See below for a special Lowell Macaroni Kid discount code!
"Wait, what? You've NEVER been to Water Country? How is that possible?" Yep, somehow in all my years of growing up and living in Massachusetts and raising my family, we had never ventured up to Water Country in Portsmouth NH. I have NO idea why because after being kindly hosted for a family visit this week, it will definitely be on our short list for fun summer activities!
Water Country is a hidden gem in Portsmouth -- there are hardly even any signs on the road where it's located -- but the park itself is very big. From the hugely popular Wave Pool at one end to Dr. Von Dark's Tunnel of Terror at the other end, there are park attractions for every age and interest. My older kids are fearless and enjoyed rides on the Tunnel of Terror, the Dragon's Den and most of the other slide rides. I think everyone was feeling a bit lazy though because we all mostly wanted to float along the Adventure River or bodysurf the waves in the Giant Wave Pool.
A right turn from the park entrance will take you to the Giant Wave Pool, the Racing Rapids ride, various food options (including the incredible fried dough), and the entrance to the Adventure River, which is underneath the Racing Rapids. A left turn takes you past the locker area and through several clusters of rides and shady picnic groves. Keep going and eventually you'll find a large open area with several attractions just for little ones, plus more bathrooms, food options, and lots of slide rides.
Some tips for visiting families:
- It takes a little while to get settled, what with renting a locker, finding a place for your towel and cooler, if you brought one, so try to get there right at opening time (10:30 AM) if not earlier. The parking lots open at 9 AM.
- Parking is $5 for the general lot, or $25 for the reserved lot (much closer to the entrance).
- We LOVED that Water Country allows visitors to bring in coolers, food and drink. What a huge cost and time saver! Many, many families brought coolers; just remember -- no glass or alcohol allowed and no grilling. The best thing to do right after you arrive is to check out all the shady picnic groves and find a spot to leave your cooler and towels. If you're lucky, a picnic table will be available that you can claim. When we arrived, there weren't any left so we left our cooler, towels and shoes under the trees in the picnic grove. By the time we were ready to eat, a family had left and a table had become available where we moved our things.
- Wear water shoes or flip flops! The concrete paths throughout the park get HOT under the bright sun, and many of the picnic areas have gravel bases (ouch). My kids were leaping from foot to foot as they walked. The slide rides in general don't allow water shoes but the Adventure River and Wave Pool do. Everyone simply leaves their shoes at the entrance to each ride and picks them up when they're exiting.
- If you plan to spend a lot of time in the Wave Pool or Adventure River, it makes sense to rent your own tubes ($7 each). Otherwise you'll be waiting for several minutes to get a tube as people exit.
- If you have little ones with you (under 48"), head toward the far end of the park. The Big Ollie, Pirate's Lagoon and Tahiti Treehouse areas are perfect for little ones and there are lots of seats and cabanas for adults.
- The restrooms close to the entrance and locker rental are very, very crowded. There's another restroom building down by the Tahiti Treehouse and Pirate's Lagoon. It's much bigger, empty (when I was there), and very clean.
- Buy your tickets online before visiting. The line to purchase tickets was LONG -- save yourself some time and get them online before you get there.
- If you loved your visit, you can upgrade your tickets before you leave to Season Passes, which are an incredible deal. Admission with our special Macaroni Kid code is $34.99 on weekdays (normally $39.99), and a weekday season pass is only $53.99 per person! Planning to visit on weekends? The Basic Pass is $67.99 per person. That's for a whole season!
Water Country
2300 Lafayette Road
Portsmouth NH 03801
Water Country is located in Portsmouth NH, which is just about an hour from Lowell and is a straight shot up 495 North to 95 North to Exit 5 in New Hampshire. Go to the Portsmouth Traffic Circle and take Route 1 South. Follow for about 3 miles; the entrance to Water Country is on the right side, across from Burger King. We ran into some construction traffic so definitely check Waze before you leave to see if you should use some back roads.
Save $5 on General Admission tickets with our special ordering link or use code MacaroniKidLowellSBlog17 when purchasing online.
