A great field trip idea for your DIY summer camp at home is to visit a water park with the kids! Whether you decide to enjoy a local outdoor splash pad, full-on water park with slides, or even plan an overnight trip to an indoor water park- here are some tips on having a great time there with the kids!
First Decision to Make- Which Water Park to Visit?
A quick search on Google will tell you what water parks are available in your local area- and you can click thru to see what kinds of slides and attractions they offer.
If your kids are younger- look for parks with splash pads and kiddie pools that will appeal to their sense of adventure. If you are taking tweens and teens look for parks that offer more “thrill slides” like a water coaster, a surf rider, and racing slides.
Be sure to check out height restrictions for slides in advance- you don't want one of your kids to be disappointed to find out that they aren't yet tall enough to enjoy the slides that they saw online!
Looking to be inspired? US News has a great post on the best water parks in the US!
What About an Indoor Water Park?
An indoor water park- in the summer? I say yes- absolutely! No worries about sinking money into admission tickets and then having a late afternoon storm close the park! No applying and re-applying sunscreen!
Water Safety First!
Of course the first thing to consider is how water-safe your kids are at this point. I am a big fan of swim lessons for pre-schoolers which dramatically improves their safety around pools and bodies of water.
Most water parks make life vests available in all sizes which is a great way to keep your kids safe. And my kids prefer to wear goggles when enjoying water slides.
Stick Together or Split Up?
When my kids were younger, I would insist that we explore the water park together as a group, enjoying one slide all together so that I could keep an eye on everyone. But as they grew older- we became comfortable with having them split off- but in pairs!- so they could enjoy whatever they wanted.
Pro Tip: Set a meeting place and a meet-up time every hour or so. Have everyone check in, get a drink or a snack, re-apply sunscreen and make sure that everyone still has a buddy!
Here are some more great summer ideas for you:
Please check out my DIY Summer Camp page for lots of ideas on how to host your own kids summer camp at home!
- Free Family Summer Bucket List Printable
- Free Printable Summer Schedule
- 50 Fun Summer Activities, Crafts, and Field Trips (From Pre-K to Teens!)
- How to Build a Backyard Zipline!
- Make Your Own Lava Lamp
Do you think your kids would love to learn how to make giant bubbles?
Lynne Stark says
Perfect timing Sharon, thanks! Question: do you think three nights is too long to stay there? Do you know if there other things to do in the area???
Sharon says
I do think that three nights is too long to stay there…. when you stay just one night- you get to play at the waterpark from 1pm on the day you arrive and the entire next day as well. More than enough time for one waterpark. And if you did decide to stay in the area to do other things, I would switch to a less expensive hotel- it’s kind of crazy to pay the premium price for the room (because the waterpark passes are included).