This park was not even slightly on my radar but what a GREAT find for fun on a hot summer day…read more Pro-tip, buy your tickets and parking on-line. The day we came their internet was down so if you didn't have cash or buy tickets in advance you couldn't get in. The park was clean and well maintained and there's a ton of attractions to explore. Totally affordable and very local. I can't wait to take my little guy back here again. Grab a cabana!

This place was fantastic!…read more The tip I got and would pass on is to purchase your tickets online. The longest wait was to get into the parking lot, despite signs saying they were at capacity with the exception of online tickets. Everything was magnificent! They have lifejackets available. Bring your own chairs if you want a place to put your stuff and all the lawn chairs are taken. They have tubes to use for the wave pool and lazy River. Outside food is not allowed but I would recommend finding a way to bring it in because I would have purchased meals for my family at the concession stand but there were long lines all day and once it finally died down I realized why... they ran out of all the food-food (they still had bags of chips). If you're not going to allow outside food, you need to be able to accommodate guests! Yes, they allow you to leave and come back same-day but do I really want to get in my hot car where my skin sticks to the seats, while wearing a wet bathing suit just to find the closest fast food? No, not really. I would rather pack sandwiches and leave in the car or whatever. Plenty of people brought grills to set up outside the gates, so I would consider that in the future. There are so many awesome things about this place, that I look forward to returning next year!

We have our fair share of splash pads in Chicago, but this wins! I took my 9 and 6 year old boys…read morehere to meet a friend this past weekend and they absolutely loved it! The friend we were meeting is a local so she was able to get a reservation for the 11am-1pm time slot, which is apparently reserved for locals. It wasn't too crowded and was the perfect activity for a very hot summer day. My 6 year old was a bit fearful of the giant bucket of water that pours on your head at first, although by the end of the 2 hours he was standing under it welcoming it. My 9 year old and his friend jumped right in and couldn't get enough of all the slides and water fun. They were probably some of the older kids there, but still young enough to enjoy the fun. There's also a more babyish area to the side for younger kids who aren't into the slides and giant bucket. They also get 5 stars for cleanliness, including the bathrooms and changing rooms. I had to show out my coffee when we arrived since no food or drink is allowed inside the gate, but that's probably how they manage to keep it so clean. My sons are asking when we can go to Michigan just to go to this again so I can imagine if we were locals we would be there quite a bit.

Awesome splash pad! Lily Pad Springs lives up to the hype and need for reservations. Thankfully, it…read morehas been open long enough now that you just have to reserve a couple of days ahead with the forecast being more accurate. This splash pad is great for all ages. There are sections that lends to smaller kiddos, but truly, the whole pad is appropriate and entertaing enough for toddlers to tweens. Even the adults were enjoying themselves. The addition of water slides makes this splash pad the best in the area for older kids. There are changing areas, restrooms, several tables and benches in the shade for parents. Today, it is 93 degrees in the sun and I am really comfortable under the shade of a table. The time limit per session is 2 hours, which is really perfect. You can't bring in your own snacks/lunch, so any longer would be tough for my kiddo. We will be back for sure!

Really enjoy this place and the children love this place grills to cook they let you bring your own…read morefood to cook on grill and have plenty of tables. They have a wave pool and two huge water slides and a lazy river to float through. They also have a cute little area for younger children with a small bridge you have to walk over. I really enjoy bringing the family here and letting them just enjoy themselves safely . Located right by meijers and down the street from Sam's club . Great place to take the children on a warm summer day and the staff is always young but super friendly and helpful. They also have lockers if you need to lock your things up while you swim with no worries.

This place is always an awesome time! The cost is low and you can't complain when you've got a…read morelocal place where you can go enjoy a lazy river. I prefer to come here during the week when folks are home, but it's fine too when hundreds of people descend upon the grounds. Go and enjoy! You'll feel like you're on vacation when you aren't.

