for the most part, it is good, but sometimes it be closed, but it's great new slides, a rock…read moreclimbing wall

We're visiting KC over the July 4th weekend, and gosh, it's hot. This place was a perfect holiday…read moreway to cool off, because it has such large pools, and is clean and friendly. (Okay, the changing rooms/restrooms are a little public-park grungy, but not bad. And they have a series of private, roomy ones, so you can dress your kids in there.) It was $8 to get in, which I think is higher than what they charge locals, but I felt it was worth it. The slides were great for my husband, who's not so interested in plain swimming, but loves a bit of adventure, and the giant pools were great for me, a lap swimmer. It was crowded, and the lifeguards were not keeping idlers out of the lap-swim lanes, but there was enough space that it wasn't too hard to eke out a reasonably clear path for laps in spite of it. There were lounge chairs all over, and a lawn for the overflow. There weren't as many shady spots as I expected, but I spent most of the time in the water, where the temperature was perfect: cooling, but not so cold that the transition is a shock. I found the giant water slides a little scary, but I managed to try each of them once, and survived. The straight one is far faster, fyi. There's also a diving pool. If it's been a while since you've dived off a board, I suggest trying a dive off the edge before graduating to the diving board, which I regret not doing. I'm not sure if this is just a July 4th thing or if they always do it, but they played upbeat pop songs the whole time (not too loudly, but enough to be festive), and sent us off with a series of patriotic tunes at closing.

$10 for non-residents (which I am) will get you entrance into an awesome water park. There is…read moresomething for everyone here from toddlers to teens. Water slides, lazy River, diving boards, lap pool, and dedicated kids area with a little slide and lots of water features. There are chairs all around to sit on and some grass for sitting too, though finding chairs in the shade is more competitive. This place is such a good deal!! If you are visiting Shawnee during the Summer it's definitely worth a stop.

Such an awesome pool to go to! Very kid friendly! The staff does kid friendly games like water…read moreballoon toss and guess how many tootsie rolls are in a jar. The bathrooms are clean and spacious! Only downside is I feel like the staff is very young so management maybe needs to encourage more professionalism and communication skills to the cashiers and have all staff informed about different promotions going on. For example I called twice to confirm if I could bring a canned food to get half price admission (according to their website) and the girl on the other end told me no. I called again for a different employee and this girl was yelling out to anyone else who walked past her to get a answer if it was still going on. They assumed yes so I showed up with my canned good and they took it but she still wanted to charge me full price until I mentioned I brought a canned good! Besides this I'd bring my kiddo again.

This is a very nice public swimming pool with a 22 feet high spiral water slide, a diving board,…read moretwo kiddie pools, a 25 meter lap lane, a concession area, locker rooms, rest rooms, a shaded seating area, and a dedicated parking lot. There is also a nice half basketball court, and a play area outside the pool area. Very nice!

Best music playlist of all the OP pools. Everyday I come the jams keep on kicking. Whomever made it…read morebravo!

The manager lifeguard literally came up and said he would "bend the rules" for another child that…read morewas the same height as my child. Would not for my child when I asked after watching another parent ask. Just another Lawrence thing that's a joke rn

I'm not a beach person, but when you take them for granted and then move half a country away from…read moreany, you start to miss them! You need a fix of the sounds of splashing and screams and the smells of suntan lotion and fried foods and the sun on your...well, at the end of your towel if it must be anywhere near your person (I am a shade lover). Really, I've always been more into pools than beaches. Sand is gross and waves and jellyfish (and SHARKS!) often make swimming impossible (NB: I am just trying to make myself feel better about missing access to a coast). When I was a kid, the highlight of my summer were the daily trips to one of the county pools, where I'd spend hours swimming to the point where I'd leave with a lung ache from the chlorine. The Outdoor Aquatic Center is a lot nicer than the pools I went to growing up. I spent many an afternoon here last summer. Sometimes, I'd get lucky and grab a chair in the shade of an umbrella (hello, beach!), but if none were available, I'd spread out my towel in the shade of the trees. Really, an idyllic way to spend a summer day. The pool has very carefully sectioned off areas according to water level. As most of the time I was in the pool hanging out with a 7 and 3 year old, we'd be in the shallow area, which is very kid-friendly, with fountains and waterfalls. In the other areas there are 2 awesome slides/flumes and diving boards. I can't lie. Part of me was dying to be a kid again so I could ride down that corkscrew flume! There are lockers, as well as a snack stand that is pretty cheap. The most awesome thing? It costs $4 to get in! $3 for those under 5 and over 65, but if you know you're going regularly, a season pass will only set you back 20 bucks per 30 days (162 bucks for an annual pass that includes the Indoor Aquatic Center). Surely this isn't much more than it cost back when I was a kid (trust me, this is a very long time ago).

I love how the "big kid" and "little kid" areas are separated by the lazy river where most adults…read morewanted to be, including me! Many areas are provided for those that don't necessarily want to swim or be involved in pool activities, but still be in the water. I love the padded splash pad for the littles, then the multiple streams of water throughout the "little kid sections" with two different types of slides. Then in the "big kid" section there's the pool for those that are older and I'm certain adults can enjoy it as well! In the general pool area there are built in basketball goals and in the diving pool there's a rock climbing wall....my first time seeing a wall at a pool. We came here with our 2 year old and she was asleep by the time we made it home, so it's safe to say she had a great time! This aquatic center was recently renovated and it was definitely money well spent, very inclusive and fun for all ages! Can't wait to spend more summer days here cooling off.

We were visiting from the west coast and needed a pool to lounge around at-this pool worked great!read more

First off concrete HOT shredded my feet but it wasn't bad extremely strict my spine is in shambles…read moreafter the tube ride do NOT GO if there idea of a water slide is speed bumps they nailed and packed

Terrible everything about it lifeguards are mean my food was moldy can I almost drowned and the…read morelifeguards did nothing construction was making the air hard to breath to

This is an outstanding park with so many amenities! It has a beautiful pond, hockey area, tennis…read morearea, skateboarding area, large playground area, disc golf course, a variety of walking trails that are paved. A multitude of picnic areas and benches scattered throughout. They also have it lit up at Christmas, which is beautiful.

This park is so beautiful and there's plenty to do here. There's a skate park, two tennis courts,…read morehockey area to skate, two kids playground, big walking trails that goes all around, plus there's an aquatic center with lots of water slides! Also when fall hits they hang christmas lights all around the park for people to visit and stroll aroundlat night. It's a must visit during Christmas time!