Aquatic centers and pools to open Memorial Day weekend

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Shawnee County Parks + Recreation announced aquatic centers and swimming pools will open May 27 for Memorial Day weekend.

Shawnee County Parks + Recreation announced Dornwood Spray Park at 2500 E. Highland and Jackson Spray Park at SE 8th and Lake opened on May 13 while aquatic centers, pools, and the Lake Shawnee Adventure Cove will open on Saturday, May 27 for Memorial Day weekend.

Regular aquatic center and pool hours and admission rates include:

Blaisdell Family Aquatic Center, Midwest Health Aquatic Center, and Shawnee North Family Aquatic Center are open from noon to 7 p.m. daily with admission rates at $6 for children age 2-12 , $7 for adults, and free for children under age 2.

Garfield Pool, Hillcrest Pool, Oakland Pool, and Rossville Community Pool are open from noon to 5 p.m. daily with admission rates of $2 for children age 2-12, $2 for adults, and free for children under age 2.

According to officials at Shawnee County Parks + Recreation, new this year is a $10 charge for patrons to bring in their own cooler. Alcohol is still prohibited. This allows families to bring their own food and drinks rather than purchasing food and drink at concession stands.

Shawnee County Parks + Recreation said there are two special situations as pools open on May 27, these include:

Due to the lifeguard training session, the diving area will not be available at Hillcrest Pool from May 27-28. Admission is being discounted to $1 and the pool will remain open two hours longer until 7 p.m.

Due to a leak, the bow tie wave pool at Midwest Health Aquatic Center will not be available until repairs can be made. Admission to the aquatic center will be discounted to $3 for youth and $4 for adults until repairs can be made.

With strong recruiting efforts, Shawnee County Parks + Recreation said they are ahead of the past two years in recruiting lifeguards. They have had a number of trainings and have one more this weekend. With this latest group, they will be near 170 lifeguards, which doesn’t include pool managers. In the face of an international lifeguard shortage, some communities are not opening all of their pools for the second year in a row, but this doesn’t include Shawnee County Parks + Recreation.

Last year, Shawnee County Parks + Recreation had 97,983 admissions at their aquatic centers and pools, which is noteworthy as Shawnee County Parks + Recreation knows of no other similarly sized parks departments that have as many aquatic facilities as Shawnee County.

Shawnee County Parks + Recreation said aquatic fitness programs run by Shockwave Aqua Fitness are booming. Each year, the Shawnee County Parks + Recreation 5K water walks at Shawnee North Family Aquatic Center sell out. The Sunflower Aquathon at Shawnee North last year was the largest outdoor fitness event in the nation. Officials said they are offering aquatic fitness classes at more locations.

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