Silverwood Theme Park sits on roughly 400 acres of pine forest near Athol, Idaho, about 47 miles north of Spokane, Washington, making it the largest theme park in the Pacific Northwest. Founded by Gary Norton and opened in June 1988 on the site of a former grass-runway airstrip called Henley Aerodrome, the park grew from a modest collection of rides into a regional destination with more than 70 attractions, its own Boulder Beach Water Park, and the popular Scarywood Halloween event. In March 2026, Herschend Family Entertainment, the company behind Dollywood and Silver Dollar City, completed its acquisition of the park from the Norton family, who had operated it since its founding.
The park’s ride lineup centers on seven roller coasters, from the vintage Arrow Development Corkscrew to Rocky Mountain Construction’s single-rail Stunt Pilot. Its most talked-about attraction is Tremors, a Custom Coasters International wooden coaster from 1999 that underwent a ‘seismic upgrade’ in 2025, when RMC replaced its remaining wooden track with steel 208 ReTraK, turning it into a steel-hybrid ride. Paired with Vekoma’s inverted boomerang Aftershock, Silverwood offers a coaster collection that spans three decades of ride engineering on a single mountainside property.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Athol, Idaho (near Coeur d’Alene, ~47 miles north of Spokane, WA)
- Operator: Herschend Family Entertainment (since March 2026; founded and previously run by the Norton family)
- Opened: June 1988
- Size: About 400 acres
- Annual visitors: Roughly 800,000
- Signature attraction: Tremors (steel-hybrid coaster, converted from wood by RMC in 2025)
The Ride Experience
Silverwood’s coaster lineup includes Tremors, a Custom Coasters International ride that opened in 1999 and now runs on RMC’s steel 208 ReTraK track after a 2025 conversion, reaching 85 feet with a 99-foot drop and speeds around 50 mph. Aftershock, a Vekoma inverted boomerang coaster relocated from Six Flags Great America (where it ran as Déjà Vu), stands 177 feet tall, hits about 61.5 mph, and sends riders through the same track backward and forward with three inversions. Other rides include the Arrow Development Corkscrew, built in 1975 at Knott’s Berry Farm and relocated to Silverwood, where it opened on June 22, 1990, the wooden Timber Terror out-and-back from 1996, and Stunt Pilot, a Rocky Mountain Construction raptor-style single-rail coaster added in 2021.
Beyond coasters, the park runs the Silverwood Central Railway narrow-gauge steam train, the Panic Plunge drop tower, and Thunder Canyon whitewater raft ride. The adjacent Boulder Beach Water Park adds wave pools, a lazy river, and water slides, giving guests a combined ticket option for a full day of both dry and wet attractions.
From Grass Airstrip to Regional Icon
The property began as Henley Aerodrome, a small private airstrip, before Gary Norton transformed it into a theme park that opened in 1988. Over the following decades, Silverwood expanded steadily, adding relocated rides from parks like Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags Great America, building out Boulder Beach Water Park in 2003, and launching the Scarywood Halloween event in 2009 to extend its operating season.
In November 2025, Herschend Family Entertainment announced an exclusive agreement to acquire the park, and the deal closed in March 2026. Herschend has said Silverwood will keep its existing identity, team, and traditions, including Scarywood and its Coaster Classic event, as it enters a new chapter under a larger operator.
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Silverwood Theme Park FAQs
Who owns Silverwood Theme Park now?
Herschend Family Entertainment, which also operates Dollywood and Silver Dollar City, completed its acquisition of Silverwood from the Norton family in March 2026.
What is Silverwood’s most famous roller coaster?
Tremors is the park’s signature coaster. Built by Custom Coasters International in 1999, it was converted from wood to Rocky Mountain Construction’s steel 208 ReTraK track in 2025, making it a steel-hybrid ride.
How old is Silverwood’s Corkscrew coaster?
The Corkscrew was originally built by Arrow Development in 1975 for Knott’s Berry Farm in California. Knott’s retired it in 1989, and Silverwood bought it and reopened it on-site on June 22, 1990.
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Photo: Matthew Nelson from Hayden, United States / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.