Six Flags St. Louis: What to Know About the Area’s Largest Amusement Park

EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated for 2026.

In 1971, the Six Flags company opened its third theme park at the time, this one in the St. Louis area. Originally known as Six Flags Over Mid-America, the park’s six different regions were each represented by a flag that was connected to St. Louis or Midwest history in some way: Missouri, U.S.A., France, Spain, England, and Old Chicago.

Since the 1990s, the inside of the park has been reworked into something less thematic, but some of the earliest attractions remain. For people living in St. Louis or for those visiting, Six Flags is the biggest spot in the St. Louis metro area for theme park thrills.

It’s also a park in transition. In early 2026, Enchanted Parks purchased Six Flags St. Louis along with several other Six Flags parks. In 2027, the St. Louis park will be known as Mid-America by Enchanted Parks.

Through all the name changes, our family has a long history with the St. Louis park. I grew up in the 1980s riding the Ninja or spinning along the now-closed Highland Fling, and in recent years we’ve also held season passes from time to time. Here’s what we know about the park, and what we’ve learned from experience.

Getting There

Six Flags St. Louis is located on the outskirts of West St. Louis County, right off of Interstate 44 (Google Maps link). People living or staying in St. Louis County can get there easily enough by driving down 44, while those living in St. Charles will have to decide between driving into 270 and then going to 44 or cutting through Chesterfield down to Eureka.

The park is easy to find off the interstate, as there is a Six Flags-marked exit. From the exit, it’s a short drive into a multi-laned road that runs straight to the gates that lead into the parking lot.

Leaving, by the way, is easy: there’s an exit along an outer road that connects back to the road leading to I-44.

Parking

As of 2026, parking at Six Flags costs around $17 for general parking and around $50 for preferred parking. However, all season passes and Six Flags memberships include free parking at either the general parking section or preferred parking section, depending on the level of the pass or membership.

The parking lot is very large and includes sections for buses and other large vehicles, so finding a spot is not usually a problem, even on busy days. The parking lot also has a limited number of EV charging stations at the end of some rows in both the General and Preferred sections, although those go fast.

People who stay at the nearby Holiday Inn can take a free shuttle to the park.

Costs and Considerations

You can find the park’s daily calendar here, which lists operating times and dates for both Six Flags and Hurricane Harbor. Things vary during the year, with mid-summer having the most days open and the longest hours. In the past, Six Flags also had a phone app you could use to navigate that information, but Enchanted Parks has not yet rolled out a new app for its parks.

We’ve more deeply broken down the costs of Six Flags St. Louis in another post, which you can find here. Note that, in addition to the cost of parking, entrance to Six Flags St. Louis requires the purchase of a ticket, either in the form of a day ticket, a season pass, or a membership.

Day tickets in can be purchased either online ahead of time or at the gate. A day ticket purchased ahead of time in 2026 typically costs $43-$55 each, while a day ticket purchased at the gate can cost more, so purchasing online is going to be the better deal in most cases.

As of 2026, day tickets include Hurricane Harbor, something that had become a paid add-on in recent years.

Season passes can be purchased on the park’s website. As of 2026, there are two season pass options: the Enchanted Hero Pass for around $65 + taxes and fees, and the Enchanted Legend for around $91 + taxes and fees. Six Flags used to also sell a membership to St. Louis park-goers, but Enchanted Parks does not appear to have a membership. That may be all for the best, as Season Passes generally cost less than memberships did.

If you go to Six Flags St. Louis more than one time, Season Passes are typically the better deal than day passes + parking.

In addition, Season Passes offer the perk of access to other parks. If you bought 2026 Six Flags tickets before the Enchanted Parks acquisition, you may have access to all old Six Flags parks or all old Midwest Six Flags parks, depending on what and when you bought. If you bought Enchanted Parks season passes, they are good for all eight Enchanted Parks properties.

In going into the park, you will have to go through security, and certain items are not permitted, including weapons. Food is also not allowed in the park, although it is perfectly acceptable to keep a cooler in the car and come out and eat lunch under one of the trees in the grassy medians of the parking lot — we’ve done that many, many times over the years.

As of 2025, the park is also a no-smoking park.

Things to Do

As an amusement park, Six Flags offers a lot to do. You can ride various rides, eat, shop, and, on occasion, take in shows and entertainment.

Activities include:

• Roller coasters. Six Flags offers ten different roller coasters, eleven if you count Fireball. That’s more than Holiday World or Silver Dollar City. Batman is the best, in our view, while Mr. Freeze is an intense reverse launch coaster that is also a great ride. River King Mine Train and Pandemonium are competent lower-thrills coasters, while Rookie Racer is a surprisingly respectable entry-level ride. Among wooden coasters, American Thunder is the smoothest. Screamin’ Eagle offers great views and The Boss a terrific drop, but both also are rough rides, despite The Boss getting some recent retracking. The Ninja is also a fun coaster that we think is tighter and smoother as of 2025.

