I decided not to call Silverwood a hidden gem in this post because, well, it isn’t exactly hidden. It’s quite a popular park, and has appeared in multiple features about theme parks and intense roller coasters.
But when you compare it to a park like Disneyland or Six Flags, it’s nowhere near as well known.
For me, though, Silverwood has been a constant source of fun! I’ve lived less than 40 minutes from the park for most of my life, and have visited the place countless times. Accompanied by bluegrass music and a wild west type aesthetic, Silverwood will give you a great experience no matter your age!
(And I really mean that last part. We brought my grandma there for Mother’s Day and, even though we didn’t go on many rides, she loved to admire the landscaping!)
Well, this past weekend, I went again and finally rode the last few rides that I had always been too scared to do in the past— finally bringing my adventurous spirit full circle!
But what is the park like, and how can you get the most out of your time there? Well, I can certainly answer that!
There are three main aspects to the park, one of which is seasonal. There’s the main park, Silverwood; the water park, Boulder Beach; and their seasonal event, Scarywood. I’ll go over each of them in as much detail as I can.
Silverwood
Silverwood is a moderately sized theme park in North Idaho, with everything from magic shows and carnival games to intense rollercoasters and relaxing rides! You could easily spend more than one day there if you wanted to, as there is a lot to see!
To account for this, Silverwood has a campground across the highway where you can stay if you plan to spend multiple days there. They offer discounted park admission if you make a camping reservation!
Pricing
The pricing of Silverwood tickets varies heavily depending on when and how you buy, who you’re buying for, and how many times you want to visit. The passes get you into both Silverwood and Boulder Beach.
For the full range of prices, check the pricing on their website. However, I’ll give you some extra advice here:
- Buying online gives you a $10 discount from buying at the gate.
- If you buy tickets earlier in the season (from May 23- June 5), they’re almost half the price, but Boulder Beach isn’t open.
- This means that you’re essentially paying only for entry to Silverwood.
- If you’re camping or otherwise staying nearby and want to ensure that you’ll have time for everything, you can buy a 2- or 3-day pass. This is slightly cheaper than paying for each day separately.
- If you plan to visit frequently, or even for just 4 days, the season pass is more than worth it, as it allows unlimited park access for one person for the whole season!
- My family did this one year and visited almost every other week. That was an awesome summer!
- There’s also a gold season pass which can get 3 people in at once, and is slightly cheaper than buying three standard passes.
- Tickets for seniors (65+) and youths (3-7) are heavily discounted.
As one final piece of advice, I would recommend watching out for days where they offer special free admission. For example, on Mother’s Day, moms get in free!
When to Visit
Silverwood typically opens for the season in the middle of May, and only on weekends for the first month or so.
Those first few weeks tend to be some of the best times to visit, as they’re nowhere near as busy as the middle of the summer!
That said, if you plan to visit the water park, Boulder Beach, then you’ll have to come in the summer. (More on Boulder Beach below.)
The lines can get fairly long, but I’d imagine it’s nothing compared to something like Disneyworld or Knott’s Berry Farm. The most I can remember ever having to wait for a ride is maybe an hour or two, and that was on the busiest days.
September is the last month the park is open for the season, so you’ll have until right after the end of summer to make it out there.
What to Do
There’s a lot to do here, even if you just stick to Silverwood. From the moment you enter the park, you’ll see shops, restaurants, a carousel, and even a magic show. There’s also a steam train that departs every hour and goes around the whole property. (It’s a lot bigger than you think!)
Rollercoasters
Here’s my favorite part of the whole place! The rollercoasters!
Silverwood has five of them: Aftershock, Timber Terror, Tremors, Corkscrew, and Stunt Pilot.
I like them all, and actually just went on Aftershock for the first time this past weekend. It features two massive drop towers with a loop to connect them together. The ride juggles you up and down these towers at lightning-fast speeds before finally pulling you to a stop at the end, where you’ll be flustered and out of breath. The wait tends to be long, but they load a lot of people on at once and it’s a lot of fun! It’s been featured on a few rollercoaster shows!
Timber Terror is a longtime favorite of mine, but I found myself having more fun with Tremors this time. Both of them are wooden rides. Tremors, though, pulls you into several underground tunnels along the track and takes your picture near the end. Tremors also has two carts, meaning that the line moves pretty fast.
