When visiting any theme park, one of the most commonly considered questions is inevitably “What rides are we going to do?” Or perhaps more appropriately, “What rides do we not want to miss?” Unfortunately, the answer to these questions can be very subjective and dependent upon many factors. The size and age of your group, as well as what types of rides you can tolerate will all play into what you consider your ideal list of attractions to hit up. In this post, we provide you with a comprehensive guide through all of Silverwood’s top rides and attractions.
Our rating scale is simple – 0 to 10, 0 being the lowest and 10 being the highest. Since it’s tough (more like impossible) to rate a roller coaster against an entertainment offering or kiddie ride, please keep in mind our ratings are intended to be used to compare against attractions of a similar genre.
We hope you’ll find this helpful as you narrow down your agenda for a day at the park, and we look forward to hearing what your ratings are for Silverwood’s rides and attractions. Here we will be discussing only on the attractions at the “dry park”. If you’re heading instead to Boulder Beach, check out our comprehensive 2023 Boulder Beach Attractions Guide.
The park has a wide range of attractions, but as you’ll see below, it’s pretty heavily weighted to both extremes on the spectrum. There are lots of small kiddie rides, and lots of big thrill rides, but very few of what we’d call “family” rides that would cater to a wider age range. In recent years, they’ve made some good efforts to fill that gap, but we still feel there’s a bit of a ways to go.
Note that we have in-depth ride reviews for several of the below attractions. We’ve added a link in the title to these reviews, so check them out if you are interested in reading more. Now, let’s get to it!
Nick Norton’s Magic Show “Phantasm” – 10/10 – Conveniently placed just off the walkway to Country Carnival, this is the pinnacle of entertainment at Silverwood. Nick Norton has been the resident magician at Silverwood for decades, and his magic show truly is Vegas-caliber. Each year the show improves with new acts, theatrics, and music. Couple this with one of the better food-offerings in the park, and you’ve got a winner all-around. The pizza is surprisingly good and affordable. Note that Nick has an apprentice, Isaiah Daniels, who headlines the show on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Isaiah’s show is good in its own right, and we highly recommend seeing him as well. But if you want to see Nick perform in person, you’ll have to attend on Thursday through Monday. Trust us folks, you do NOT want to miss it! Words truly cannot do this show justice, so we’ll leave it at this: Nick won the Brass Ring award for best male performer at IAPPA in 2016. That’s competing against all other male performers at every other theme park in the WORLD. ‘Nuff said.
Tremors – 9.5/10 – Custom built CCI wooden twister coaster. Featuring a 100+ foot first drop, 60mph top speed, and four underground tunnels, it’s a must ride for any thrill seeker. It’s going on 20 years, and it’s definitely showing its age, like most other CCI coasters tend to do. Re-rideability is not what it used to be back when it first opened, and we were there that year! However, Silverwood has invested in keeping this ride up, by adding RMC topper track, as well as “Retrak 208” (I-Box track) in a few of the rides’ rougher sections. And the underground tunnels never get old.
Timber Terror – 9.5/10 – Custom out-and-back wooden coaster also from CCI. In comparison with Tremors, this ride is notable for its re-rideability, abundance of ejector air-time, and minimal roughness. Again, Silverwood has done a lot to keep this ride up to date, re-tracking most if not all of it within the past few years. This includes even some RMC Retrak in some sections. This is arguably the ‘flagship’ coaster of the park, as it runs right alongside highway 95, and was the first major coaster to be added to the park back in 1996.
Panic Plunge – 9/10 – 120 foot drop tower located in Coaster Alley. While it doesn’t look like much, the slow rise to the top and the unexpectedly sudden stop and freefall never cease to leave us out of breath. For some reason, this is one of the most intense drop towers we’ve ridden, even more so than taller models by the likes of S&S. The views from the top of the surrounding mountains are truly spectacular, even if they’re short lived.
Stunt Pilot – 10/10 – RMC single-rail “Raptor Track” coaster themed to stunt planes, featuring a 100 foot near-vertical drop, and several obstacles reminiscent of an air show. This coaster model is the same as Railblazer at California’s Great America, and a mirror image of Wonder Woman Golden Lasso at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. Put simply, this is the best coaster at the park. It’s fast, thrilling, insanely intense, and smooth as glass. It may not look like much, especially with such a small footprint. But we take multiple laps on this each time we visit. Plus, the two-train operation makes for short wait times and easy re-rideability.