My cousins and I visited Water Warrior Island on a Saturday. We rode the slide first which is only…read morelike $5 to go down once. The middle slide has the steepest slope, that's the one I rode. Typically Everybody gets an hour session on the "island" which is $20 for the hour. An hour was perfect nothing more nothing less. The obstacle course is actually fun and pretty big. I was happy that it is as shown in pictures in ads. The surrounding beach area was nice as well. There were grills there, bathrooms, a small beach area, they also have kayaking, paddle boarding, etc. you are wearing life jackets the whole time and there are about 3/4 lifeguards out there while your on the island. 10/10 would come again P.S Need a Michigan recreation passport for your car $17 for the whole year cash only

This was super fun for our whole family. It started to rain at the beginning of our session, but…read moreit made the whole event more fun as it was really slippery. The kids loved it as did my wife ( even with her bad back). Highly recommended--even with the rain--as long as it's not lightning :)

So this place is fun and the lifeguards are on there job. But the Area is horrible to me luckily…read morethe waterpark and parking lot has a gate around it. No big food court but still Some food. I guess I just don't like feeling like gunshots could ring out at any minute so probably never returning.

Great environment, great patrons, great staff, the women's restroom/shower house was constantly…read morestaffed/cleaned. It was a great time.

Every time I come here, I am treated like family. The staff ask for your preferences when going…read moredown certain slides, and the price is nice and cheap. Love this place, will return next summer

It was our first time visiting the East Lansing Family Aquatic Center. I was with some family from…read moreout of town so we needed a place to take the kids to burn off some steam. Sounds like a great spot right? Right! Unassuming from the outside, it was all business and professional courtesy once you entered through the gates. Here's the thing with aquatic centers. Lifeguards are paramount! We can all imagine a scenario when security and lifeguards are lacking, so to see it in action was incredibly impressive. On the day we went - near the end of our stay, we witnessed an episode where all the whistles blew, lifeguards stood up at their stations and pointed to the spot where someone was struggling in the water. In a matter of seconds, lifeguards converged and basically took care of business. Now these are late teens to early twenty-something kids. And to see this type of urgency, and trained behavior for the safety and security of their patrons was, well - encouraging to say the least. Once we got home it was decided that, based on our first experience, this won't be our last trip to the East Lansing Family Aquatic Center. Well done staff! You came through with stars!

Good hiking and good views. Screaming children scare off the wildlife, but it's good to see…read morefamilies out and about I suppose.

I think this park is newer. The metal slide kind of worried me, but there plenty of other slides…read more Plenty of room to run and things for all ages to play on. There's a wheel chair friendly carousel, and the chair type baby swings. The toddler side is just as detailed. There are bathrooms within walking distance. Plenty of benches, and some shaded picnic tables.

Check the county website or facebook page before you go!! Recently, the beach at Independence Lake…read morehas had to be shut down several times for high e coli levels. One of the posts said that this is because of the amount of geese that have been frequenting the lake this year or because of runoff from rain. We went once before we knew about the e coli issues and actually had a great time. The beach (we thought) appeared clean and the water was the perfect cool temperature on a hot summer day. The swimming area went deep enough that we could float away from the littles on the shoreline. There were two life guards on duty. They have really amazing facilities where a get together was being held under the pavilion. They have a snack station, but we brought our own chips and sodas. They also have a splash pad with water slides. This area was closed when we went, and you have to pay a little more to access this area. They also have some cool trails and a frisbee golf course. You can bring dogs, but not to the designated swimming area. I hope they figure out the e coli issues because we would love to go back.

Very nice park. Clean water , beach , trails. Not too…read morecrowded. It's hidden in backroad. Definitely will be back again. My daughter enjoyed this park.

We took a late vacation and visited the Watering Hole. Our grandkids are 6, 4 and 1.5 and it was a…read moreperfect day for them. I was very impressed with the zoo animals. They were so well cared for and their enclosures were so clean. We did the putt putt and one hole needed some new grass but the remaining 17 holes were super. Despite the water being chilly, the kids spent an hour going down the slides. This was the first time the kids went on bumper cars and bumper boats. A wonderful value for our family. We did go home for lunch and nap but we were able to go back for a few hours. The people we encountered were nice; some were young kids so we didn't really interact with them. We plan on going back next year and we will certainly visit this place again.

From the moment we walked in it was bad. The man behind the counter was so rude and seemed…read moreirritated that we were there. The bathrooms were absolutely disgusting, everything seemed to be out of order with a poor excuse, slides and go carts closed unexpectedly for over an hour, and the lifeguards never looked up from their phones.