Corkscrew used to be at Knott’s Berry Farm, but moved to Silverwood long before I even knew about either of them. It’s really windy and spins a lot, so probably best avoided if you get motion sick easily, but it’s a fun coaster, and I always make sure to go on it!
Stunt Pilot is their newest coaster, and also uses two carts to ensure that the lines move incredibly quickly. It’s really smooth, moves incredibly fast, and has tons of twists and spins and turns. The cart is single file, and never stops moving while you’re getting on, so be ready to hustle!
Rides
Of course, no amusement park only has rollercoasters. There are tons of other options out there.
There’s a whole section of the park devoted to rides for younger kids who aren’t tall enough to ride the bigger rides. Many of them are just less intense versions of the main attractions.
There’s also a lot of spinning rides that I really enjoy, like Scrambler, Tilt-a-Whirl, and Super Roundup! Each one has its own spin on the concept, and they’re all fun in their own ways!
I recently tried Spin Cycle for the first time. The best way I can describe it is that it’s like a sideways Ferris wheel attached to a giant, swinging pendulum that will eventually go in a full circle.
There are way too many rides for me to describe here, including a Ferris wheel and a couple wet rides. Just know that you won’t lack for options!
Games
On the way into the main park, you’ll pass by a lot of carnival games and an arcade.
I haven’t played many of the carnival games, and if I did it was so long ago that I barely remember. But last weekend I did spend some time in the arcade.
It’s not a very big arcade, but they have quite a few games in the space. There’s a whole wall of pinball machines, skee-ball, a Big Bass Wheel, and tons of others. It’s worth noting that the pinball machines and a few other ‘classic’ arcade games don’t actually award tickets. If you’re not sure, just ask!
The games require quarters to play, and still reward physical tickets. There’s also an ATM by the door in case you need it. I’d highly recommend checking it out even just to play a game or two.
Food and Shops
Silverwood has no shortage of food options, and they’re pretty well distributed throughout the park.
Dippin’ Dots, a staple of amusement parks, has tons of stands all over the place. There’s also places to get kettle corn, soft serve ice cream, and a lot of other easy snacks. Plus, you can get Mexican food, burgers, hot dogs, and so much more!
Lindy’s is a little bit more of a sit-in dining experience that serves Italian food, and there’s an all-you-can-eat barbecue pavilion, too. I’ve never been to either of these, though, so I can’t fully speak to the experience.
Near the arcade and carnival games, you can also get some really high quality ice cream with a lot of options. They also serve huckleberry shakes!
If you’re looking for some shopping, there are plenty of places to buy merchandise. There’s a toy store and a candy store near the carnival games, and several gift shops at the end of rollercoasters like Tremors and Stunt Pilot!
Shows
If you want to have your food with a bit of a show, the Theater of Illusion serves pizza and other food alongside a magic show. I went many many years ago, and I think the magician is different now. But as a kid, I thought it was really cool!
While this isn’t fully a show, the train ride departs from its station near the park entrance every hour on the hour! They often have a cowboy themed show for kids in the middle of the ride (though I’ve recently heard that it isn’t happening anymore). An announcer on the train will explain everything you’re seeing on the way around the park’s expansive property, much of which is essentially a nature preserve!
Boulder Beach
It’s been a while since I visited Boulder Beach. It’s a fun waterpark, but I just don’t find myself visiting waterparks all that often anymore. That said, it’s definitely a worthwhile visit, and I loved it as a kid!
When to Visit
Boulder Beach is open for most of the Silverwood season, and like I said above, the price of admission is included with your main park ticket!
I’m less sure of the best time to visit for it to be less busy, but my best guess would be the later end of the summer and into September.
What to Do
Like I said, I haven’t visited the waterpark in a while, so there are some new attractions I haven’t seen.
There are a ton of waterslides. They have tall towers for the faster, narrower waterslides and a big hill with the crazier, windier ones. The wait for them can be kinda long, especially since they use a combined line for a little while, but they’re definitely worth it!
They also have a splash pad and a giant, wooden play structure full of water activities called Pollywog Park!
Of course, no waterpark would be complete without big wave pools and a lazy river, and Boulder Beach has both!
For the full list, check the Boulder Beach website.
