New York City has hundreds of attractions for the entire family from museums to parks and Broadway productions. However, on a hot and sunny day, you'll have to take about a one-hour car ride outside of the city to spend the day in a water park. Cool off in water parks that not only have thrilling water slides and relaxing tube rides for kids of all ages and adults, but non-water attractions as well.
On it's 59th season in 2011, 200-acre Tomahawk Lake Water Park in Sparta, New Jersey, offers rides and attractions. About an hour from New York City, you'll find a 400-foot body slide, a speed slide and a 500-foot water slide here. You can rent swan boats, duck boats, paddle boats and bumper boats for use on the 20-acre lake. The park has an 18-hole mini golf course, horseshoe and volleyball areas, a picnic area, a softball field, an outdoor beer garden and arcades. A general entrance fee is charged in addition to water slide, boats and miniature golf prices. Tomahawk Lake Water Park is open from May to September.
Runaway Rapids Water Park is in Keansburg, New Jersey, about an hour from New York City. This park offers 38 rides and 12 water park attractions. Relax in the spa pools, glide down the lazy river or slide down 18 water slides that vary in speed and height. Children can play in the kiddie lagoon and enjoy some of the kiddie rides including the tea cups, flying dragons and caterpillar. The park has full-service restaurants, go-karts and a 2,500-foot fishing pier. Runaway Rapids Water Park is open from May to September.
About an hour and 15 minutes from New York City, The Land of Make Believe and Pirates Cove in Blairstown, New Jersey, has been entertaining families for over 55 years. The water park features a 1,000-gallon dumping bucket, a body slide, two river tube rides and a life-sized, high-speed water slides, kiddie wading pool and slides and a pirate ship with water slides. An arcade, a carousel, nine food areas, a picnic area, hay rides and train rides are some of the other attractions in this over 30-acre park. Admission to the park includes free parking and free use of the picnic area and water park attractions. The Land of Make Believe and Pirates Cove is open on weekends only from Memorial Day weekend through the second weekend in June and is open every day from the third Saturday in June through Labor Day.
In Calverton, New York, the 96-acre Splish Splash is a water park where you can make your way down a water slide in total darkness or slide down a lazy river with spraying fountains. Not for the faint of heart, one water slide takes you down eight stories in three seconds and another plummets you 50 feet straight down. Kids under 44 inches will enjoy attractions made especially for them, including water cannons, climbing ropes, slides and a wading pool. Splish Splash is open from the end of May to September. Splish Splash is about an hour and 20 minutes from New York City.
