OKLAHOMA CITY — As schools let out for summer break and temperatures start to reach from hot to sweltering over the coming months, Oklahoma City residents are sure to be looking for some fun and family-friendly ways to stay cool.
But while Hurricane Harbor remains an OKC summer staple and the brand new OKANA is gearing up for its first ever summer with its own groundbreaking, temperature-controlled, indoor water park, many in the city might be looking for alternative options that are less crowded, more accessible, and less expensive.
Luckily, OKC Parks and Recreation operates and maintains its own citywide network of wet and watery attractions all summer long, including its Family Aquatic Centers, complete with large waterslides and concessions, its large number of open, accessible “spraygrounds,” and, of course, the traditional community pool.
The Aquatic Centers and spraygrounds open to the public on Saturday, May 24th and the Northeast Community Pool opens June 10th.
“It’s cheaper, it’s accessible, and it’s a blast,” said Carrie Coppernoll Jacobs, Public Information Officer for OKC Parks. “It’s really a great public resource to have these options, and we want people to use them.”
Aquatic Centers
Surely, the largest and most visible City-run summer fun options are the two large Family Aquatic Centers that OKC Parks operates inside two of the biggest city parks:
-Will Rogers Park at NW 36th and Portland Ave.
-Earlywine Park at SW 119th and May Ave.
These full-sized, City-operated attractions boast large outdoor pool areas, waterslides, concessions, and more, offering a smaller-scale (and decidedly less-expensive) alternative to the big waterparks.
“The Aquatic Centers have slides and all kinds of water features and dedicated areas for small children and even places where you can dive and do cannonballs,” Jacobs said. “Admission for those is only $6, and we’re actually going cashless this year for the first time.”
Of course, being the largest summer attractions offered by OKC Parks means that the Aquatic Centers are also the most intensive to maintain.
“It’s really sort of a year-round endeavor with the Aquatic Centers,” Jacobs explained. “There’s a lot of maintenance and safety training, and then of course, when they open in the summer season, it’s just bonkers.”
Spraygrounds
The most ubiquitous and plentiful water-fun options across OKC are the many “spraygrounds” installed in parks throughout the full sprawl of the city.
There are currently sixteen spraygrounds in operation across OKC, providing smaller and more easily maintained summer fun opportunities for kids and families.
And the best part is that they’re all completely free.
“The water features on the spraygrounds only operate when you push the button to turn them on, and then they’ll only spray for a couple minutes before you have to press it again,” said Jacobs. “So kids will always race to be the first one to press the button and they just get absolutely engaged with it.”
The many spraygrounds throughout the city have been phased into the parks throughout the past two decades, replacing most of the previously existing public pools.
“They’re just so much more accessible and safer than pools, and you don’t have to have a lifeguard on duty,” she said. “There’s no drowning risk or anything, so kids can just run in and play, and that means they can stay free with no admission or anything.”
Because the water only runs temporarily after pressing the button to make the features spray, it also saves the City a significant amount in water usage.
“The spraygrounds only cost $300,000 worth of water for the whole summer,” Jacobs explained. “And that’s $300,000 worth of kids just absolutely having a blast.”
Northeast Community Pool
The last remaining City-run public pool is the Northeast Community Pool at NE 33rd and Lottie Ave. in OKC’s Eastside.
“Admission for the Northeast Community Pool is actually even cheaper than the Aquatic Centers,” Jacobs said. “It’s only $2 a day, and anyone 17 or younger gets in free.”
But while the Aquatic Centers and spraygrounds are all kicking off their summer operations this weekend, the Northeast pool will be opening a bit later for the season.
“That one is actually not opening until June 10th,” Jacobs said, citing some extra work required to effectively staff lifeguards and safety personnel to carefully monitor drowning and slipping hazards.
Maintenance, safety, and concerns
Though the OKC Parks Department inspects and maintains all of these attractions throughout the year and gives them some extra attention before opening them officially for the summer season, new concerns or issues can still pop up at any time.
If that happens, especially at any of the spraygrounds locations that are unstaffed, they recommend calling the City’s Action Center so that someone can be dispatched quickly to address those issues.
“We have a lot of water features out there, so we want to make sure that everything is working and that the kids especially get to enjoy it all,” Jacobs said. “We want all of our facilities to work for everybody, because it’s just a nice way to spend a day.”
Brett Fieldcamp has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly 15 years, writing for several local and state publications. He’s also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
