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Best Water Parks and Attractions in Southeast Michigan
Water slides, spraygrounds, lazy rivers and more: These family spots are turbo summer fun for parents and kids in Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne counties
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Ready to get all wet? Grab the towels, sunscreen and entire family – and head to a water park! Now, you don't have to trek Up North to make a splash. We sleuthed southeast Michigan to find unique local spots where families can cool their heels, staycation style, each packed with water fun amenities – and right here in Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne counties. This region is teeming with wet spots parents and kids will definitely dig, from Huron-Clinton Metroparks faves to county-run gems to a few super sweet community offerings. Dive on in, the water's fine!
Family Aquatic Center at Chandler Park
- Address: 12600 Chandler Park Drive, Detroit
- Phone: 313-822-POOL (7665)
- Hours (2012): 11 a.m.-7 p.m. daily, mid-May till mid-September. Pool closes at 6:30 p.m.
- Costs (2012): Weekdays: $7-$8 adults, $6-$7 kids. Children under 2 are admitted for free. (Note: Lower costs are for Wayne County residents.)
Have you been to the only water park located in Detroit proper? Come see what you've been missing! Nestled on the eastside, this pool palace is a primo place to chill. The popular Way Cool Wave Pool ranges in depth from zero to six feet. There's a "Splish Splash Land" for tots, also, featuring tons of spray fountains. Teens and adults can tube-ride or body-slide down two super-sized water slides, too. It's all waiting a quarter-mile south of I-94!
Indoor Water Park at Warren Community Center
- Address: 5460 Arden Ave., Warren
- Phone: 586-268-8400
- Hours (2012): 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday
- Costs (2012): $5 Warren residents, $10 non-residents
Sun too hot for ya? The tropics come to life indoors at this fave, home to one of the biggest indoor enclosed water slides in Michigan. Hang out on the lazy river in a tube or get doused by a 300-gallon tipping bucket attached to a sweet play structure that's "a jungle gym in a foot of water," compete with six slides, squirt guns, water cannons and jets – and even faux palm trees and a giant toucan. There's also hot tub for ages 15-plus, and a sauna for ages 18-plus – plus a nearby pool for lap swimming.
Lake St. Clair Metropark Squirt Zone and Pool
- Address: 31300 Metropolitan Parkway, Harrison Township
- Phone: 586-463-4581
- Hours (2012): 11-7 p.m. daily (both), until Sept. 3 (Labor Day weekend).
- Costs (2012): Free for Spray 'n' Play, $3 per peron for pool. Add Huron-Clinton Metroparks vehicle pass: $5 daily, or $25 annual.
No doubt: The highlight here is the nifty sprayground. Little ones can prance around through ground sprays, water cannons and even red loops that curve to form a tunnel of spritzing H20. But there's more waterlogged fun to be had. Over at the Olympic-sized pool, you can race a pal down its two waterslides and practice popping off the diving board (kids must be 48 inches or taller to ride the slides). And, of course, there's tons of sandy beach to enjoy along the waters of St. Clair.
Red Oaks Waterpark
- Address: 1455 E. 13 Mile Road, Madison Heights
- Phone: 248-858-0918
- Hours (2012): Regular season (June 1-Aug. 26): 10 a.m.-7 p.m. weekends and holidays and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. weekdays; late season (Aug. 27-31): 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sept. 1-3 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
- Costs (2012): Weekends and holidays: $18 regular, $16 Oakland County residents and a $2 discount for active military and seniors ages 62-plus. Weekdays: $15 regular, $10 and $2 discount (respectively). Twilight (after 4 p.m. Monday-Friday only, minus holidays): $12 and $7 for residents. Coin-operated lockers are 50 cents. (Get full Red Oaks Waterpark cost info here.) Free parking.
Kids won't be bored anytime soon at Soak Station, a water playground with water jets, curtains, slides, bubbler jets and a six-foot tipping bucket (68 amenities in all!). There's also the 990-foot River Ride tubing adventure and Spray & Play zone for wee ones. And of course, don't miss out on that Triple Turn (a triple-flume waterslide) and the Terrific Tides wave-action pool.
