Theme park banks on remote location

ATHOL, Idaho -- The largest amusement park in the Northwest isn't in Seattle or Portland, Ore. It's not in Spokane, Wash., or Boise, Idaho.

It's near Athol, Idaho, far from any large city, in the middle of northern Idaho lake country.

Silverwood -- the name evokes the region's economic history of extracting silver and timber from the surrounding mountains -- draws 350,000 visitors each year.

The amusement park banks on its location between lakes Coeur d'Alene and Pend Oreille to attract tourists to this sparsely populated area about 50 miles northeast of Spokane.

Guests from Seattle, Montana and Canada are lured by four roller coasters, minimal crowds and the outdoor recreation available nearby. As northern Idaho business leaders continue building on the tourist industry to replace old economy jobs, Silverwood is a key component.

Park reinventing itself

The park was created in 1988, when owner Gary Norton bought an old private airfield and set up a small antique aircraft museum. Then he went to an auction in Reno, Nev., and bought an antique steam locomotive. He laid three miles of track around the 700-acre property and built a few Victorian-style buildings.

"People came and visited the town and rode the train, and were looking for more rides," says Nancy DiGiammarco, spokeswoman for Silverwood.

In 1996, Silverwood took a big step forward with the unveiling of the Timber Terror, a huge wooden roller coaster with tracks that dominate the south end of the park.

A second roller coaster, called Tremors, opened in 1999. Portions of the 3,000-foot-long Tremors run underground.

While parks like Disneyland draw millions of visitors per year, Silverwood makes a profit by drawing from 2,000 to 4,000 visitors per day, DiGiammarco says.

The smaller crowds and unhurried pace are part of the appeal of Silverwood. Many tourists come back each year, but summer is the ideal destination season.

While it can be tougher to get customers to a rural park, Silverwood's constant addition of new attractions makes it a destination," says Susie Storey of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions..

"They continue to reinvent themselves and people will come," Storey says.