Adults and children alike love Enchanted Forest, a family-run amusement park in Turner, Oregon. The park includes attractions like a trippy light bridge, giant fairytale statues, and cool but creepy tunnels to venture through, to name a few. What makes Enchanted Forest so different from other parks, though, is its reputation as being a playground for high and drunk adults.
Image from Masako Metz / Flickr
According to thrillist.com, many local visitors could not imagine visiting the park completely sober, using shrooms, marijuana, alcohol, or whatever else to recreate the childlike curiosity of the place from their youth. The experience takes over your senses. From sight to sound to touch, there’s so much stimulation in the park it’s hard to be bored.
Image from Sandy Buchanan / Flickr
Entering the park is an overwhelming sight. The lights, creepy figures, and stark differences from competitors are everywhere, making it an unreal experience.
The sound of the park, “Music From Enchanted Forest,” plays on repeat throughout the park. The songs channel storybook elements in a fantasia-like manner to bring life to the roads of the Enchanted Forest.
Images from Jeremy Thompson / Flickr
The park’s owners reject its reputation as a playground for adults under the influence. It opened in 1971 as a play place for children living in nearby Salem, Oregon, by Roger Tofte. He intended it to be a place for kids, and there are strict no-tolerance rules for being under the influence to preserve the experience for children.
Image from Molly Sokolow Hayden / Flickr
While the park is currently closed due to the virus, the owners hope they can reopen in a safe and timely fashion, especially in time for their 50th anniversary in 2021. If you’re ever in Oregon, definitely give this place a visit. There’s no other place quite like it.
For more of the same, check out these trippy illustrations.
