El Dorado Frontier

Open on weekends only, this tiny theme park in Long Beach’s El Dorado Park squeezes together a railroad, carousel, buggy ride and gold panning. The nearly 15-minute train ride loops around the leafy corner of the park and includes a short trip through a strobing mine shaft. The pricing model here is somewhere between a theme park and dedicated railway: You’ll need to pay a $5 admission fee into the park (kids 13 and under are free, though), plus use three ride tickets per person for the train (available starting at $25 for 10 tickets). So figure for a two adults and a young kid, you’re looking at $35 plus parking, which puts this on the expensive end of the spectrum for a train ride.