In West Berlin, New Jersey, there’s a theme park where the main attraction isn’t a roller coaster. It’s an excavator. At Diggerland USA, you climb into real, diesel-powered construction machinery, grab the controls, and dig an actual hole in the dirt — and it’s the only place in North America where you can do that.
If you grew up watching construction sites from behind a chain-link fence wishing you could just hop in one of those machines, this park was built for you.
What Exactly Is Diggerland USA?
Diggerland USA is the only construction themed adventure park in North America where children and families can drive, ride and operate actual machinery. The park covers about 21 acres in West Berlin, NJ, about 20 minutes from Philadelphia, and is made up of over 25 attractions, the majority of which are real, diesel powered, full size pieces of construction equipment.
This isn’t a theme park dressed up with a construction mascot. The majority of the attractions are comprised of modified JCB heavy construction equipment pieces. Engineers didn’t build fake-looking diggers for the park — they took real ones and reworked the controls so the public could safely operate them.
How Did a Construction Theme Park End Up in South Jersey?
The idea didn’t start in New Jersey at all. Diggerland’s Adventure Parks were the brainchild of Hugh Edeleanu, Chairman of H. E. Services, the largest supplier of digging construction machinery for hire in Europe, who hit on the idea following a family open day in 1996, when children were fascinated by just sitting in the cabs of diggers — it made their day, and Hugh saw an exciting venture in the concept. That led to the first UK park, located in Strood in Kent, which opened in 2000, followed by three more British locations over the next several years.
The American version came from an unrelated family with its own construction pedigree. The Girlya family, owners of Sambe Construction, emigrated to the U.S. from the Soviet Union in the late 1970s, and father Samuel Girlya along with wife Betya and sons Ilya and Yan had already built schools, municipal buildings, and even their own indoor water park, Sahara Sam’s, in West Berlin, New Jersey. Inspired by the four parks of the same name in the UK, Diggerland USA held its grand opening on June 14. Diggerland USA officially opened to the public on June 14, 2014.
In June 2014, the UK team wanted in on the Diggerland brand too, and so Diggerland USA was born as another milestone for the brand. One of the founders summed up the whole idea pretty well: “America gave the world Disney, and we have given the world Diggerland!”
What Rides Can You Actually Go On?
This is where Diggerland separates itself from literally every other amusement park in the state. Each machine has undergone advanced engineering modifications which make them safe for the public, allowing children as small as 36 inches to operate with little to no instruction.
Mini Dig and the Kid-Sized Machines
One of the park’s signature attractions is a set of scaled-down excavators. The Mini Dig: Ducks, Shapes, and Bowlers ride uses mini excavators for three different challenges — knocking down bowling pins, placing shapes in the correct holes, and picking up ducks. Elsewhere in the park, rides let a child drive actual construction equipment at a very slow pace; smaller kids, who must be at least 36 inches tall, sit on a parent’s lap, and detailed instructions are given at the start of each ride.
Full-Size Equipment and Beyond
For the grown-ups who want more than a mini-excavator, there’s a section with full-scale machinery. While most of the park’s equipment is small and super-safe for kids, a Diggerland XL section has full-size equipment for adults. Beyond the diggers themselves, the park’s attractions include extreme bowling with a mini-excavator, a merry-go-round unlike any other, the Spin Dizzy, the Sky Shuttle, one of the tallest ropes courses in the world, a rock wall, an arcade, a children’s play zone, the world’s fastest backhoe, a stunt show, and even goats.
None of these machines run on a fixed track the way a normal amusement ride does. Some of the rides are actual machinery that can be driven without a track or used to dig in the dirt. That’s the whole appeal — you’re not watching a themed version of construction work, you’re doing it.
Is There a Water Park Too?
Yes, and it’s a newer addition. The Water Main is a 2-acre water park with a vast wave pool and a variety of construction-themed splash pads, water slides, and aqua balls; the wave pool, called Claw Hammer Cove, mimics a real ocean with zero entry and 4-foot waves. Guests can also take on the Rip Rap Run obstacle course or try the Carpool Lane, a unique crossing course using floating themed pads and overhead handholds. The Water Main opened in 2020 and is included in standard park admission.
What’s New at Diggerland, and When Should You Go?
The park keeps adding things well past its original opening day lineup. Diggerland now hosts a fall festival called Diggerfest with live music, rides, and games, has introduced newer attractions like the Lumberjack Claw and Hook & Ladder, and offers birthday party packages, group and team-building options, with over 40 attractions total.
Fall and winter bring their own reasons to visit beyond the machinery. Visiting in the fall brings seasonal favorites like fire truck rides, hayrides, shows, and games, and during the holidays the park hosts one of South Jersey’s largest drive-thru holiday light shows — a 1.5-mile course with millions of lights, tunnels, animated displays, and decked-out machines.
Practical Details for Planning a Visit
Diggerland sits at 100 Pinedge Drive in West Berlin, NJ, and is located about 21 miles southeast of Philadelphia and roughly 45 miles from Ocean City, New Jersey — close enough to fold into a weekend trip to the shore or the city. If you’re coming from the water parks or outlets nearby, you’re already in the neighborhood.
Tickets work a little differently than at a standard amusement park. Tickets can be purchased on their website, with any-day tickets, dated tickets, and season passes available, and purchasing a ticket includes access to the construction-themed rides as well as The Water Main when it’s open in summer. Keep in mind pricing and hours shift by season, so it’s worth checking the official site before you drive out.
So, Is Diggerland USA Worth the Trip?
If your kid has ever had a meltdown over not being allowed near a construction site, or if you’ve ever eyed a parked excavator and wondered what it would feel like to actually move that bucket yourself, the answer is yes. There’s nothing quite like it anywhere else in the country — a theme park built entirely around the machines that usually just drive past you on the highway. For a state packed with oddball museums and roadside curiosities, Diggerland might be the only one where you leave with dirt under your fingernails on purpose.
NOTE TO THE ADVENTURER: This guide is meant to spark curiosity for what lies beyond the horizon — not to serve as a guarantee. Roads fall into disrepair, buildings are torn down and rebuilt, and properties change hands; 'tis your responsibility to do your own research before setting out. Always heed local and regional law, and always respect ground that isn't your own. Take every entry here as a suggestion, not a decree. This guide's contents were gathered with the aid of artificial intelligence, and like any scout, it will from time to time lead you astray. You assume all risk in following its counsel, and neither this blog nor its author is liable for any loss, injury, or misfortune that results.
