As discussed in our Silverwood Trip Planning guide, we recommend 2 days for most people visiting the park. In this article, we’ll take you through our suggested itinerary for what to do in those 2 days. The goal here isn’t to get on every single attraction as many times as possible, but rather, to provide a solid and even balance of rides, entertainment, and food. In essence, it’s what we would consider the “perfect” two days at the park.

DAY 1

THE WARM UP

Most who are familiar with theme park visits can probably guess what we’re about to say first: get to the park early!! The first hour or two of your day are easily the most productive time you’ll have, as crowds will be low and lines will be short. At Silverwood, there is literally no excuse NOT to do this. The park opens at 11am every day of the regular season, so there is plenty of time to arrive early, even if you like to sleep in a bit! 🙂 We suggest pulling into the parking lot no later than 10am, especially on weekends. After you get through bag check and the ticket stands, swing over to the Silverwood Coffee Roasting Company for a drink and (more importantly) a bite to eat.This shop boasts some of the best baked-from-scratch goods you’ll find anywhere. The Caramel Praline Cinnamon Roll and the Blueberry Muffin Top are our two favorites. Grab one or two, and head over to the entrance to Boulder Beach. If you arrive about 30-40 minutes before rope drop, you should be close to the front of the line. Use this time to enjoy your mid-morning snacks, and layer your group up with sunscreen.

HEAD FOR THE MOUNTAIN

Once you’re in the park, send part of your group over to the tube rental area to get tubes for your party, and the rest of you head to set up camp. Our favorite spot is the shaded chairs next to Riptide Racer. This is a nice, central location that gives you easy access to most of the water park. If you have very small children in your group (toddlers/infants), we would instead say to go get a spot by Toddler Springs.

Once you’re all set up, head straight over to Avalanche Mountain and Ricochet Rapids. These slides have the longest, slowest lines of essentially everything in the entire park, so you’ll want to do these first. Try and go for a couple rides on each if the lines stay short.

THE REMANING TOWERS

Next, head for the other big slide towers. We’re talking Velocity Peak (speed slides), Rumble Falls (tube slides), and Riptide Racer (mat racer). These all tend to get much busier in the afternoon when it gets a warmer. And while you may feel a tad bit chilly earlier in the day, you’ll definitely be spending more time on the slides and less time in line at this time of day.

LUNCH

Usually at this point it’s going to be at least 1pm, so it’s time to get something to eat. We’ll be very blunt here: Boulder Beach does not have any food that we have found to be noteworthy. Mostly, it’s the standard “theme park” offerings. Nothing terrible, just nothing that has ever stood out to us. Granite Grill serves pizza, chicken wings, and burgers. Pablo’s serves Mexican food such as quesadillas, taco salads, and more. Subs & Spuds serves cold sub sandwiches and potatoes. Take your pick, whatever you’re in the mood for, and head back to your “camp” spot to enjoy.

AFTERNOON CHILLAXIN’

While your food settles, this is the perfect time to enjoy the Lazy River, one of our favorite things at the water park. Take a couple laps around the river, enjoying all the scenery, water features, and sunshine. This is also a great time to enjoy the wave pools, toddler springs, and polliwog park. While everyone else is standing in the insanely long lines elsewhere in the park, you can kick back and relax.Spend a good couple hours getting your fill in of these attractions. When the clock hits somewhere around the 3pm-4pm time frame, that’s usually a good time to throw in the towel (no pun intended).

THE WET RIDES IN THE DRY PARK

After you’ve gathered your belongings and returned your tubes, make your way over to the dry park, but don’t be too worried about staying dry for very long. This is the perfect chance to hit up all the water rides in the park. Go straight for Thunder Canyon and the Log Flume. Even if you get soaked, you’ve still got lots of sun left in the day to dry you out, and let’s be honest, your swim shorts are probably still wet from the water park anyways!

DINNER

For dinner, we always recommend Lindy’s – it’s the best food in the park, and well worth the time and money. We gush enough about this place in our Lindy’s Restaraunt Review, so we won’t re-hash all of that here.Try and time your dinner so you can hit up the 7pm Train Ride afterwards. This is a great way to let your food settle: riding the 30-minute loop around the perimeter as the sun sets over the mountains. Make sure it’s not getting too dark though, otherwise you won’t get the robbery show.

