Water Parks in the United States

Holiday World and Splashin Safari is a mixed bag of a holiday-themed amusement park with an African-themed water park. This seasonal theme park opens each year in May with daily admission available in June and July and weekends-only from August through the end of October. The water park offers the familiar kid-friendly areas but features a unique row of eight low-intensity water slides for little thrill-seekers to explore. Families can splash together on raft rides like Watubee or zip through the water on one of the park's three water coaster rides like the new Cheetah Chase, a two-lane racing roller coaster-style slide with 1700 feet of thrilling twists and turns.

Holiday World and Splashin Safari, 452 E Christmas Blvd, Santa Claus, IN 47579, Phone: 812-937-4401

Camelbeach Mountain Waterpark is Camelback Resort’s outdoor water playground with more than 37 waterslides and attractions. Egyptian-themed kid zones of Mummy’s Oasis and Pharaoh’s Phortress have pint-sized slides, water features, and water bucket dumpings. Thrill-seekers flock to High Noon Typhoon, a six-story tall funnel slide with a free-falling experience that takes your breath away. Friends and family can race to the finish on the eight-lane Checkered Flag Challenge. The park has four family raft rides to choose from like Dune Runner that builds up speed before splashing into a pool. After all the excitement, guests can relax as they slowly float along the Blue Nile Adventure River.

Camelbeach Mountain Waterpark, 309 Resort Drive, Tannersville, PA 18372, Phone: 570-629-1662

Boulder Beach Water Park is the wet and wild sidekick of Silverwood Theme Park in northern Idaho. Guests take things slow floating in the lazy river or splash it up in two giant wave pools. Kids enjoy the fountains and geysers at Toddler Springs or squeal at the deluge of water from the enormous bucket at Polliwog Park. Visitors bump up the excitement with family-size raft rides like Avalanche Mountain and Ricochet Rapids. Riptide Racer takes riders down 400-feet of side-by-side racing slides. Thrill-seekers can top out at 55 mph on Velocity Peak, where over 100 stairs take guests to the summit of three intense high-speed slides.

Boulder Beach Water Park, 27843 N. Hwy 95, Athol, ID 83801, Phone: 208-683-3400

Cedar Point Shores Waterpark is 18-acres of family-friendly fun in the summer sun. Located on the shore of Lake Erie, the park showcases a six-story drop slide where riders free-fall before zipping through twists and splashing down in the pool below. Kids can climb and explore SplasH2O, a multi-level play zone with interactive water features for hands-on water play. Adventure and agility are combined in the Lily Pad Walk obstacle course for thrill-seeking tykes where kids make their way across floating pads with the aid of an overhead netting. Guests enjoy floating along the peaceful Cedar Creek lazy river before taking a plunge down the many waterslides throughout the park.

Cedar Point Shores Waterpark, 1 Cedar Point Drive, Sandusky, OH 44870, Phone: 419-627-2350

Romantic Water Parks

Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park is one of Walt Disney World Resort’s family-friendly splash zone for cooling off all year long. The park features tyke sized slides and a pint-sized playground with shallow pools, animal-themed water sprayers, and a cave with a waterfall. Thrill-seekers can ride the Humunga Kowabunga, a fully enclosed body slide that sends riders down a 5-story drop into darkness. Raft rides offer excitement for individuals on slides like Keelhaul Falls or with a friend on the park’s signature ride, Crush ‘n’ Gusher. This 400-foot long water-propelled roller-coaster style waterslide has sharp drops, winding turns and uphill climbs before the final plunge into Hideaway Bay.

Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park, 1145 East Buena Vista, Boulevard, Orlando, FL 32830, Phone: 407-560-4120

Universal’s Volcano Bay is Orlando’s tropical island oasis themed water park like no other. An enormous volcano serves as the backdrop to this simulated Hawaiian-style water playground with a beach. Guests enjoy floating along the Kopiko Wai Winding River as they bask in the Florida sun or hopping on one of the five-person raft-rides that twist, turn, and splash their way through the park. Adventure seekers love Ohno of Ohyah and Ohno Drop Slides where riders climb up to cross a rope-bridge dangling above a giant chasm before plunging down the snaking slide that ends 6 feet above the sparkling blue pool.

Universal’s Volcano Bay, 6000 Universal Blvd, Orlando, FL 32819, Phone: 407-363-8000

Water Parks for Families

Dollywood’s Splash Country is the Smoky Mountain’s answer to keeping cool and having fun in the summer. Adjacent to Dollywood Theme Park, Splash Country is 36-acres of raging river rides, mountainside racing slides, and kid-friendly fun in Little Creek Falls play area. The Cascades is an 8000 square foot lagoon-style pool with over 25 hands-on splashtastic water features. The park offers single rider slides like Fire Tower Falls, the park’s tallest and fastest slide, as well as group raft rides like Big Bear Plunge that travels through dark caverns and steep drops. Guests can also enjoy a relaxing float along the scenic 1500 foot long lazy river that slithers through the landscape.

Dollywood’s Splash Country, 2700 Dollywood Parks Blvd, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863, Phone: 800-365-5996

Hershey Park opens up The Boardwalk, an 11-acre water park attraction to their guests every summer. Thrilling rides like Coastline Plunge take single or double rider rafts through a course of open-air slides with curves, tunnels, and showers of water before splashing into the landing pool.

Young explorers can splash and play in Sandcastle Cove, a zero-depth entry splash pool with slides, water cannons, and jets of water. Guests looking for some competition can race down Whitecap Racer, a multi-lane mat ride named longest racing slide in the world. Those who like taking things slow can relax as they float along the lazy river, the Intercoastal Waterway.

100 W. Hersheypark Drive, Hershey, PA 17033, Phone: 717-534-3900