Silverwood Theme Park

"Silverwood" redirects here. For other uses, see Silverwood (disambiguation).
Silverwood Theme Park & Boulder Beach Water Park
Location Athol, Idaho, U.S.
Coordinates 47°54′31″N 116°42′18″W / 47.9085°N 116.705°W / 47.9085; -116.705Coordinates: 47°54′31″N 116°42′18″W / 47.9085°N 116.705°W / 47.9085; -116.705
Owner Gary Norton
Opened June 20, 1988
Operating season May through Nov 2 & 3rd
Rides
Total 66
Roller coasters 6 (Tremors, Timber Terror, Tiny Toot, Corkscrew, Aftershock, Krazy Koaster)
Website Silverwood Theme Park.com

Silverwood Theme Park is an amusement park located in northern Idaho, United States, near the town of Coeur d'Alene, approximately 47 miles from Spokane, Washington on U.S. Route 95. Owner Gary Norton opened the park in June 20, 1988. Originally, the park included a small assortment of carnival rides, a "main street" with shops and eateries, and an authentic steam train that traveled in a 30-minute loop around the owner's property. From 1973 to 1988, the land, along with a fully functioning airstrip, was operated as the Henley Aerodrome, named after the family whom Norton bought it from in 1981.[1]

Over the years, Silverwood has grown in both size and popularity, transforming from a small local amusement park to a regional theme park destination. In 2003, an adjacent waterpark named Boulder Beach Water Park was opened. Entrance to Boulder Beach is included with admission to Silverwood Theme Park. In 2009, Silverwood began an annual Halloween event called Scarywood, held during the month of October.

Cartoon characters Garfield and Odie are the official mascots of the park.

Today, Silverwood is the largest theme and water park in the American Northwest on 413-acre (1,670,000 m2) and boasting more than 65 rides, slides, shows and attractions.[2]

Timeline

Year Addition
1973 Henley Aerodrome founded by Clayton Henley.[3]
1981 Gary Norton buys Henley Aerodrome from the heirs of the Henley estate and lengthening and other improvements are done to the airstrip. Hangar is turned into an air museum. Old English type inn is built.[3]
1986 Norton outbids Disney and others for a narrow gauge locomotive for use at the Aerodrome.[4]
1988 Walter Deptula, with skills and background operating visitor attractions in Hawaii is hired by Gary Norton as first General Manager to assure the park's opening on schedule
Silverwood opens to the public with the 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge Silverwood Central Railway, Main Street shops (including a movie theater), and Country Carnival, which includes a small assortment of carnival rides. The opening is a huge success.
1990 Roaring Creek Log Flume (relocated from Kentucky Kingdom)
1991 Corkscrew (relocated from Knott's Berry Farm)
1993 Thunder Canyon
1996 Timber Terror (originally named Grizzly).
1999 Tremors
2003 Boulder Beach Water Park opens including Elkhorn Creek lazy river, Wave Pool, Rumble Falls tube slides, and Polliwog Park children's area
2004 Boulder Beach expansion including Velocity Peak speed slides
2005 Trabant and new Sky Diver
2006 Panic Plunge
2007 Boulder Beach expansion including second Wave Pool, Avalanche Mountain, and Toddler Springs children's area
2008 Aftershock (relocated from Six Flags Great America)
2009 Scarywood debut
2011 Boulder Beach expansion including Ricochet Rapids; theme park addition of Frog Hopper and Butterflyer
2013 SpinCycle and Barnstormer
2016 Boulder Beach expansion including only Riptide Racers

Scarywood Haunted Nights

In 2009, Silverwood opened Scarywood Haunted Nights, a nighttime fright fest filled with scare zones and mazes. In 2010, Scarywood returned on a larger, grander scale with more to do. The main attractions for Scarywood are the Terror Canyon Trail, a maze and walkthrough built in the Thunder Canyon ride flume; Blood Bayou, an indoor haunted attraction; the Zombiewood Express, the park's train ride transformed into a haunt and show in the woods where Nick Norton and Elvis hunt zombies; as well as the Timber Terror: Backwards.

