National Roller Coaster Day on Aug. 16 is a day to go out and celebrate by having your stomach drop and hands go up on some of the thrilling rides Illinois has to offer. This year we highlight Six Flags Great America. This amusement park in Lake County has 16 roller coasters and is among the top 20 in most visited amusement parks in North America!

Let’s start with the brand new Wrath of Rakshasa. This ride is the steepest and most inverted dive coaster in the world. Towering ominously at an impressive 180 feet, this dive coaster invites you to ascend into the shadows before surrendering to a heart-stopping 171-foot drop at a record-breaking beyond-vertical 96 degrees that feels like a descent into the abyss. As the world’s most inverted dive coaster, Wrath of Rakshasa sends you into a whirlwind of five inversions that will test your limits and leave you breathless. It reaches speeds of nearly 67 miles per hour as you race through the demon’s lair, soaring through 3,239 feet of steel track.

Great America has a variety of well-known superhero themed rides. The Aquaman Splashdown is a great way to cool off during the summer. Once you begin climbing up a lift hill toward the sky, take in the incredible views of the park as your boat goes along a winding path. Suddenly you’ll begin to plunge down a 60 foot drop with plenty of water and splashing to get the whole crew wet and cool. Batman: The Ride is the world’s first inverted roller coaster. Following a 10-story lift to the top of the world, brace yourself for a 180-degree swoop and a full 360-degree loop right off the bat. Watch the ground under your dangling feet whip around as the city below flips over and over, through a tightly packed series of gravity-defying twists that will grind you into submission just like the criminals of Gotham City.

Perhaps Great America’s most well-known ride, the American Eagle, is a classic and the world’s tallest and fastest racing wooden coaster. A double track means two trains can fly through this 4,650-foot-long run at the same time, either the Eagle Red or Eagle Blue. Side by side and simultaneously, the red and blue trains begin their ascent up the lift hill. No matter which side you’re on, you’ll first have to climb up 127 feet before you plummet into an enormous 360-degree helix.

On this National Roller Coaster Day, take some time to enjoy the thrills of Illinois’ world-famous amusement park rides!