One of the most iconic rides at Lake Winnie is the Boat Chute. The ride was originally designed and constructed by park founder Carl O. Dixon during the winter of 1926–1927. The Boat Chute is what is known as a “mill chute” ride and was a precursor to the log flume (the first log flume was El Aserradero at Six Flags Over Texas which opened in 1963). A mill chute ride combines a dark and winding tunnel section with a final water drop and splashdown. It was a classic amusement park water ride, but the one at Lake Winnie is the last one remaining. Some just succumbed to weather damage and time while others were phased out in favor of more modern dark rides or log flumes, both with much greater capacity. The Boat Chute was actually the very first attraction at Lake Winnie and remains a guest favorite still today.

The ride experience will probably be quite surprising to younger riders not knowing what to expect. The boats you load are quite long and solid, like a real boat as opposed to a fiberglass log boat. You then enter a long dark tunnel, but we’re not talking about 15-30 seconds of darkness, we’re talking about 4 minutes of near complete darkness. Even during a sunny Georgia summer day you’ll maybe see a few pinholes of light coming through. There are no animatronics, scenery, music or lights, just the sounds of the boat moving through the tunnel. My former boss, who was 80 years old, said the Boat Chute was the ride to take a date on back in the day giving it a “tunnel of love” nickname. You eventually emerge from the tunnel, make a small climb up a hill and splash into the lake below. Nothing soaking at all, just a pleasant splash, before making your way back to the station.

There are a lot of rumors about the Boat Chute. One is that there are snakes in the tunnel that even bit someone once. I’ve spoken to management who asked the owner (this is a 100 year old family owned park) who said this is completely false. They said snakes have never been found in the tunnel ever, which makes sense as it’s not a habitat that would be conducive to them. The park is in a natural area, so a snake may occasionally be in an outlying area of the park, but not on the ride. This is likely something made up by kids long ago to scare other kids that became folklore. The one thing that does live in that lake are some giant fish persisting on a diet of popcorn and other park food.

It’s hard to find stats and information on this ride. There is no “manufacturer” as the ride was designed by Carl O. Dixon, the park’s founder. The height of the wooden lift hill and drop is said to be somewhere between 30 and 40 feet. The whole ride will take you about 6 minutes and they will cycle typically only 4 boats. Typically the boats will stack in the station, meaning a boat might dispatch every 12 minutes. With each boat carrying a max of six people you’re looking at an hourly capacity of 120 riders/hour, maybe slightly more with extra boats or faster dispatches. This capacity is OK for a place like Lake Winnie, but the Boat Chute will often have the longest line in the park. However, you can see how that capacity wouldn’t work for larger parks where rides like It’s a Small World at Disney’s Magic Kingdom have a capacity of 3,000 riders/hour.

The Boat Chute is like a Time Machine back to another era of theme parks and amusement parks. The boats have no restraints, the sign is a work of art and the pace is slow. This is the type of ride your grandparents or great grandparents would have ridden. You can tell Lake Winnie treasures this ride, but there’s no guarantee it will be around forever. If you get the chance to get to Lake Winnie to ride the Boat Chute you should, it’s the last of its kind. You can also ride some of the park’s other classics like the ACE Landmark wooden roller coaster Cannon Ball. It’s an easy add to a trip to Georgia to visit Six Flags Over Georgia, a couple hours away from Dollywood and just off I-75 if you’re driving to Orlando. Lake Winnie is offering a season pass for the remainder of 2026 and all of 2027 with guest passes for just $89, so it’s a great time to visit. Next year the Boat Chute will celebrate its 100th birthday, something almost no ride can say, and this ride is a true piece of history.