Steel coasters get the loops, but wood gets the fans. The tallest wooden roller coasters in the world — a list topped by two rides tied at 184 feet — are scattered across South Korea, Sweden, the USA, Germany, and Japan, and a surprising number of them sit inside parks that double as genuine holiday destinations.

Tied for the title of world's tallest are Monimo RUSH at Everland in Yongin, South Korea (once known as T Express), and Wildfire at Kolmården Wildlife Park in Sweden. Both climb 184 feet. Monimo RUSH, built in 2008, drops 150 feet at 65 mph and is loved for its relentless airtime. Wildfire, opened in 2016, is faster at 71.5 mph and is ranked the best wooden coaster on the planet by the review site Captain Coaster, thanks in part to how dramatically it weaves through the forests of the wildlife park.

The US claims three of the nine. El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, is the tallest wooden coaster in the country at 181 feet and was voted America's number one coaster by USA Today readers in 2022. Goliath at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, is the fastest wooden coaster anywhere — 72 mph, with a 180-foot total drop into an underground tunnel at an 85-degree angle. And The Voyage at Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana, offers 24.3 seconds of cumulative airtime and a park that calls itself the water coaster capital of the world.

Europe adds two more German entries alongside Wildfire. Colossos at Heide Park Resort, built in 2001 and rebuilt around a fire-breathing dragon theme in 2019, is often called the smoothest wooden coaster ever built. Wodan Timburcoaster at Europa-Park in Rust delivers Norse theming and a powerful first drop at 131 feet — at a park that holds the Golden Ticket Award for best amusement park in the world.

Rounding out the list: Jupiter at Kijima Kogen Park in Beppu, Japan, one of the world's longest wooden coasters at over 5,200 feet, with a framed view of the active volcano Mount Tsurumi from its highest point (and a cameo in 1994's Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla); and Hades 360 at Mt. Olympus in Wisconsin Dells, a 136-foot beast with an underground tunnel and a corkscrew that fans admit is gloriously rough.

For thrill-seekers, this list reads less like a rankings table and more like a route planner. Several of these parks pair their coasters with hot springs, safari parks, or water parks, so a coaster pilgrimage can easily become a proper holiday — just pack motion sickness tablets if drops aren't your thing.