Silverwood Theme Park Pavilion

If you live in the Pacific Northwest, then you’ve most likely heard of Silverwood Theme Park. This amusement park has more than 70 rides, slides, shows, and attractions. In 2023, we got selected to partner with Silverwood to help with their Boulder Beach expansion.

At the base of their new water coaster, they wanted a timber frame pavilion for serving refreshments. The General Contractor on the entire expansion was Stancraft, and we were hired as a subcontracter to build the timber features for the pavilion, including seven queen post trusses.

Fun fact: When the project came to us, the pavilion was initially named “Hook Line and Sippers” but was eventually renamed “Northern Flights”.

The initial drawings we received for the pavilion required extensive knife plates for joinery. We offered suggestions to the plans that not only simplified the project, but also saved $20K on the build. One of the primary changes was to use wood joinery and hidden metal components that provided cleaner aesthetics and lowered costs.

It is clear that Silverwood takes pride in their theme park. Their thoughtfulness includes attention to detail, pristine landscaping and exceptional cleanliness. This timber pavilion was no exception. Adding natural timber features to the water park helps it blend in with the surrounding trees and mountains. They also made choices to elevate the design including choosing to use 12x12 timber posts (versus 8x8 posts), exposed timber trusses (versus engineered trusses), hidden joinery (versus gusset plates), etc.

For the hidden joinery on this project, we used a slot cutter that is similar to a chainsaw that makes specialized plunge cuts. This tool makes deep and precise cuts inside the wood where metal can be inserted into each member to provide strong structural support.

We installed this structure on a cold & snowy day in April. During installation, the posts had to be installed at different elevations so we used an advanced 3D scanning tool to ensure all the posts ended at a level height. This created a solid foundation for the remainder of the structure.

We were excited to be part of such an exciting project. Next time you go to Silverwood, make sure to stop by “Northern Flights” and enjoy a refreshing drink!

Featured Partners:

• General Contractor: Stancraft Builders