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Chill Out, Houston!

Cool ideas for beating the heat

Texas summers might be hot, but it isn’t enough to keep Houstonians indoors. Find locals—and in-the-know visitors—keeping cool at one of the area’s award-winning water parks, splash zones, lakes and beaches.

SplashTown Houston

SplashTown—Houston’s largest and most diverse water park—features 40-acres of action-packed agua entertainment. Highlights include the Stingray Racer, a head-first thrill slide soaring five stories into the sky, and the Tornado, a 75-foot high tunnel slide that ends in a big open-ended funnel.

Open year-round, Schlitterbahn Galveston Island offers swimmers more than 32 rides and attractions, including a wave pool, uphill water coasters, thrilling slides, water playgrounds and whitewater rapids. There are also hot tubs, family raft rides and Schlitterbahn’s exclusive Transportainment® river system.

Starting May 12, Moody Gardens’ Palm Beach will welcome visitors to its white-sand beach and water park. The tropical attractions, which boasts freshwater lagoons and waterfalls, added a lazy river, 18-foot tower slides, a wave pool and educational Kon-Tikitheme in 2011.

Discovery Green

Gateway Fountain at Discovery Green is a fanciful play area that's one of the park’s most popular summer features. When the mercury rises, hundreds of children flock to Downtown’s favorite “cool spot.” Lively jets create a joyful water park atop a gently sloping granite surface, with 14-foot high arcing jets.

Baytown’s three-acre Pirates Bay offers a slew of family-friendly attractions, less than an hour from Downtown Houston. The large and colorful park boasts a water playground with a large dumping bucket and a fabulous array of spray nozzles, tot slides and water guns, along with a winding lazy river and two large slide towers.

Wake Nation is one of 10 watersports complexes in the U.S. and Houston's only full-scale cable wakeboarding park. The pay-as-you-go facility enables riders to board, ski and skate without a boat and is equipped with a full pro shop, equipment rental shop, concessions area and outdoor observation deck.

Escape the bustle of city life at the 32-acre Sylvan Beach Park. In addition to a refreshing ocean breeze, the beach boasts fine sand, smaller waves for more enjoyable swimming and no seaweed, making it a prime paradise, less than an hour from Downtown Houston.

Cool off at one of the many Houston area’s fun-filled splash parks. These water playgrounds—set within some of the city's most-loved park spaces—feature jumping water jets, misting palm trees and showering towers, situated atop slip proof and cushioned surfaces. Edna Mae Washington Park, Gene Green Beltway 8 Park, McClendon Park and Bane Park are just a few area parks with splash park features.

By GHCVB Staff