Prices and rides won't change at Silverwood in first summer under new owners, park directors reassure

When news broke that the Herschend Family Entertainment Corp. intended to buy Silverwood Theme Park from its owners and founder, regular park-goers were quick to wonder how this would change the largest theme park in the Pacific Northwest.

Would prices go up? How would hours be affected? Are they adding new attractions? Could the Herschends rebrand the park from its old-timey Idaho theme to one of their well-known entertainment brands like Dollywood or the Harlem Globetrotters?

As the park employees prepared to open its Boulder Beach water park this weekend, they had a simple message: "Silverwood is remaining Silverwood," said Jordan Carter, the park's 13-year director of marketing and entertainment.

"They're pretty passionate that Silverwood has its own charm as its own property, and that they want to keep that charm there," Carter said as Silverwood's train horn bellowed in the distance.

Opened in 1988 by Gary Norton and steadily expanding in years since, the park has been a staple summertime visit for many in the Inland Northwest. Carter said this summer's prices are the same as last year's across the board, including admission, food, camping reservations and other fees.

One-day tickets during their summer season, beginning Saturday, are $75 when purchased online. Adults older than 65 and kids aged 3 to 7 get in for $47 when purchased online while kids younger than 3 get in free. At the gate, general admission is $85, while kids and seniors cost $55 .

Well -known promotions from the park, like its annual Read 2 Ride program, where kids enrolled in participating schools get a free ticket for reading 10 hours out of school, and the haunted theme park Scarywood in October will remain this year, Carter said.

"Bottom line, the guest experience is the same, and will, I think, only get better with more support from the back end," Carter said.

Carter and Public Relations Manager Sara Meddock said since it's their first summer season under new owners, they're still in a period of transition. Meddock said the Herschend family has been involved in its newest venture, visiting the park several times to see what they could apply from their 40 other properties to the park.

Asked about details, the pair weren't yet sure. They'll likely know more once the 2026 season is over.

"We don't even know what that future is," Carter said. "They're going to create a 10-year plan for us, which is really nice."

The pair said they expect the new owners will "protect the legacy" established by the founder Gary Norton. His son, Paul Norton, is still the executive director of the park while daughter Michelle Sheets manages human resources.

"Everybody who was here last year, they're here this year to make sure that we have that legacy," Carter said, adding that Gary Norton was there himself this week to make sure preparations for the water park's opening weekend went smoothly.

"He's very much still got his hands in it, so we didn't kick him to the curb or anything," Meddock said.

There are some additions this summer, unrelated to the new owners. The High Moon Saloon, near the park's entrance, boasts new menu items like gourmet hot dogs and corn dogs loaded with toppings like corn or bacon jam, for example.

A trio of middle school girls waiting in line for the Roaring Creek Log Flume ride on a school trip Thursday said they were well aware that Silverwood had been sold. Lifelong park-goers, they said changes are inevitable.

Yvonne Caudle said she expected prices would increase under new owners, but hoped it would come with new, "scarier" rides and more places to rest in the shade around the park.

"Things are definitely gonna change," she said.

Elena Perry's work is funded in part by members of the Spokane community via the Community Journalism and Civic Engagement Fund. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.

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