What could be more fun on a hot summer day than a waterpark? Maryland offers travelers wet and wild fun at four epic waterparks.
Chesapeake Beach Water Park, Splash Mountain Water Park, and Frontier Town Water Park all sit across the street from the ocean, providing splashes with a view. Hurricane Harbor water park is part of Six Flags where the adventure never ends at the combination amusement park and water park. From Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend, these four Maryland water parks are sure to energize and enthrall every member of the family.
1. Chesapeake Beach Water Park, Maryland
Chesapeake Beach Water Park opened in 1995 and is owned by the city of Chesapeake Beach, Maryland. It sits enviably across the road from gorgeous Chesapeake Bay offering gorgeous views from nearly everywhere in the park.
This family-friendly water park has all little something special for all ages. A Memorial Day opening kicks off summer fun at the park where guests find a man-made lazy river, two large water slides, a zero entry kids’ activity pool, lounge decks, and a Beachcomber Grille.
There are character days, summer camps, swim lessons, and other events throughout the summer. The water park encourages guests to bring their own chairs and tubes at busy times. Discounts are available for late afternoons. The park closes Labor Day weekend.
4079 Gordon Stinnett Avenue, Chesapeake Beach, MD, Phone: 410-257-1404
2. Maryland Waterparks: Frontier Town Water Park & Mini-Golf
Frontier Town is a family-friendly campground with more amenities than one could imagine, including their own water park.
The water park features a lazy river, epic water slides, a kids’ activity pool with a stagecoach-style water slide, two water flumes, pool, and poolside grill and bar. Situated along Sinepuxent Bay a mere five miles from Ocean City, the campground also has an 18-hole mini-golf course, High Ropes Adventure Park, Western Theme Park, and 600 campsites.
Campers have free access Frontier Town water park during peak season. The campground is open from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend. There is a daily water park fee for non-campers age four and older.
8428 Stephen Decatur Highway, Berlin, Maryland, Phone: 800-228-5590
3. Six Flags America, Maryland
Six Flags America is a heart-stopping amusement park franchise for thrill seekers with parks across the country. Located about 45 minutes south of Baltimore, Maryland, in Woodmore, Six Flags includes Hurricane Harbor water park. Guests can expect an array of activities from lazy rivers to speed slides. There are 15 water park rides accommodating guests from toddlers to adults. Little ones will love Splashwater Falls with over 100 water features in an interactive play area. Bamboo Chutes, Buccaneer Beach, and Calypso Cannonballs are also just their speed. For everyone else, there are tons of thrilling water slides, including a four-story half-pipe where guests can speed slide to 23 miles-per-hour. Hurricane Bay wave pool and Wahoo River are also favorites.
13710 Central Avenue, Woodmore, MD, Phone: 301-249-1500
4. Waterparks in Maryland: Splash Mountain Water Park, Maryland
Splash Mountain – even the name sounds fun! Splash Mountain is a water park inside Jolly Roger Park that also includes race tracks, rides, and mini-golf. Jolly Roger is located in Ocean City, Maryland, across Coastal Highway from the bay. This 17-acre waterpark has three kiddie pools, a lazy river, 17 water slides, a family pool, and the ‘Rain Forest.’ Water slides include a half-pipe slide called Stealth that’s 45 feet tall. Master Blaster is a water roller coaster. Aqualoop is another water ride for thrill seekers. Splash Mountain has lounge decks and chairs, cabanas, bath houses with lockers, and concession stands. Life jackets are complimentary and come in all sizes.
2901 Coastal Highway, Ocean City, MD, Phone: 410-289-477
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5. Waterparks Near Me: City of Gaithersburg Water Park at Bohrer Park, Maryland
Located within the 57-acre Bohrer Park, the City of Gaithersburg Water Park is a valuable community resource. The park is only open to residents of Gaithersburg and Aquatic Members on weekends and holidays, while Montgomery County residents are allowed to join in the fun on weekdays. Families come to have fun on the slides and in the pools, and swimming lessons are available for all ages. Young visitors can enjoy the splash pad while parents soak up some sun on the lawn areas. After visiting the water park families can enjoy a round of mini-golf – Putt and Pool passes are available to all residents.
31 S. Summit Ave, Gaithersburg, MD 20877, 301 258 6300
6. Waterparks Near Me: Francis Scott Key Family Resort
Providing a recreational facility for all ages, the Francis Scott Key Family Resort includes indoor and outdoor pools where the whole family can have fun for most of the year. The Shipwreck Cove outdoor pool is open to the public from Memorial Day to Mid September and includes a Snack Shack, pool bar and dingy-themed hot tub. On cooler days you can enjoy the Caribbean Key heated indoor pool area, which has a retractable roof to let in the sun. In addition to water activities you can also have fun at the FREE Peg Leg Putt Putt course. On site accommodation is available if you want to stay overnight.
