Dive In! Beach Season Never Ends in Cleveland Plus

You can make a big splash whatever the weather in Northeast Ohio at one of the region’s great waterparks.

Grab your flip flops and head to the Caribbean-themed Castaway Bay (www.castawaybay.com), a tropical indoor waterpark in Sandusky packed with 38,000 square feet of slides and rides. And after the tropical adventure of wave pools and whirlpools, you can relax at a full-service spa offering aromatherapy, facials and massages.

Also in Sandusky, Great Wolf Lodge (www.greatwolfsandusky.com) is a 200,000-gallon waterpark that features an assortment of kiddie slides and pools designed to accommodate the “54 inch and under” set. Whether you’re floating down a lazy river or headed out on a Wolf Walk, there’s no “roughing it” required here.

Just down the road, Kalahari Resort (www.kalahariresorts.com/oh/) includes both an indoor and outdoor waterpark with two boogie board/standup surf Flowriders, water roller coasters and a swimup bar, there’s something for everyone. And, the African-themed resort is in the process of adding on to its already spacious convention center. This $22 million expansion will bring Kalahari’s convention center total square footage to 215,000 so it can accommodate even more faith-based retreats, family reunions, tradeshows, special events and corporate outings.

Just half an hour southeast of Cleveland, Geauga Lake’s Wildwater Kingdom (wildwaterfun.com) is an outdoor cabana-lined watery playground boasting, among many soak-tacular attractions, a 60-foot tall, 253-foot-long funnel slide and a 30,000 square foot wave pool. Groups of 15 or more qualify for discount admission.

- Jeff Niesel 

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