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Beat the Heat with these family-friendly water parks

Summer is on its way and so are family vacations. Whether you are vacationing close to home or far away this summer, you can visit a water wonderland where the entire family will enjoy swimming, splashing and spending time together.

Water parks offer a safe environment with different types of fun for each age group including splash grounds for young children, bumper boats and slides for older children, fast and furious, water roller coasters for teens and relaxing hot tubs, spas or even lazy rivers for parents.

Here is a list of water parks that will be fun for the whole family:

Noah’s Ark
Noah’s Ark Bermuda Triangle Water Slide
Father and son ride Noah’s Ark
Bermuda Triangle Water Slide

Noah’s Ark is celebrating 30 years of business in 2008. Rated America’s No. 1 Water Park by the Travel Channel in 2007, Noah’s Ark is a must-visit destination in the Wisconsin Dells. Fun for the whole family, Noah’s Ark has answered the wishes of many moms to have more play areas for young children by creating Tadpole Bay — an interactive play area featuring a colorful Noah’s Ark theme with a replica of the Ark and a crew of playful animals. Noah Ark offers 49 water rides, two wave pools, two endless rivers, four children’s water play areas, bumper boats, miniature golf, and three high-capacity group amusement rides — “Flash Flood,” “Noah’s Incredible Adventure” and the “SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D Dive-in Theater.” Whether you are 3 or 13 or 30, there is something for everyone at Noah’s Ark. For more information on water park activities visit Noah’s Ark Water Park.  

Great Wolf Lodge Indoor Water Parks

Fort Mackenzie at Great Wolf Lodge, Williamsburg, VA
Fort Mackenzie at Great Wolf Lodge, Williamsburg, VA

Great Wolf Lodge offer family fun at indoor water parks and other resort amenities at locations across the United States and Canada. Great Wolf Lodge Water Parks range in size from approximately 34,000 – 84,000 square-feet, highlighted by a signature 12-level tree house waterfort — an interactive water experience for the entire family featuring over 60 water effects, cargo netting and suspension bridges and an oversized bucket that dumps nearly 1,000 gallons of water every few minutes. The water parks also feature pools ranging from a children’s splash pool to a wave pool, lazy river, and hot tubs with separate hot tub for adults. There water slides and ride available for all ages include kiddie slides, high-speed body and inner tube slides, a sixstory “extreme” tube ride, cannon bowl tube ride, a water roller coaster and Flow Rider. Visit Great Wolf Lodge for information on a location near you or your vacation destination.

 Grand Traverse Resort & Spa

If you are looking for a family getaway guaranteed to make a splash, Grand Traverse Resort & Spa — near Traverse City, MI — is now providing water-park style excitement with its new, 15,000-square foot Indoor Water Playground. Among the resorts water park amenities are a 70-foot spiral waterslide, floating obstacle course, water basketball and zero-depth Sprayground — designed to appeal to the littlest of swimmers. To celebrate the addition of the Indoor Water Playground, Grand Traverse Resort & Spa is offering a "Family Water Fun Package," which includes two nights accommodations, two welcome gifts, family passes to the Indoor Water Playground, four breakfasts, one complimentary in-room movie or video game and 30 arcade tokens. For more information about the Family Water Fun Package, the Indoor Water Playground or the resort and spa, visit Grand Traverse Resort.

Silverwood’s Boulder Beach Water Park

Silverwood’s Boulder Beach Water Park
Silverwood’s Boulder Beach Water Park

Silverwood’s Boulder Beach Water Park — located in northern Idaho — is an ideal way to beat the heat and have fun. The brand new Avalanche Mountain is the park’s biggest water slide to date. Families looking for an adventure can walk up a mountain trail, climb on the raft and head down a 650 foot slide before landing in a below-ground canyon. Boulder Beach Bay has just added a second huge wave pool and Elkhorn Creek lazy river is the perfect opportunity to kick back, relax and stay cool. For the youngest family members, Toddler Springs offers many geysers and fountains for the kids to play in and enjoy. Visit Silverwood’s Boulder Beach for additional information.

Silver Mountain Resort Indoor Water Park

Silver Mountain Resort in Kellogg, ID — not far from Silverwood’s Boulder Beach — is opening a new water park, Silver Rapids, later this spring. With the introduction of Silver Rapids, Silver Mountain Resort will combine the thrills of surfing, sliding, tubing, and other wet and wild fun. The new Silver Rapids water park includes swirl pools, body and tube slides, a lazy river, family raft slide, kid’s activity lagoon, and the ultimate in aquatic attractions — a FlowRider Surf Wave — where, in just 10 seconds, 10,000 gallons of surging water releases into the FlowRider’s wave box, combining the thrills of surfing, skateboarding, and snowboarding all in a wet, wild and safe environment. For more information on vacation activities at Silver Mountain Resort and Silver Rapids Water Park visit Silver Mountain Resort.

If you go:

Noah's Ark Water Park
1410 Wisconsin Dells Parkway
Wisconsin Dells, WI 53965
(608) 254-6351
info@noahsarkwaterpark.com

Great Wolf Lodge
(800) 905-WOLF

Grand Traverse Resort & Spa
100 Grand Traverse Village Boulevard
P.O. Box 404
Acme, MI 49810
(800) 236-1577

Silverwood's Boulder Beach
27843 N. Hwy 95
Athol, ID 83801
(208) 683-3400
info@silverwoodthemepark.com

Silver Mountain Resort
610 Bnaker Ave.
Kellogg, ID 83837
(800) 204-6428
silver@silvermt.com