Silverwood History

Today's Silverwood Theme Park all started when Gary Norton, founder of Spokane's ISC Systems Corporation, purchased a small private airport called the Henley Aerodrome in 1981. An avid pilot with a passion for vintage aircraft, he sought his own airstrip and a place to store his growing collection of classic planes.

In 1986, after successfully outbidding Disney and others for an original 1915 steam engine train, Norton began thinking of his property as more than his own personal playground. He imagined a transportation-inspired museum and theme park where people could see and appreciate all kinds of rare planes, trains, and automobiles.

As the park was being built, Norton changed the name to Silverwood in order to broaden the park's appeal and pay homage to the region's mining history.

After 18 straight months of back breaking work, Silverwood opened on June, 20th 1988. Over 120,000 guests enjoyed the park's unique Victorian-themed shops and restaurants, movie theatre, and train rides that first season.

Realizing that he needed to continually expand the park in order to keep attendance thriving, Norton added the Country Carnival in 1990. Over a dozen new attractions were added, including the Thunder Canyon raft ride, Log Flume, Bumper Boats, and the historic Corkscrew roller coaster. Attendance jumped as the park now had a stronger appeal to families with children.

The park saw additional major expansions in 1996 and 1999 as the Timber Terror and Tremors wooden roller coasters were added. Coaster enthusiasts all over the Northwest now had no choice but to make an annual trip to Silverwood.

In 2003, the Boulder Beach Water Park opened, complete with a giant wave pool, water slides, a lazy river, and a massive kid's area known as Polliwog Park. Silverwood became the place to be on a hot Northwest summer day. A high-speed slide complex known as Velocity Peak was added to the Water Park in 2004.

In 2006, a 140-foot-tall drop tower called Panic \ Plunge gave visitors a new reason to scream in Roller Coaster Alley.

In 2007, Silverwood celebrated its 20th anniversary season and expanded once again. Four brand new attractions nearly doubled the size of the Boulder Beach Water Park, including a family raft ride called Avalanche Mountain, a new kid's play area named Toddler's Springs, a second 22,000 gallon wave pool, and a special VIP area called Cabana Island.

This summer will see the unveiling of Aftershock, a metal coaster which will be the tallest and fastest ride in the park.