Scarywood
In the fall, the park gets a lot scarier. I said that Silverwood closes at the end of September, but that’s because the spirits of Halloween come out to play.
Halloween is, without a doubt, my favorite holiday. I love the vibes of October, and an excuse to dress up in costume and celebrate the scary side of things is just icing on the cake.
I worked as a scare actor at Scarywood last fall, and that is, unfortunately, my only experience with Scarywood so far. I’ve never been there as a guest because I was too much of a scaredy cat to go as a kid. Still, going as a scare actor has given me a lot of insight into the experience.
When to Visit
Scarywood is open for 5 weekends, from the beginning of October to the beginning of November.
It’s only open after dark, which is usually from about 7PM to 11PM or midnight, depending on the day.
Rides
Some of the main Silverwood rides are still open, including a couple of the rollercoasters. That’s mainly because the Haunts are the main attractions during this time. But, they do keep Stunt Pilot and Corkscrew running.
They run Timber Terror as well, but with that one, they flip the whole cart around and run the coaster backwards. It’s awesome to ride it like that, especially when I’ve already been on it so many times!
Haunts and Scare Zones
Now for the bread and butter of Scarywood. You can’t go anywhere without encountering some kind of ghoul or goblin lunging out at you or screaming. That’s not everyone’s cup of tea, obviously, but last year they started selling fright lights to let the scare actors know you don’t want to be scared. (If I remember correctly, they were $5.)
They have ten scare zones, each with a different theme, that run along all of the pathways in the park. I was a scare actor in one of these, called Trick or Treat, that featured vintage style costumes with a creepy factor added on. In other areas, you’ll find cursed toys, zombies, Day of the Dead performers, clowns, and more!
On the left, you can see me dressed as my character, Crybaby. I was right by the rollercoasters, and cried about my missing candy and yelled at passersby for taking it!
The Haunts, or the haunted houses, are the other primary attractions. They have 5: Swine, Planet Zombie, Chuckles 3D Slideshow, Blood Bayou, and Pharaoh’s Curse. The lines can get long, and you’ll often follow right behind other groups as you make your way through.
Food and Shops
I’ve never been to Scarywood as a guest, but I know they offer special, seasonal treats and meals. I’d imagine the shops have unique merchandise on offer as well.
If you’re looking for a show, I know they added a special dinner and a show to the Theater of Illusion last year, so they might keep that going again!
My Experience and Advice
Like I said, I’ve been to Silverwood countless times, and I always have fun, even all these years later!
I have so many fond memories of visiting this park with friends, going on every single ride we could, and even trying different ends of the rollercoasters to see which one was the best!
I’ve gone camping at their campground, visited tons of times in a single summer with a season pass, and probably spent weeks of my life there overall! It has so much character, it always seems incredibly clean, and the best part: they do daily safety checks on all their rides, so you can ride easy knowing that you’re in good hands!
The only thing that’s changed about the experience since I was a kid is the new rides and the fact that I’m older now. I’ve seen nothing but improvements as time goes on! You can’t go wrong with Silverwood!
Here’s a few quick tips, from someone who’s visited a lot:
- They rent mobility scooters if you need one. And as a bonus, you can often enter rides from the exit ramp, meaning you get to skip the lines!
- I would start with coaster alley when you arrive and work your way back. I did this last weekend and the lines all ended up being pretty short.
- We spent the middle of the day getting food, riding rides closer to the entrance, and playing at the arcade. By the time we went back, the coaster lines were short again!
- You will get wet on the water rides. Maybe ride some roller coasters afterwards to dry off!
- If you’re there in the summer, it’ll get pretty hot in the middle of the day. Plan your time between Boulder Beach and the main park accordingly!
- Most importantly, have fun! That’s the whole point, after all!
Conclusion
Silverwood is awesome. Like any similar place, it’ll have some small issues, and there are a few little things on the employee end, but it’s a great park, and I certainly plan to visit again as soon as possible. (I’ll be in Romania for most of the summer, though!)
This was a bit of a deviation from my normal posts about the outdoors, language, and visiting other countries. However, I like to write about my local area as much as I can to show just how much stuff could be hiding right under your nose! My grandma hadn’t been to Silverwood before this past Mother’s Day, and she’s lived here for most of her life!
I hope this was an enjoyable, informative read. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to let me know below!
As always, thanks for reading, and I hope to see you again!
