During our recent trip to Silverwood Theme Park this month, we were surprised to find a major $15 million construction project well underway just west of Boulder Beach Water Park. We will share a larger trip report later, but we wanted to get this exciting news out first. In this post, we will share photos, as well as some thoughts and commentary on what this could be.
First up, let’s re-cap with a bit of history. Boulder Beach debuted in 2003 with Polliwog Park, the Lazy River, a Wave Pool, and the four Rumble Falls tube slides. Silverwood was blown away that year with a 40% increase in attendance, and responded the following year by adding the Velocity Peak speed slide tower. Three years later, in 2007, the waterpark was nearly doubled in size with the addition of a second wave pool, a toddler splash pad, and the fantastic Avalanche Mountain family raft slide.
Additions to the water park would slow at this point, with the next addition not occurring until 2011 when Ricochet Rapids was added next to Avalanche Mountain. Finally, in 2016, the Riptide Racer mat racer slide tower was built. And since that time, the water park has remained unchanged.
That is, until now. We’re excited to be the first to share exclusive photos of what appears to be the first addition to Boulder Beach in over 7 years! Just west of Riptide Racer and the south wave pool, a massive plot of land has been cleared, with construction on two buildings already well under way.
As you can see from these photos, it looks like whatever is being built should easily be ready for the 2024 season. It’s only mid-July, after all!
In terms of commentary, we’ll be clear – we have no clue what is being built. The buildings are likely a mixture of additional food and/or restrooms for this area of the water park. And there are a myriad of new water slide options available that could be added, from a water-coaster, to a tornado slide, to a pro-bowl slide.
A recently published local news interview with Gary Norton does offer a little more insight. He states that the expansion will cost $15 million, and will include “one major attraction that will be bigger than anything we’ve ever done in the water park.” That does eliminate a few options, as the existing Avalanche Mountain and Ricochet Rapids slides are quite massive.
Personally, we would LOVE to see a dueling water-coaster added to the park, similar to Cheetah Chase at Holiday World’s Splashin’ Safari in Indiana. Water coasters are already fantastic (we’re looking at you, Krakatu!!), and the dueling feature looks like it would elevate the experience to a whole new level. This would certainly fit the bill of being the biggest attraction at the water park, depending on just how large they decide to make it.
But regardless of what’s coming, we’re thrilled to see construction of any kind. Boulder Beach has been very quiet for many years, and it’s well past time for some TLC. Whatever it is, we’ll be sure to post any news we hear right here, so stay tuned!
Planning a trip to Silverwood this year? Be sure to check out our Silverwood Trip Planning Guide to get some great ideas on how to plan your trip. Also, our Silverwood Rides and Attractions Guide and Boulder Beach Attractions Guide have even more details on which rides, slides, and shows to hit up while you're there!
What do you think Silverwood should add to the water park? Are you excited to see the water park expand again? Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments below - we love hearing from you!
The official Silverwood Theme Park website can be found at: www.silverwoodthemepark.com. All business-related questions should be directed to this site.
It needs a larger selection of good ole fashioned waterslides, not slides that require a tube. Park is so over crowded and lines are atrocious. Regular human slides are needed badly to simply give people more options and quicker lines. Lazy river is just jammed packed, not even enjoyable.
Always something new up Gary Norton’s sleeve, no pun intended for his son Nick, who is the magician at Silverwood!!!
Cheese popcorn please 🙂