Thunder Canyon – 8.5/10 – White water rafting ride, which serves as one of the few ‘family’ attractions at the park. With a height restriction of only 36″ (with an adult), even very young park-goers can board one of the rafts. The layout of the ride is well themed, and tucked away from the other attractions by heavy trees and bushes. Huge props on the design to let riders exit before the boring ride up the lift at the end. In past years this ride has suffered from long wait times due to ride ops not filling the rafts to max capacity, but that has not been a major concern recently. Fingers crossed that continues to be the trend!
Corkscrew – 6/10 – The original Corkscrew from Arrow formerly located at Knott’s Berry Farm. It’s worth a ride for the historical significance, and for the coaster credit, if you’re into that sort of thing. Like their other coasters, Silverwood has done a great job of maintaining it for over 30 years since it arrived at the park.
SpinCycle – 8/10 – Frisbee ride that takes riders completely upside down while slowly spinning them around. This is still the only frisbee-style ride in the US that goes upside down. It’s a lot of fun to just watch it run, not to mention ride! It’s surprisingly not as nausea-inducing as one might think, but definitely not for those with weaker stomachs.
Roaring Creek Log Flume – 7/10 – Another of the park’s family attractions, this is simply a traditional outdoor log flume with a small drop. There’s no height restriction on this one, as long as the child is able to sit up on their own, rides with an adult. That makes this perfect for families with little ones. Theming is minimal outside the main loading building, especially the last half of the ride before the lift. And watch out for the coin-operated water cannons – one as you approach the tunnel, and one at the bottom of the drop. If it weren’t for that feature, most riders would make it out relatively dry. We love the cannon on Thunder Canyon (a ride no one expects to leave without being soaked), but not so much on this one.
Aftershock – 8.5/10 – Giant Inverted Boomerang from Vekoma, relocated from Six Flags Great America back in 2008. Despite the multitude of challenges faced by Six Flags on these GIB’s, Silverwood has done a phenomenal job keeping the ride running well with very minimal down-time. This is by far the most intense of all the coasters at the park. It’s still a little rough, but if you can look beyond that, it’s an awesome ride. Trust us, looking straight down at the top of Tremors’ lift hill is quite the amazing sight to behold!
Silverwood Central Railway and Stunt Show – 9/10 – The original ride at Silverwood, this 30-minute train ride around the perimeter of the park is a great way to unwind and relax for a bit. During the ride you’ll learn about local history, fun facts about the park, and catch a glimpse of some “Sasquatch” lore in the woods if you look closely. You’ll also see the park’s bison heard, where there are usually one or two baby bison out roaming. The highlight of the journey is the short “train robbery” show out at the “Silverwood Mine”. This show has markedly improved over the years to what it has become today. The stunts performed are fun and exciting, the special effects are impressive, and the train robbers really know how to work the crowd. Be warned: if you sit in the middle car (the one with no roof) you are going to get wet during the show.
Bumper Boats – 7/10 – A standard bumper boat attraction that can be found at many other theme parks and carnivals. What makes this one special is the unique setting of the ride. The man-made lake and surroundings are very picturesque, and the placement of the Paratrooper on a small island in the middle of all the action is the icing on the cake. The line can be slow and you’ll definitely leave soaked. But if you like this kind of ride, Silverwood’s version is likely worth your time.
Main Street Theater – 6/10 – This is a fun little ‘secret gem’ of the park. Originally this was an operating theater inside the theme park that would show current movies. Today it usually screens older films. It’s fun to pop in for a few minutes, grab a popcorn, and enjoy the old-fashioned set-up that is all but extinct in the movie theater industry today.
Tree House – 6/10 – Fun play structure for little kids next to the Tiny Toot Coaster. The small kids from both of our families continue to insist on spending part of the day at this simple attraction every time we visit the park. The structure used to be twice the size before Barnstormer was installed, but what remains is still a fun little addition to the kids area.