Current Silverwood Theme Park rides

Roller coasters

First drop on the Tremors roller coaster.
Ride Opened Manufacturer Description
Aftershock 2008 Vekoma An inverted roller coaster, relocated from Six Flags Great America where it was known as Déjà Vu. Riders are arranged in a 'V' shaped seating configuration below the track where their legs dangle. The coaster is the third generation of Boomerang, known as the Giant Inverted Boomerang.
Corkscrew 1990 Arrow Dynamics Inc. A steel roller coaster, relocated from Knott's Berry Farm in 1990. When Corkscrew first opened at Knott's Berry Farm, it achieved two things of historical significance. Corkscrew was not only the first modern inverting coaster in the world, but it also was the first roller coaster to take riders upside down twice.
Krazy Koaster 2014 SBF/VISA Children's spinning coaster A children's spinning roller coaster with a figure-8 layout. The cars of the train spin freely based on weight distribution.
Timber Terror 1996 Custom Coasters International A wooden roller coaster with a classic out-and-back layout. The ride uses rolling stock from the Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters company. The train utilizes "buzz bars" which allow for a less restrictive ride and greater airtime. Formerly known as the Grizzly until a potential lawsuit from the former Paramount Parks prompted the name change. Since 2010, the train has been reversed for the park's Haunted Nights events every October.
Tiny Toot 1998 Zamperla A powered roller coaster themed to a mine train for young children and parents as well. Ride is driven by a rear wheel that runs along a central tread that runs along the middle of the track. Ride has an oval layout and runs over a small manmade creek.
Tremors 1999 Custom Coasters International A wooden roller coaster with a twister layout that uses the terrain to its advantage. It features four underground tunnels, the first of which goes under the ride's gift shop. The coaster uses rolling stock from the Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters company. In 2010, the ride was the first to receive "topper track," a new track system designed by Rocky Mountain Construction of Hayden, Idaho. The new system, similar to the companies new Iron Horse I-Box track system is designed to cut down on track maintenance, as well as daily wear and tear. Rocky Mountain Construction had previously assisted with the initial construction of the ride.

Other rides

Silverwood Central Railway
Legend
Main Street
Roundhouse
(not open to public)
Ride Description
Antique Cars Track based car ride
Barnstormer Zamperla Barnstormer
Big Eli Ferris Wheel Eli Bridge Co. Ferris Wheel
Bumper Boats Bumper Boats
Carousel Allen Herschell Carousel
Flying Elephants Children's elephant ride
Kiddie Wheel Children's Ferris wheel
Kiddie Copters Children's helicopter ride
Krazy Kars Bumper Cars
Panic Plunge A.R.M. / Larson International Drop Tower
Paratrooper Paratrooper ride
Puppy-Go-Round SBF/VISA Dog's Ride
Red Baron Children's airplane ride
Roaring Creek Log Flume Arrow Dynamics Log Ride (Relocated from Kentucky Kingdom)
Scrambler Eli Bridge Co. Scrambler
Sky Diver Chance Rides Sky Diver
Silverwood Central Railway 30 minute, 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge, steam engine-pulled train ride around park property
SpinCycle SBF/VISA Group Maxi Dance Party 360
Super Round Up Roundup ride
Thunder Canyon White water raft ride
Tilt-a-Whirl Classic tilt-a-whirl ride

Current Boulder Beach Water Park slides & attractions

Ride Description
Avalanche Mountain 6-Person Raft Slide
Boulder Beach Bay Set of 2 side-by-side wave pools
Elkhorn Creek Lazy River
Polliwog Park Water play complex featuring hoses, slides, shallow water pools, rope bridges, and a giant water bucket above
Ricochet Rapids 4-Person enclosed raft slide
Rumble Falls 4-tube slide complex, featuring four slides, each with their own unique layout, with two enclosed, one fully open, and the fourth half-enclosed, half-open
Toddler Springs Toddler play complex
Velocity Peak 3-speed slide complex, featuring three speed slides side-by-side, each with their own unique layout, with one enclosed spiraling slide, one open slide, and one half-enclosed, half-open slide with recorded speeds of up to 55 mph
Riptide Racer A 6 person racing waterslide. 55.8 feet tall with 405.9 feet of slide.

Defunct rides and attractions

Ride/Attraction Description
Air Shows Ended abruptly in 1996 after an airplane accident and subsequent death of stunt pilot Bob Heale at Fairchild Air Force Base.
Coaster Molina & Son's kiddie coaster (Replaced by Tiny Toot)
Ice Arena Now used as a maintenance area as well as a permanent haunted maze known as Blood Bayou for the park's Haunted Nights' events every October.
Monster Eyerly Monster (Replaced by Trabant)
Sky Diver Chance Rides Sky Diver (Replaced by current Sky Diver)
Bengal Tigers Removed after 1996 airplane accident and subsequent death of owner Bob Heale.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ulZOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QPkDAAAAIBAJ&dq=henley%20aerodrome&pg=5799%2C1569585/
  2. ↑ Commissioners approve Silverwood rezoning
  3. 1 2 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ulZOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QPkDAAAAIBAJ&dq=henley%20aerodrome&pg=5799%2C1569585
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sawpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=w-8DAAAAIBAJ&dq=silverwood%20tigers&pg=6985%2C5504773
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