Outdoor Fun, Inside
Splash away your winter blues at Fort Rapids
By Mark J. Lucas |
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Let's face it, sometimes you just have a terrible yen to go for a swim. Ohio weather doesn't make this convenient, however, for nine months of the year.
So when the swim bug hits you, the folks at Fort Rapids Indoor Water Park Resort have got your fix. The first indoor water park in Ohio, the western-themed Fort Rapids is full of summer-like fun, sans the sun. My editor and I recently hit this local water hole with the intention of getting wet while maintaining our dignity. (We achieved the "wet" part; dignity was lost at the hands of our evil photographer, who had us go down a kiddie slide holding hands. Not cool.)
David S. Lewis and Mark J. Lucas on a water slide at Fort Rapids
Photo: Chris Casella
The main attraction is the 60,000-square-foot waterpark area. When you come in the door, you'll immediately notice that the temperature hovers around 80 degrees, though it should be noted the temperature in the locker room hovers around freezing. In the middle of the whole shebang is a 40-foot children's activity tower, on top of which is a 1,000-gallon bucket that tips every five minutes, the deluge of which is punishing. (Very small children have probably been washed down the drain, in fact.)
We, of course, passed this up. Artificial rivers and creeks snake throughout the floor, where people cruise around on inner-tubes. Even from the outside of the building, you can see the evidence of giant 40-foot waterslides coursing around within. Knowing this would be our best bet, Dave and I decided to tackle Blackout Pass, a monster of a waterslide that shoots you down into total blackness and then out into a basin, after which you are dropped into the Lazy River. Being almost six-and-a-half feet tall, I nearly brained myself going into the tube, but I gotta say, it was pretty fun, even if our choice of a tandem-rider inner-tube did prove to be a bit more intimate than we'd expected.
If you're looking for a more relaxing pastime, there's a 30-person, adults-only hot tub. (Of note, beer is permitted in the water park area, but not in the water.)
If videogames are your thing, Fort Rapids sports a 5,000-square-foot arcade, complete with classic games like Skee-ball and videogames such as Guitar Hero. Adjacent to the water park is a workout facility, which is also adults-only, reserved for guests of the hotel. A gift shop down the hall contains odds and ends that you'd need for the excursion, from towels to swimsuits to beer. It also contains toiletries and underwater cameras, if you'd like to immortalize your stay on film.
Other amenities for the dampened adult
Fort Rapids contains a full service restaurant called the Branding Iron Grille. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and items include a number of Southwestern dishes, such as chili and the like. They also have a variety of salads, burgers, pastas, and pizza, for about the same price you would pay at a T.G.I. Friday's. In the swimming area, the D.B.'s Sidewinder Cafe sports a menu of pizza, burgers, and several other items in the vein of fair food, such as funnel fries. The Canyon Cafe, located near the lobby, is essentially a coffee shop. They serve java, fruit smoothies, and various pastries, such as crumb cake and donuts.
What would a day at the water park be without a bar? The Copper Star Saloon in a full-service sports bar that serves beer, wine, and liquor. Drinks from the bar cannot be taken into the water park area, but it is equipped with flat panel TVs that are usually tuned to sporting events. There is also a limited menu, including most of the simpler selections from the Branding Iron Grille. We sampled a couple brews, which were pretty reasonably priced.
Fort Rapids definitely has enough going on to make a day of it, but we recommend you make a party of it; bring your friends, in other words. Rooms and suites are available if you want to make a weekend of it, or if you want to make a conference or wedding reception of it, rooms are available for that as well. A day pass will run you $27 before 4 p.m. and $22 afterward. All in all, we had a grand old time, though I'm still a little bitter about the hand-holding on the slide.
Fort Rapids Indoor Water Park Resort
4560 Hilton Corporate Dr.
(614) 868-1380
www.fortrapids.com
Originally Published: February 1, 2010
