A hybrid roller coaster is a type of roller coaster where the track is made out of one material, either steel or wood, and the support structure is made from another. Early hybrid coasters include mine train roller coasters from Arrow Development, which feature steel track with a wooden support structure. Becoming increasingly more common are hybrids with wooden tracks and steel supports, such as The Voyage at Holiday World & Splashin' Safari.
Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) is well-known for their I-Box track design, commonly used to retrofit existing wooden coasters with a new steel track. Such designs provide several benefits, offering smoother rides and reducing maintenance costs. Hybrid coasters can also add inversions, as seen in Mean Streak's conversion into Steel Vengeance at Cedar Point in 2018. Newer steel-tracked hybrids also tend to be taller, faster, and feature steeper drops than their wooden counterparts.
Two main components of roller coaster design are their track and support structure. In most cases, both are made of the same material, either wood or steel. Occasionally, they are designed to feature a steel track with a wooden structure, or vice versa, which classifies a ride as a hybrid coaster. Hybrid coasters have existed for a long time, with one of the oldest being the Coney Island Cyclone at Luna Park, which opened in 1927. Its track is made from wood, while its support structure is made of steel. Arrow Development built a vast amount of mine train roller coasters beginning in the 1960s, featuring tubular steel track and wooden supports. One of their last such installations is Adventure Express at Kings Island, which opened in 1991.
The term "hybrid roller coaster" was introduced when New Texas Giant opened in 2011 and Six Flags classified the roller coaster as wood, despite having steel tracks. In response to the confusion over this ride classification, Six Flags reclassified the roller coaster as a "hybrid", which has since been used to refer to many other coasters that incorporate both steel and wood. Hybrid coasters are still typically classified as steel or wood based on what their track material is made from.
RMC and The Gravity Group are at the forefront of modern hybrid coaster construction. RMC is most well-known for refurbishing old wooden roller coasters by converting them into hybrids with steel track, beginning with New Texas Giant at Six Flags Over Texas in 2011. One of their most popular conversions is Steel Vengeance at Cedar Point, which has been consistently ranked as one of the best steel coasters in Amusement Today<nowiki/>'s Golden Ticket Awards. The Gravity Group designs coasters with wooden track and steel support structures, such as Mine Blower at Fun Spot America Kissimmee and Kentucky Flyer at Kentucky Kingdom.