The summer season is the best time of the year for families and friends to take a trip to the water park and cool off during the hottest days of the season. On Saturday, May 24, Deep River Waterpark opened to the public in what is one of the most memorable seasons in its history.
This year marks the 30th anniversary celebration of Deep River Waterpark since it first opened in 1995. General Manager Nicole Drexler is excited to open the gates once again in hopes to give visitors the best experience they’ve ever had at the park.
“We’ve had our general setup and are getting all of the pools painted and filled,” Drexler said. “It’s been a lot of extra preparation with this being the 30th anniversary. Our part-time team has helped out tremendously to get us set up for this season, and we’re super thankful for that.”
While Deep River Waterpark is a staple in the Region, especially for those who live in Lake and Porter Counties, there are plenty of attractions to keep visitors busy. Whether you have been a visitor for 30 years or if this is your first time checking it out, there is no shortage of fun water slides and splashing activities.
Most visitors believe that the Rip Tide Wavepool is the best attraction that the park has to offer.
“The wave pool is usually everyone’s favorite attraction,” Drexler said. “There's different wave cycles and different patterns, so it’s not always the same wave cycle. The waves come on for 10 minutes at a time, then turn off for 15 minutes. It's just a never ending cycle from open to close.”
The park also contains more than a dozen different slides that are geared towards people of all ages.
“We have the three black slides, which is known as the Storm Complex,” Drexler said. “Those are our original tube slides and people like the thrill they get from going on them. The Kraken Mat Racer is our setup of six purple, green, or blue slides. People can race their family and friends, and all six slides can have people go at once. The other big attraction we have is our toilet bowl slides, which we call the Double Dueling Cannonbowl. You can take a stroll in Mid-America’s Great River Ride and make a pit stop on those slides.”
Other slides that the park has to offer includes the Whitewater Run Tube Slide, Pipeline Express & Slidewinder Body Slides, and the Dragon Speed Slides, the latter of which is the tallest slide in the park.
Mid-America’s Great River Ride, also known as one of the lazy rivers of the park, is located on the east side of the park upon entry. On the west side of the park, you’ll find another lazy river known as the Bayou River Ride.
There’s a number of play areas for the kids to enjoy. Most kids love to climb the nets of Mayor Byrdovich’s Courthouse, which is a giant water jungle gym with sprinklers, tipping water buckets, two body slides, and a small frog slide. Other attractions that the kids enjoy include Paddles PlayZone, a playground surrounded by water and sprinklers, and Water Wars, a family-fun competition that lets you launch balloons at your opponent.
“I think for people who might be coming here for the first time, the Kraken should definitely be the first one they try,” said Lexi Crenshaw, part-time park lead at Deep River Waterpark. “I just went on it for the first time last year, and it was so much fun. It’s also one of the newest attractions we have here. The toilet bowl slides are always a blast. If you really want to challenge yourself, I’d recommend going on the Dragon.”
Visitors can take a break from the water fun with several food and drink stands scattered throughout the park. Surf Side Cafe has a wide range of menu items such as burgers, nachos, grilled chicken, corn dogs, iced teas, and sodas. Chompy’s Pizza and Riverside Grill provide a variety of pizza, breadsticks, and home cooked delights off the grill.
Dippin’ Dots will be returning once again as a premiere ice cream spot at the park. However, the park will also be implementing the brand new Flavor Point shop, located where the formerly known Milo’s Ice Cream Shop used to be. People can come to the new shop for mini donuts, large donuts, shakes, cotton candy, and specialty drinks.
“This is going to be an exciting year for us,” Crenshaw said. “I’m super excited that we’re opening up Flavor Point. I think it's going to bring a lot more people to the park, and that’s the best feeling for us to have an impact on that.”
Funnel cakes and the funnel cake sundaes have been some of the highlight menu items at the park for several years. While they used to be found at Milo’s Ice Cream Shop, both will still be accessible despite the slight change to the shop.
For 30 years, Deep River Waterpark has been motivated to create, as they call it, a “simply splashtastic” experience for all of its customers. With this season being one that celebrates a monumental achievement for the park’s history, the staff members can’t wait to have a great summer with the community.
“I think it’s going to be a warm and welcoming season,” Drexler said. “Whether people get their tickets ahead of time and they meet our guest service at the gate, or if they’re meeting one of our admissions cashiers at the kiosk, we’re ready to see all the smiling faces come to the park this season.”
For more information on Deep River Waterpark, you can visit deepriverwaterpark.com.
