Ruidoso's Winter Park home to the state's only mountain coaster

In a sense, the Screaming Eagle Mountain Coaster is the quintessential choose-your-own-adventure ride.

Located at Ruidoso’s Winter Park, New Mexico’s only mountain coaster features nearly one full mile of track that includes waves, dips and a 360-degree helix — all while going at speeds up to 25 miles per hour. But if going fast isn’t the goal, each cart comes equipped with brakes that allow for a more tranquil experience. There’s really no wrong way to do it.

“I spent a lot of time monitoring the ride and trying to get feedback from our guests. The feedback I’ve gotten is all over the place, from people just enjoying the scenic ride up the hill and what it looks like from the top of our hill, to the excitement of the ride,” said Ruidoso Winter Park president Tom Dorgan. “The beauty of it is that it’s all self-controlled. You control the speed as you come down. You have brake levers on either side of your cart. You can make it a thrill ride or you can make it a sightseeing ride.”

Dorgan, a certified amusement ride inspector, oversaw the project at the request of the Village of Ruidoso, which wanted to complement Winter Park’s existing tubing and ziplining attractions. After a two-year construction period that cost $4.4 million and included delays due to COVID, labor shortage and the elements, the coaster debuted over Memorial Day weekend. Within one month’s time, nearly 12,000 people had already taken the ride.

“It’s just been a huge, huge hit,” said Dorgan. “It’s as big as most of them in Colorado … It’s a big deal. It’s a big deal for the village, for the tourist economy. And we’re just really proud of what we’ve done here.”

The biggest difference between a mountain coaster and a traditional roller coaster is that the former is rider operated, but safety measures are in place to prevent accidents on the track. Each car can accommodate 300 pounds — two people, if they fit weight restrictions — and is equipped with a built-in collision avoidance system. That ensures that brakes are automatically applied when one car comes within 80 feet of another. There’s also a sound system in place that provides instructions as the ride begins.

For each ride, cars are towed uphill — similar to a standard roller coaster — before passengers are allowed to control their speed on the way down. The length of the ride is approximately five to five-and-a-half minutes, which also depends on the speed of the individual driver. Cars are typically dispatched at 45 second intervals and are monitored throughout the track.

“We do have a control that slows the lift down so we don’t pile up the cars and mess up the next person’s ride,” Dorgan said. “… We try to monitor who’s riding and how we’re dispatching the vehicle. On the downhill track we can have as many as seven to eight vehicles if they’re all going approximately the same speed.”

Tickets for the coaster can be purchased online or at the Winter Park facility. While the coaster is capable of operating in the rain, delays do occur when lightning strikes within 10 miles. That makes it important to monitor the weather during monsoon season when planning a visit. There are also packages that allow unlimited rides on the coaster, tubing and ziplining for a two-hour period.

Thus far, Dorgan is enjoying witnessing the fruits of his labor.

“I spend a lot of time just sitting along the track at different points watching people,” he said. “You see people coming down with eyes wide open, some giggling and laughing, others screaming in sheer terror. It’s a different ride for everybody that rides it. It’s just a good feeling to see people having fun on it.”