PARK CLOSEOUT AND DESSERT

If you’re at the park during summertime, you’ve likely still got at least another hour or so left in the day. And if you can swing it (i.e. if you don’t have a baby with you), close down the park by getting a big ride or two in at Coaster Alley. The last hour especially can be almost as productive as the first – the lines get shorter and the crowds get thinner. Plus, the coasters are much more fun in the evening!

And finally, as you’re walking out of the park, finish off your day by grabbing one of the many delicious treats available, such as a caramel apple at the stand just near the entrance to Country Carnival.

DAY 2

THE WARMUP REPEAT (SORT OF)

For Day 2 – you’ll repeat most of the same stuff we suggested for day 1. Get to the park early again, and grab a treat from the coffee shop (get whichever one(s) you skipped over the previous day). The only difference here is that we’re going to suggest heading to the dry park today. Go get a spot in line at the Country Carnival entrance, enjoy your treats, and again layer up on sunscreen.

THE BIG FIVE THRILL RIDES

Once the rope drops, head straight back to Coaster Alley. In case you hadn’t picked up on the theme here, we’ve now sent you to the farthest ends of the parks for your first stops. And that’s because most people won’t get this far back until later on, so it’s your perfect chance to ride like crazy. Hit up all the big stuff while the lines are short. We’d suggest Aftershock and SpinCycle first. Then the two woodies: Tremors and Timber Terror. And don’t forget Panic Plunge. All five of these are great rides. You should easily be able to get most of these in during the first hour or two of the day.

LUNCH BREAK AND MAGIC SHOW

Depending on when you visit, the first magic show of the day will be at either 1pm or 3pm. Either way, we’d suggest eating lunch at Caselli’s Pizzeria, which is inside the magic theater. Grab a table, then send someone to get in line to order your pizzas, which are actually surprisingly good and reasonably priced. They’ll bring it out to your table when it’s ready.If you’re there on a day with a 1pm show, you’ll get the added bonus of watching one of the best performers at any theme park in the world while you eat. You don’t have to trust our opinion here, Nick Norton won that very award at IAPPA! If you do have to wait for the 3pm show, just head out for a couple short rides in country carnival after lunch and then come back for the show. Either way, do not miss Nick’s magic show – no trip to Silverwood is complete without it!

AN AFTERNOON AT THE CARNIVAL

After lunch, you’ve got a sizeable amount of time to spend in the “mid sections” of the park: Country Carnival and Garfield’s Summer Camp. There are tons of flat rides and family rides to choose from here, so take your pick. A lot of this will depend on the ages of the little ones in your group. Younger ones will love the kiddie rides, whereas the older kids will be itching to get on some of the bigger stuff. The variety of rides are pretty well mingled together, so your group shouldn’t have to split up too much.There’s also plenty in the way of snacks to choose from if you get hungry in the middle of the afternoon. Take your pick from any of the various shops and stands throughout the area!

One thing to not miss out on is the legendary Corkscrew roller coaster. By today’s standards, this doesn’t look like much, but you shouldn’t pass it up. As the first modern roller coaster to take riders upside down, it’s a true piece of theme park history.

DINNER AND MAIN STREET STROLL

After you’ve gotten your fill of rides in, head back to main street for dinner. Although we usually go for another meal at Lindy’s, you might want to give the High Moon Saloon a try this time, for something a little different. Often, there is live entertainment inside at various points in the evening. After your meal is a great chance to stroll along Main Street while your food settles. Be sure to stop into the Main Street Theater for a couple minutes – even if they aren’t playing any movies that interest you, it’s fun to see an old-fashioned theater still in operation.

CLOSE DOWN THE PARK WITH CALORIES

In your remaining hours in the park, head back to Coaster Alley and get another ride or two in on whatever your favorite thrill rides are. But keep an eye on the clock, and be sure to leave yourself about 30 minutes before the park closes. Right around that time, start heading over to country carnival, and get in line at the Ice Creamery.Here, you’ll get to enjoy what is quickly becoming one of Silverwood’s most iconic treats: the $5 “single scoop” ice cream. Those who have experienced this know that it’s in reality more like 8 scoops, and you can choose up to three different flavors of decent ice cream. Amazingly cheap and delicious, this the perfect way to cap off your two-day adventure.