8 water parks within driving distance for Milwaukee families
UPDATED LIST FOR 2022: 8 waterparks within driving distance for Milwaukee families
Your kids love swimming. But sometimes they want to do something water-related that's a bit more exciting than just swimming.
Lucky for them, there are plenty of swimming destinations with slides, playgrounds, splash pads and features to spray them and dump water on them to their hearts' content.
Lucky for you, quite a few of them are in driving distance.
And, even luckier, two of the Milwaukee County Parks, Cool Waters and David F. Schulz, are open Memorial Day weekend. On Saturday, Sunday and Monday, Cool Waters' hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Schulz's hours are 12 to 6 p.m.
Check out our guide to these and six more water parks within driving distance for Milwaukee families.
Cool Waters Family Aquatic Park
For Milwaukee County waterpark fun, there's Cool Waters in Greenfield Park, 2028 S. 124th St., West Allis. The zero-depth entrance pool is perfect for little ones, as are the children's water slides, interactive toys and playground. For bigger kids, there's plenty of room to swim in the heated pool, plus tube and body slides to enjoy.
Cool Waters is open 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday-Sunday.
Admission is $7.75 for adults, $6 for kids ages 3-11 and $5 for night swim (Mondays through Thursdays after 6 p.m.).
David F. Schultz Aquatic Center
This water park is in Milwaukee's Lincoln Park, 1301 W. Hampton Ave. It has a bucket dump and spray jets, spray posts and water troughs for kids to play in the water. There's even a lazy river.
It's open 10 a.m.-noon. for Tot Time (ages 7 and under with an adult) Monday-Friday, noon-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday and noon-6 p.m. Friday-Sunday.
Admission is $7.75 for adults, $6 for kids ages 3-11, $5 for night swim (after 6 p.m. Monday-Thursday) and $3.50 for Tot Time.
TOSA Pool at Hoyt Park
The Hoyt Park pool, 1800 N. Swan Blvd. in Wauwatosa, has a storied past. Popular for years as a neighborhood pool, it was eventually closed as a result of Milwaukee County budget cuts. Neighbors didn't take that lightly and banded together to open a completely revitalized water park.
There are slides, a zero-depth-entrance pool and a water playground. Plus, there are concessions, movies on summer nights and even a beer garden.
The pool is open noon-4:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, noon-6 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday. Evening swim is 6-8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. Parent/tot swim (ages 6 and under) is 9-11 a.m. Monday-Friday.
Admission is $8 during the day, $5 for evening swim and $5 for parent/tot swim.
Great Wolf Lodge
If you're willing to go all out and spend the night, a new Great Wolf Lodge across the street from Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Ill., is opening July 1.
The indoor waterpark is massive, with family and individual water slides, a lazy river, a water playground, a wave pool and a wading pool and splash pad with spray features for little ones. There's also an outdoor swimming pool for when the weather's nice.
See greatwolf.com/illinois for hours and room rates.
RELATED: I got to see the inside of the new Great Wolf Lodge, and it's going to be awesome!
Hurricane Harbor
Great America also has its own waterpark. Your admission fee includes a day packed with water fun, including the Buccaneer Bay water playground with plenty of lounging space for Mom and Dad. There's also the Dive Bomber, a water ride where you fall through a trap door; a surf simulator and plenty of water slides, including the Mega Wedgie (enough said).
See sixflags.com for hours and ticket information.
Pelican Cove Family Water Park
This waterpark is in Kosciuszko Park, 2201 S. 7th St., on Milwaukee's south side. There are water slides, both giant and kid-sized, in addition to spraying and splashing interactive toys.
It's open 12:30-4:30 p.m. daily, plus 5:30-7:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday.
Admission is $4 for adults, $3 for kids ages 3-11, $3 for evening swim
The Springs Water Park at Country Springs Hotel
Even though The Springs Water Park is in Pewaukee's Country Springs Hotel, you don't have to stay overnight to enjoy the water attractions, as day passes (and birthday party packages) are available.
The waterpark has three slides (two tube slides and a body slide); the Waukesha WaterWorks water playground, which has its own children's slides and a dump bucket; and Night Fall Springs, an indoor/outdoor whirlpool.
Room rates and hours are available at countryspringshotel.com.
Wiberg Aquatic Center
If you want to stay in the Waukesha County area but are more interested in being outside than in, the Wiberg Aquatic Center at Wirth Park, 2585 N. Pilgrim Road, Brookfield, is a good choice.
There are diving boards, flume slides and water playground features for your kids to enjoy.
The center is open weekdays 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. for the zero-depth pool, 1-4:30 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. for the full facility; and 1-8 p.m. on weekends.
Prices vary depending on hours and residency; check www.ci.brookfield.wi.us for details.
Best Summer Ever
More stories to help you make the most of summer in Wisconsin:
10 remote campsites in Wisconsin
Guide to Milwaukee beer gardens
3 summer road trips in Wisconsin
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Waterparks within driving distance for Milwaukee families
