Can’t manage a trip out west or to Europe to cool off? Here’s a look at some water parks near the GTA.
Splash Works at Canada’s Wonderland
Canada’s Wonderland is not just home to 16 roller coasters and the funnel cake. Splash Works is 20 acres of slides and water play areas, with Canada’s largest wave pool and a quarter-mile long lazy river. Splash Works is open daily in July and August from 11am to 7pm, and is included with park admission. s#
Splash Island at The º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøZoo
Toddlers and preschoolers love the water-spraying animals, misters, and small slides. Parents get wet escorting their wee ones through the zones. Located in the Discovery Zone inside the º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøZoo grounds, Splash Island is open during regular Zoo hours for July and August, and then the first and weekend in September.
Wild Water Kingdom, Brampton
Wild Water Kingdom is over 100 acres of water slides, a lazy river, a wave pool, and a number of children’s pools and water play zones. The Caribbean Cove has a 6,000 square foot saltwater pool set up in tropical surroundings, so you can pretend the hot streets of Brampton are the soft sands of Barbados. Open daily until August 19 from 10am to 7pm, and then from 10am to 6pm from August 20 until September 3rd.
Wild Waterworks, Hamilton
Just off the QEW in Hamilton is Wild Waterworks, an 83-hectare park on the shores of Lake Ontario. With two six-storey bodyslides, one of Canada’s largest outdoor wave pools, and an area for little ones called Little Squirt Works - a wading pool with slides, sprays, mists and fountains – Wild Waterworks is open daily from 11am – 8pm.
Great Wolf Lodge, Fallsview, Americana – Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls has you covered when it comes to indoor water parks. You can leave the sunscreen at home as Great Wolf Lodge and Fallsview Indoor Waterpark both provide over 100,000 square feet of indoor water fun. Smaller children will appreciate the smaller scale of the slides at the Americana, and parents will appreciate the smaller price point.
Splash Town at Darien Lake
Pack your passport as well as your bathing suit, and head across the border to the Splash Town, with 11 water slides and attractions, located at the Darien Lake theme park in Western New York. About 40 minutes from the Peace Bridge, make it a mini-break, as passes for Darien Lake and Splash Town are included with stays at the Darien Lake campgrounds or Lodge On The Lake.
Calypso Water Park, Ottawa
Canada’s biggest waterpark is still making waves two years after opening just outside Ottawa. More than 35 waterslides, the country’s largest wave pool (it’ll knock you off your feet) and more than 100 water-based games are spread over 100 acres. Not to be missed? Summit Tower. At nearly 30 meters it’s the highest free-standing waterfall in North America. Rates are based on height and range from $26.55 to $33.63. Rates are reduced after 3 p.m. and kids 2 and under are free.
Other Options
The City of Toronto’s splash pads and wading pools are open daily at local parks from now until September. The º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøand Region Conservation Areas also have three aquatic facilities open to the public – Albion Hills near Bolton, Brampton’s Heart Lake, and Petticoat Creek in Pickering. The newly renovated Petticoat Creek location has a large, fully accessible pool. Reduced admission fees are available to TRCA members.
Corinne McDermott is a Toronto-based freelance writer and founder of
With files from Heather Greenwood Davis
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