12806 Ocean Gateway, Ocean City, MD 21842, 410 213 0088
The 6 Best Maryland Waterparks near me today according to local experts:
- 1. Chesapeake Beach Water Park, Maryland
- 2. Maryland Waterparks: Frontier Town Water Park & Mini-Golf
- 3. Six Flags America, Maryland
- 4. Waterparks in Maryland: Splash Mountain Water Park, Maryland
- 5. Waterparks Near Me: City of Gaithersburg Water Park at Bohrer Park, Maryland
- 6. Waterparks Near Me: Francis Scott Key Family Resort
More Ideas in MD: Antietam National Battlefield
Located in Sharpsburg, Maryland, Antietam National Battlefield is a battlefield park operated by the National Park Service, commemorating the 1862 Battle of Antietam, a decisive American Civil War battle that is credited as directly leading to President Abraham Lincoln’s issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Fought on September 17, 1862, the Battle of Antietam was part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War, during which Confederate General Robert E. Lee led the Army of Northern Virginia in a strategic invasion of the Union.
History
Following the Confederate victory at the Second Battle of Manassas during the prior month, Lee felt that military action in Maryland was necessary in advance of the upcoming midterm elections, as the state was divided in its sympathies to Union and Confederate ideologies. As the first major engagement of the war to take place within Union territory, the battle followed Lee’s advancement over the Potomac River into nearby Frederick and the subsequent advancement of Union Major General George B. McClellan’s troops. Following an earlier skirmish at South Mountain on September 14, the one-day battle near Antietam Creek proved to be the deadliest single-day conflict in American history, resulting in a death toll of more than 22,000 soldiers, predominantly among Confederate troops. Though the battle was considered a victory for Union troops, a lack of tactical success on McClellan’s part allowed Lee’s army to retreat back into Virginia, and McClellan’s refusal to pursue Confederate troops upon retreat is credited with his removal from command of Union troops that November. The Union victory was considered decisive enough, however, for President Lincoln to use the victory as a catalyst for announcing his Emancipation Proclamation, a January 1863 executive order that declared the legal freedom of all enslaved people residing within Confederate states once they could reach a Union territory.
Following the American Civil War, the Antietam battlefield was preserved as a National Battlefield Site on August 30, 1890. In 1933, control of the battlefield site, along with all other similar park units, was transferred from the United States War Department to the National Park Service. The battlefield was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, along with all other units overseen by the National Park Service.
Permanent Attractions and Exhibits
Today, Antietam National Battlefield encompasses more than 3,000 acres in western Maryland’s Washington County, approximately 10 miles from the city of Hagerstown. A Visitor Center, opened in 1962 and located in nearby Sharpsburg, serves as an entrance point for the battlefield site, containing museum exhibits on the battle’s significance within the larger context of the American Civil War. A theater offers periodic showings of a 26-minute orientation film, narrated by noted voice actor James Earl Jones.
The 11-acre Antietam National Cemetery is located next to the battlefield park, containing the final resting places of nearly 5,000 soldiers, including many unidentified Civil War soldiers. Commissioned in 1865, the cemetery only interred Union soldiers during the Civil War, with Confederate soldiers buried at the nearby Washington Confederate and Mt. Olivet Cemeteries. Today, the cemetery is recognized as part of the National Cemetery System and contains gravesites for soldiers killed during 20th century American conflicts up to the Korean War. A Private Soldier Monument stands at the cemetery’s center, weighing 250 tons and reaching a height of 44 feet. The monument, created by artist James Pollette and dedicated in 1880, depicts a soldier colloquially referred to as “Old Simon” and contains the inscription “not for themselves, but for their country.”
The Pry House Field Hospital Museum, located within the battlefield’s historic Pry House, contains exhibits detailing 19th-century care practices for those wounded in battle. Other historic sites within the battlefield include the Dunker Church building and the Burnside Bridge. A variety of hiking trails are offered within the battlefield park, including the ¼-mile paved Antietam Remembered Walkway, the Bloody Lane Trail, which retraces a key battlefield path, and the picturesque Three Farms Trail.
Ongoing Programs and Education
Interpretive talks by park rangers are offered daily at the battlefield’s Visitor Center, with expanded ranger programming offered throughout the summer months. Visitors may also purchase an audio tour at the Center, meant as an accompaniment to the park’s 8.5-mile driving path. Field trip opportunities are offered for elementary and secondary school students, incorporating Maryland curriculum requirements, and distance learning materials are also offered, including web conference presentations bringing park rangers directly into classrooms. A Junior Ranger program offers participation badges and certificates for young visitors in exchange for completion of park activities. Public programming is held annually on the anniversary of the battle, including ranger-led hikes, weapons demonstrations, and a formal keynote address.
P.O. Box 158, Sharpsburg, MD 21782, Phone: 301-432-5124
