Our family just got home from the best family trip ever! We spent some time in Idaho with friends, spent time in Lake Chelan with family, then we headed down to Redding, California for a day at Bethel Church and a day at Water Works Park!
We had so much fun at our trip! If you ever go to Redding for trip, be sure to stay at the brand new Sheraton Hotel near the Sundial Bridge! This hotel is beautiful, the staff is amazing and the sheets are divine! Bedding is one of my deciding factors on whether or not I love a hotel!
Water Works Park Favorites!
So Back to Waterworks Park! We discovered Waterworks Park last summer and vowed that we would come every summer! This Water
Park is such a blast! It has something for everyone. One of the brand new features that we discovered this year is the new Wave Pool! We all loved the wave pool! The older kids loved going out into the big waves and the baby loved running through the little waves at the shore. Life vests are available and required for all kids under 48 inches, and yes, they enforce this! The lifeguards are the the entrance and measures anyone that is questionable. I appreciate the safety factor of this…as a mom, I can relax more when everyone is safe!!
My personal favorite is the Lazy Lagoon Lazy River, of course! Any lazy river is my happy place! I love floating and talking and talking and floating. I do love that they don’t blow up the tubes fully- they have a little give in them which makes the tubes much more comfortable when floating! 
My teenage daughter loves what we call the “Toilet Bowl”, I think it’s officially called the Cyclone. This ride shoots you out of a tube into a huge bowl that you go around and around in, till you shoot out the bottom! You ride this water slide on a single tube or double tube! How fun! 
My 11 yr old’s sons ultimate favorite is the Avalanche! He literally went on this ride 55 times while we were there from 10:30am-5pm. He’s crazy and would go down backwards, with his eyes closed….then get up and do it again! The nice thing about that is that I always knew where he was! I could see most of the line and the ride from my tube on the lazy river (yes, it’s where I spent most of my time!)
Evan also loved the ice cream cones!! 
Waterworks Park Tips
- Take advantage of the short lines and go on a weekday! We chose to go on a Monday and the lines were very short! All of the lines for the rides were very short. I love that we could get more done in a short amount of time because we came on a weekday.
- Arrive early. We came shortly after opening and made the most of our time. Most Water parks get busier as the day goes on and then tapers off around an hr or two before closing. Waterworks park is no different.
- Bring a non disposable water bottle. They don’t allow outside food or water, but they do allow regular water bottles! Its super hot in Redding, so you will want to bring extra water!
- Set up camp in some shade. If you arrive early, you can set up your home base in a shady spot (there are great ones over behind the Cyclone). Your kiddos can take a break and grab food and water in the shade and you will get some relief from the heat. If you have the cash ($80) grab a cabana and have that be your home base for the day!
- Go Grab Lunch- We have a toddler, so getting that nap in was super important to us. My husband had a brilliant idea to take him on a drive to go get Taco Bell during Baby’s nap time- this was perfect because the he fell asleep, right on schedule (thank you, Jesus!!). He texted us when he was back in the parking lot and the family went out to the car and ate Taco Bell in the air conditioned car! I traded with my husband, and he went back in with the older kids and rode some rides while I sat,
read a bookzoned out on facebook) and let the little one finish his nap. The parking lot is small and it wasn’t long and we were back in the park having fun. It worked for our family because we needed that little break in the heat of the day. All though the food at Water works is delish (we had it last year!) this system helped us get that all needed nap in for the day!
These are some of my favorite tips for Water Works Park in Redding California! Going to waterparks is one of my family’s favorite things to do! We love it! What does your family like to do together?? I would love to hear in the comments!