

The street corn at the park came fresh on the husk, wrapped in aluminum foil. It was delightful and had a lot of good flavor to it for sure!

The aluminum foil definitely made it easier to handle some of the messiness of the corn, which was a plus while wandering around the park.

Something for everyone

On the topic of snacks, the park is famous for the huge diversity of snacks you can find there, and I didn't have a chance to try them all out, but they're worth mentioning.

That includes everything from funnel cakes, pierogies, loaded baked potatoes topped with nearly anything, fresh roasted Bavarian nuts, French toast breakfast sandwiches, potato cakes, "disco fries" covered in gravy and mozzarella, empanadas, and even, believe it or not, alligator bites.

"Yes, it really is alligator meat," reads the menu listing for that last one, which is perhaps one of the most famous (or infamous?) items offered at the park. Personally, I'll pass, but to each their own!

The best theme park restaurant?

Circling back to what I mentioned earlier, one of the park's famous restaurants, the Alamo, was named the best theme park restaurant by USA Today readers.

Of course, armed with that information and after working up an appetite roaming the park, I had to go try it for myself!

The Alamo is a quaint diner-style sit-down restaurant not far from the entrance to the park, and it has been in operation since 1926.

It has a full menu and definitely makes you forget that you're in an amusement park when you sit down and get waited on. The staff were incredibly friendly and the service was great, but how about the food?

For an appetizer, I went with fried pickles. These weren't fried pickle chips, but instead were fried pickle spears with ranch to dip them in, and they were very good.

As for my actual dinner, I had heard a lot of good things about the park's homemade black bean burger and had to give it a shot. Knoebels is well known for having options for alternative diets including vegans or those with gluten sensitivities, and offer plant-based chicken and gluten free rolls among their choices here at the Alamo.

The burger was very good on its own, topped with tomatoes, onions, lettuce, but I opted to add some barbeque sauce to the burger to add some spice to it. The staff had no problem making substitutions or additions, which I appreciated!

I have to make a whole note about the fries, though. Knoebels' fries are absolutely out of this world good. They honestly bring me back to Thrasher's fries from the boardwalk in Ocean City.

I'll note for those with less dietary restrictions, probably one of the most popular items on the menu is the chicken & waffles, a true Pennsylvania favorite. Are you really from Hanover if you didn't get the chicken & waffles at the Victory back in the day?

Another member of my party went for the Pasta Al Limone, which is described as "spaghetti lightly tossed with olive oil, lemon zest, cashews, red pepper flakes & parsley and served with a side of broccoli."

They too highly recommended the entree after devouring it.

The prices were reasonable in comparison to some theme park food, $6.50 for the shared appetizer, $10.50 for my burger and fries, and a soda with free refills for $3.75.

A Disney favorite

Is there any theme park treat more popular than the famous Dole Whip?

If you didn't know already, I may break your head when I tell you that this sweet treat is also available at Knoebels.

I immediately jumped on the opportunity to grab one, ordering a pineapple dole soft serve float from the Nook Frozen Treats near the park entrance.

They even have Dole flights, allowing you to try all four flavors of the Dole soft serve at once if you can't make up your mind. But let's be honest, you gotta go for the float.

I'll admit I did end up getting brain freeze from the way I chugged down this Dole float. We'll just call that an occupational hazard, I guess.

Something sweet to end the day

Along with the many food options, there are also numerous shops scattered around the park, including a fantastic little fudge shop, Stony Gables.

Inside the little stone house is a myriad of options, my favorite of all was the chocolate chip cheesecake fudge. It's hard to overstate just how good the fudge here is!

While I didn't get a chance to pick one on this last visit, Tiger Tails are perhaps one of the food items I heard about the most at the park. They're hot pretzels covered in cinnamon sugar, then drizzled in caramel and chocolate sauce. I guarantee the next time I visit I'm trying one!

So there you have my roundup from my recent trip! I'd love to hear what your favorite item at Knoebels is, so feel free to pass it along!

Harrison Jones is a reporter for the Hanover Evening Sun. Reach him at hjones@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Hanover Evening Sun: Here are some must-try foods available at Knoebels