Tiny Toot Coaster – 5/10 – Powered kiddie coaster that follows a short oval layout. Good for small kids not tall enough to ride other coasters in the park.
Krazy Koaster – 6/10 – Spinning coaster that follows a figure-eight layout in Garfield’s Summer Camp. Although a relatively tame ride, it’s more intense than it appears at the outset. Another fun one for kids that are not tall enough for the bigger coasters.
Butterflyer – 7/10 – Pitched as a “giant swingset” ride, we’d call this basically a kiddie version of an S&S Scremain’ Swing. Fun ride for the whole family.
High Moon Saloon – 6/10 – Restaurant/bar with live entertainment periodically throughout the day. If you have some extra time, it’s worth stopping by.
Ferris Wheel – 4/10 – Nice views at the top, but otherwise not worth the time. Beware of what may appear to be ‘short’ lines, as this ride takes forever to load and unload. Considering the multitude of other Ferris Wheel attractions the park could upgrade to, it’s disappointing this one still remains.
Super Round-Up/Scrambler/Carousel/Paratrooper/Tilt-a-Whirl/Frog Hopper – 5/10 – The park has a good selection of these ‘off-the-shelf’ theme park/carnival rides. They are well maintained, well placed, and essentially exactly the same as they are at any other location in the world. As such, there ain’t a whole lot to say about them. 🙂
Elephant Ride/Red Barron/Kiddie Helicopters/Puppy-go-round – 3/10 – We give these lower ratings due to the sheer number of this same style of attraction at the park. It’s the typical “spin-in-a-circle-slowly-while-pushing-a-button-to-make-my-vehicle-go-up-and-down” style ride. Not sure why the park needs four of these, especially when none of them ever seem to have a line.
Krazy Kars – 1/10 – Slow line, small driving space, and a very outdated version of this type of attraction. Bumper cars can be a blast, but this one badly needs to be upgraded to a more modern version.
Antique Cars – 3/10 – Silverwood’s version of the “Autopia”, using old-style vehicles from the early 20th century. The track layout is rather short and uninspiring, but the vehicles themselves are fun to look at.
Barnstormer – 1/10 – Bi-Plane themed kiddie ride that moves up and down in a circle similar to a ferris wheel. Our little kids (who this ride is targeted at) were bored on this ride not even halfway through it’s cycle. Not a good sign.
Kiddie Wheel – 2/10 – Small enclosed Ferris Wheel ride only small children are able to ride. It’s out in the middle of the hot sun and doesn’t do much. But unlike Barnstormer, our small kids actually do seem like this ride. So we’ll give it a slight edge for that.
How would you rate the rides at the park differently? What are your favorites/least favorites? Let us know what you think in the comments below! Last but certainly not least, let us know what other topics you'd like to see covered.
The official Silverwood Theme Park website can be found at: www.silverwoodthemepark.com. All business-related questions should be directed to this site.
Hey there!! This was SUPER helpful! I am taking my 3 nieces to Silverwood (ages 6, 8, 13), and we’ve never been. This is a great heads-up for what not to miss! Looking forward to that magic show–i honestly probably would have skipped it! Thank you for all the info!
Thank you for the comment, Jessica! Glad you found this article useful. We hope your trip with your nieces goes really well. Let us know what you think of the magic show!
What are crowds like on weekends in September.
Hi Jon, thanks for the comment. It’s been a while since we attended in September, but generally speaking the crowds are much lighter verses summer, aside from Labor Day weekend. The water park is closed after that, which means fewer are inclined to attend just the regular theme park. So if you’re okay with missing out on the water park, September can be a great time to visit. One bonus, if you attend towards the end of September: you might be able to catch Timber Terror running backwards in preparation for Scarywood in October. It is usually up and running at least one week prior to the Halloween event kicking off.
My adult son and I visited Dollywood in September 2023, he was all for the rollar coasters and I waited for him until it came to the water rides and the train. He turns 50 in Oct and my 54th class reunion is his birthday weekend so we are tent camping and going to Silverwood then down to The Dalles, OR for class reunion.
Thank you for the commentary on the rides!!!! Yes, in Jan. we are planning…..or maybe I should say I am!!!