The Big Thrill: 7 Roller Coasters in New Jersey

This Tuesday, August 16, 2011, is National Roller Coaster Day. And what better way to celebrate than by visiting New Jersey's great amusement parks and taking a ride on some of the biggest and most thrilling roller coasters in the world.

Here are seven roller coasters your family of thrill-seekers won't want to miss:

Six Flags Great Adventure (Jackson, NJ) comes as no surprise that this massive amusement park has three of the biggest thrill rides:

• Kingda Ka (shown): at 45 stories high and 128 mph in speed, this is the fastest coaster in North America and the tallest coaster in the world.
• El Toro: this classic coaster has the steepest drop of any wooden roller coaster in the entire United States.
• Nitro: for extreme thrill-seekers, this explosive steel coaster soars nearly 23 stories in the air, and then dives nearly 22 stories down, at speeds approaching 80 mph.

Morey's Piers (Wildwood, NJ) with three piers, this is one of the most ride-filled seaside amusement parks you'll find anywhere.

• AtmosFear! (shown): this ride not only features a gigantic vertical drop, but music, fog, and lights for an all-around incredible coaster experience. 
• Zoom Phloom: fans of this ride deem it the greatest log flume coaster in the state, due to the thrill-factor as well as the unparalleled views of the pier, boardwalk, and beach.

Clementon Park (Clementon, NJ) has a handful of extreme thrill rides, all against the backdrop of Lake Clementon.

• Ring of Fire (shown): this ride-in-a-round is a towering 60-foot loop thriller that zips up and over, backwards and forwards, and comes to a complete standstill, upside down—and six stories up.
• HellCat: the name alone should scare you, but if it doesn't, the 110-foot plummet and the zero-gravity thrills will remind you this ride is for extreme riders only.