Knott's Berry Farm

Knott's Berry Farm is Orange County's original theme park, and it still has the feel of a local landmark. It began in the 1920s as a roadside berry stand run by Walter and Cordelia Knott. Today it's a full theme park with record-setting roller coasters, a real Old West ghost town and the fried chicken and boysenberry pie that made the family famous.

Thrill seekers come for GhostRider, one of the longest wooden coasters on the West Coast, and for the launch coaster Xcelerator and the inverted Silver Bullet. Families with younger kids spend most of their day in Camp Snoopy, with gentle rides and visits from the Peanuts gang. In between, you can pan for gold, watch a stunt show or wander Ghost Town, which has some of the park's original buildings.

Don't leave without eating. Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant sits just outside the gates and has served its famous fried chicken dinners since 1934. The California Marketplace next door is free to enter, so you can pick up boysenberry jam, pies and treats without a park ticket.

This season: Knott's Scary Farm, the park's Halloween event and one of the oldest in the country, runs select nights through October. Expect haunted mazes, scare zones and roaming monsters after dark. It isn't recommended for young children.