What to See in Doswell - Top Sights and Attractions

Roller coaster in Doswell, Virginia. Intimidator 305 is a steel roller coaster located at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia, United States. Manufactured by Intamin, Intimidator 305 opened to the public on April 2, 2010, as the park's fourteenth roller coaster. The 305 feet lift hill and Dale Earnhardt's nickname is what it's called after. It is located in the Jungle X-Pedition section of the park near Anaconda on the former site of the Safari Monorail ride. Standing at 305 feet tall and reaching speeds up to 90 mph, it is the second Giga Coaster to be built in North America, following Millennium Force at Cedar Point. The $25-million investment was the largest of any ride in park history. Themed to racing, the coaster is named after the late NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, who was commonly known as "The Intimidator".

Intimidator 305 has a first drop of 300 feet (91 m), which reaches a maximum descent angle of 85 degrees. Its unique lift hill structure only utilizes two main points of support at the hill's crest. Its overall height is also higher than the observation platform of the park's tallest structure, the Eiffel Tower attraction. After only one season of operation, the ride underwent major reconstruction of its first turn to reduce the number of greyouts and blackouts some riders were experiencing on the ride.^[3]

Roller coaster. Volcano: The Blast Coaster, or simply Volcano, was an inverted roller coaster located at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia. Designed by Werner Stengel, it was the first launched roller coaster manufactured by Intamin and the first of its kind in the world to be inverted. Its launch mechanism was based on linear induction motor technology. After a series of delays, Volcano officially opened to the public on August 3, 1998. The ride's soft opening was held two days earlier on August 1. A portion of the ride was enclosed inside a man-made volcano, which previously housed other attractions and was constructed in 1979. Volcano's final year of operation was in 2018, and in the off-season that followed, Kings Dominion made the sudden decision to retire the roller coaster.^[4]

Twisted Timbers is a steel roller coaster located at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia. It originally opened as a wooden coaster named Hurler in 1994, designed and manufactured by International Coasters, Inc. with a name and layout that matched an identical installation at Carowinds. The ride closed for extensive maintenance in 2015 according to the park, which later teased in 2016 that Hurler was being replaced.

The park contracted Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) to revamp the aging roller coaster, and in the process, the coaster was redesigned and the wooden track was replaced with steel. The updated track utilizes the company's I-Box track technology, which allows for more aggressive elements and inversions. The roller coaster reemerged as Twisted Timbers on March 24, 2018, featuring three overbanked turns, three inversions, and twenty airtime moments. Twisted Timbers is also faster than its predecessor, reaching a maximum speed of 54 mph (87 km/h). It ranked third among new rides in 2018 in the annual Golden Ticket Awards from Amusement Today.^[7]

Park in Caroline County, Virginia. The Meadow Event Park in Caroline County, Virginia, United States, is the pastoral setting for the annual State Fair of Virginia, which dates back 168 years to 1854. The fair is held in late September through early October and attracts over 230,000 attendees during its 10-day exposition of agriculture, education, and entertainment. It is just east of a theme park, Kings Dominion, which opened in 1975.

During the rest of the year, The Meadow Event Park hosts a diverse array of festivals, concerts, sporting events, consumer and trade shows, weddings and receptions, conferences, horse shows and other events. The Meadow also has the singular distinction of being the birthplace of Thoroughbred racing legend Secretariat, 1973 Triple Crown champion.

In keeping with its equestrian theme, the 331-acre venue blends new, state-of-the-art event facilities with the historic structures of the Thoroughbred farm. Inside the white-fenced fields are an exhibition hall; Meadow Pavilion; Meadow Hall mansion; and an equine complex for horse and livestock events.

The equine heritage of The Meadow is evident throughout the property. The original barns that housed Secretariat, Riva Ridge, and earlier Meadow Stable champions have been preserved and are featured on narrated tours, along with the foaling shed where the legendary Secretariat was born on March 30, 1970. Meadow Hall showcases the Meadow Champions Galleries, the Triple Crown Room and the Museum of the Virginia Horse. Each spring, fans from all over the country flock to The Meadow for the annual Secretariat Birthday Celebration. In the fall, the State Fair features a Salute to Secretariat.

The history of The Meadow dates back to 1805, when Dr. Charles D. Morris purchased 4,000 acres and made it his family's home for the next 100 years. The farm was sold out of the family in the early 1900s, but in 1936, Christopher Chenery, a Morris descendant, bought it back and transformed it into one of the most renowned Thoroughbred farms of its time.

His daughter, Penny Chenery, continued his work, achieving unprecedented success with Riva Ridge and Secretariat. In 1972, Riva Ridge won the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, but was fourth in the muddy Preakness. Wearing the same blue and white checkered silks in 1973, Secretariat became the first horse in 25 years to win the Triple Crown and the only champion to break all three track records, which still stand today.

In 1979, The Meadow was sold out of the family for the last time. Most of the property was divided into smaller parcels, and the remainder of the farm changed hands often over the years. In 2003, the State Fair of Virginia purchased The Meadow and began construction of new facilities as it prepared to move from its longtime location in Henrico County. The fair was held at The Meadow for the first time in 2009.

The venue currently is owned by the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, Virginia's largest agricultural advocacy organization, which also owns and operates the State Fair of Virginia. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as The Meadow Historic District in 2015.^[8]