A Small Wonder in Wisconsin That Shouldn’t Be Overlooked
On my trip to the Wisonsin Dells I had experienced the underground insanity of Hades at Mt. Olympus along with that park’s arsenal of other woodies. It was almost time for me to head back south and catch my flight in Chicago. With only a little time to spare I made the decision to swing by Timber Falls Adventure Park for HellCat. I’m so glad that I did.
HellCat (formerly known as Avalanche) is one of the most unique wooden roller coasters I’ve ridden. Located at the front of a small amusement park with mini golf and a handful of other rides, the coaster couldn’t be less intimidating. It’s a rare S&S Power-designed woodie with a very small footprint that can’t take up more than a few acres. It’s little lift hill is a diminutive 88 feet tall that feels even shorter.
I can’t remember exactly how much I paid for my two rides, but today it costs $6.50 per ride unless you buy a ticket for the entire park. The train only has three cars and the park was pretty empty at the time. I rode once with two other people and another time with the entire train to myself. The train left the station and took the first of many left hand turns before it climbed the small lift hill. After the pedestrian drop, HellCat pounced with a shockingly fun and intense ride.
The train traversed one tight, highly banked turned after another. As I rose, fell, and saw each approaching turn, I thought I was going so fast that the tight turns didn’t quite look possible. HellCat continued to loop around a section of the park with intensity and surprising smoothness. After two complete circuits, the craziness ended and I returned to the mini station.
HellCat’s another great example of good things in small packages. On 
paper, the ride’s stats are laughable compared to many woodies, but this little thing packs a punch and delivers a pretty unique experience. Like the wild mouse of the woodies, HellCat’s tight turns make it worth a try if you find yourself in the Wisconsin Dells. I was wavering between a 7.5 and an 8, but I’ll bump it up to an 8 because of its uniqueness. Final Rating – 8.0 (Great)
HellCat is rated TR for Traditional. It’s a 2 out of 5 on the Thrill Scale.
Here’s an on-ride POV video of Hellcat at Timber Falls:
What’s Your Take?
Have you ridden HellCat? What’d you think? Leave a comment below. Images courtesy of CoasterImage.
May 16, 2011 at 03:30
That ride looks intense. If I ever find myself in Wisconsin, I'm definiteley going to look for this thing.
PS-Why did they change the name to Hellcat? Avalanche seemed a lot more original IMO.
May 16, 2011 at 05:44
I have to agree this looks fast and wild!
May 16, 2011 at 12:08
Over my dozen or so trips to the Dells, Hellcat has never been included. : ^ (
May 17, 2011 at 05:52
Glad I could enlighten you.
May 17, 2011 at 12:00
Wow that thing looks really fast for such as small lift hill! It looks like crazy, but in a good way, and fun!
May 22, 2011 at 10:08
I've always wondered why S&S only made woodies for a couple years and gave up, they showed a lot of promise. I only went on their first one which was designed more for families, but even the Timberhawk at my…sigh…home park Wild Waves, gave a good ride. I'm almost more attracted to the Dells for this ride than Hades because it's so unique…and it's a rare S&S.