I know, I know—I wrote a blog about the county pools already. But that was before I actually went to Tibbetts Brook Park in Yonkers. Holy cow, folks! This is the place to spend the dog days of summer!
The park is one of the oldest in the county—more than 80-years-old. There are all sorts of cool things to do here, like playing a round of pretty snazzy miniature golf or some tennis or hiking one of the many trails.
But the real draw? The nifty new water park that opened just this summer!
The old, icky pool had a major facelift and is now a really spectacular spot. There are two major, kid-friendly things to do here. One is the Lazy River, a three-foot-deep, slow-moving, oval-ish-shaped body of water. Folks relax on innertubes and float “down” the river, pushed by a current. Along the way, there are waterfalls, fountains, and the like—things to get you wet. My husband took Maisie and she absolutely adored it, but the older kids were the ones who seemed happiest. They just couldn’t get enough! It’s not a giant river, mind you. You can stand at the top and see the whole thing at a glance, but it’s still fun and a heck of a lot closer than any other water park in the area.
To me—and Maisie—the Lazy River paled in comparison to the water playground, a big, ol’ structure sitting in about a foot of water. Liquid literally oozes out of every angle—some sprays from tubes on the sides, some bubbles up out of holes in the ground, some drips down from above. The real topper is…on top: a gargantuan bucket that fills with an enormous amount of water. Just before it dumps over, a warning bell begins to toll and then, bam! Maisie’s favorite turned out to be the tube slide, which landed her in the water. The water was actually decently warm, too, which made it much better for me, the mom who absolutely hates cold water.
The only catch is that this place is really popular. We went on a Sunday and it was a bit like being at a rock concert with a giant mash of people. We waited for at least 30 minutes on line to get into the park and, once inside, there wasn’t an inch of space to sit. People were sprawled out on the artificial grass and sidewalk. It was just plain nuts. Go during the week. One mom told me it was a completely different place on weekdays.
Maisie was in the water almost three hours by the time we dragged her out kicking and screaming. She had an absolute ball—and slept like a rock that night! Wahoo!
Just remember, you need to be a county resident and have a county park pass. If you don’t have one, buy one there: $50 for three years. Plus, there’s an entrance fee.