• Other land rides. If you want more thrills, you can find them in buckets. On the high end of intensity, Catwoman Whip and Joker: Carnival of Chaos are insane aerial rides that will either rock you or flip you high into the air. There’s also Sky Screamer, one of the higher swing spinners you’ll see. Midrange thrills include the Buccaneer (a rocking boat) Supergirl (which spins you upside down), and Shazam! (a scrambler-style ride). If you need something chill, Six Flags St. Louis maintains a legendary Ferris wheel in Colossus, and you can also ride a train for free throughout the park. We also like Battle for Metropolis, a screen shooter in DC Comics Plaza. Oh, and the carousel finally re-opened after refurbishment in late July of 2025.

• Soaker rides. Six Flags St. Louis currently operates two water rides in its dry park: Log Flume and Thunder River. Log Flume is a classic flume-style ride with a drop at the end and is one of the oldest rides in the park. Thunder River is your standard round boat soaker that will almost certainly leave you with squishy shoes.

• Other activities. The park has various other activities around, including paid experiences. Those including caricature drawings, ring tosses, and arcade games. You might occasionally score a photo op with one of the Warner Bros. cartoon characters.
• Bugs Bunny National Park. This kid-centered area has rides and a playground for little ones to explore. It’s all tame and colorful. Bear in mind that many rides here have height maximums, so don’t expect the adults to necessarily ride with the kids.
• Shows. In years past Six Flags St. Louis used to run shows from time to time. Those have largely disappeared in recent years, but in 2025 we did see a return of some shows to the park, including an illusionist in the Grand Palace and musical numbers in Miss Kitty’s Saloon.

• Hurricane Harbor. Separate from the dry park, Hurricane Harbor offers a handful of water rides and experiences. You can take in a traditional wave pool or lazy river, tube down a slide, race down a hill on a mat, or play on a water playground. Our favorite rides here are the multi-seat rides, including the funneled Tornado or swirling Typhoon Twister. I’m also a fan of Big Kahoona, a multi-person tube slide with some great twists and turns.

• Food. There are plenty of food destinations spread throughout the park, and with lots of variety — Americana, Tex-Mex, barbecue, even Asian. The funnel cakes and waffle ice cream cones, located on opposite sides of Main Street, are both incredible.

• Gift shops. There are gift shops and kiosks throughout the park. The biggest is Main Street Market, just inside the park entrance. The shops sell a generous assortment of Six Flags and Warner Bros. gear, including plenty of all things DC Comics.

• Festivals. Six Flags is known to do festivals, most famously its fall Fright Fest. The park used to do a winter Holiday in the Park, but as of 2025 that is no longer the case. We’re not sure yet what kinds of festivals Enchanted Parks will do for 2026 and beyond.

Our Thoughts

As I mentioned at the beginning, I’ve been going to Six Flags St. Louis my whole life, back when it was Six Flags Over Mid-America. I’ve also taken in other parks over the years, including Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana, Silver Dollar City in Branson, and the godfather of resorts, Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

I’m the first to acknowledge some of Six Flags St. Louis’s limitations. It doesn’t have the atmosphere of Holiday World or the shows and culture of Silver Dollar City. Some of its rides — including Screamin’ Eagle and The Boss — haven’t been as well maintained as I would like and are rougher than they ought to be. Hurricane Harbor, when we visited in 2025, was dealing with closures to the lazy river and, on occasion, other rides. Disney World this is not.

That said, the park still has a lot going for it. We’ve found the park to be tidy and safe. Some of the coasters, like Batman and Mr. Freeze, are terrific. There are calm rides for relaxing and some real thrillers, too. The food scene is respectable, including the desserts. Hurricane Harbor offers a nice changeup to the dry park. My family has found lots of ways to have fun here during our visits.

Moreover, we’ve found the park is incredibly value priced, especially if you go the season pass route, which includes free parking. I paid less for Six Flags St. Louis season passes than I paid for one day at Holiday World or Silver Dollar City. If you choose to pack food in a cooler — and we do — you can pull up lawn chairs or a blanket under a tree in the grassy parking lot medians and have a cheap lunch without paying for park food.

We’re also hopeful about the new Enchanted Park management and what they might bring to the park, but it’s too early to say what that means for park-goers just yet.

In short, Six Flags is one of the biggest attractions in St. Louis, offering a little bit of everything, especially for those who like to ride coasters or take in funnel cake. It’s worth a look if you want to get your theme park fix in St. Louis.