Summer Swimming in Summit County, Ohio

Located on Munroe Falls Blvd, Water Works Family Aquatics Center draws large crowd with its kid-friendly variety of swimming pools. This is the first swimming pool I went to as a child, and it was just a large standard pool with wading area for kids, a shallow end and a deep end. As kids grew up, they just moved toward the deep end.

Ten years ago, the city of Cuyahoga Falls completely refurbished the place. There is no deep end of the pool: it's all for kids. Babies can splash in the zero-depth area, while toddlers and older kids can play in water that goes up to three or four feet deep.

Instead of a deep end with a diving board, Water Works now has a trio of inner tube slides and a pair of speed racing slides.

The middle of Water Works has a large sand play area and place for parents to sunbathe and park all of their stuff.

On the other end of the park is the Lazy River, which is my favorite. I love to lounge in the inner tube as the current takes me around. If you've been chasing your kids around the park for a while, it's the perfect way to relax.

One word of warning: you really need to keep your eye on your children in this place. It gets very crowded, and kids can pop in and out of the pool with ease since they don't have to climb over a wall to get out of the pool.

THE NATATORIUM

This indoor facility is also run by the city of Cuyahoga Falls, and it also has undergone a recent extreme makeover. The Natatorium pool is divided into three sections: a kids area, a lap pool, a waterslide and a hot tub.

The kids area has lots of splashy fountains, and a simple froggy slide for the toddlers. In a separate section is a waterslide with a small lazy river under it. Adults can relax in the hot tub and take a dive in the lap pool.

The design of the pool is very smart, and it's easier to keep track of your children. The whole place is indoors, and the sections are all separate. You only need to watch one section at a time, not the whole building.

Speaking of the building, it has an outstanding all-purpose fitness facility. The Nat has free weights, exercise bikes, an indoor track, basketball courts, racquetball courts. The kids have an enormous three-story tree house to crawl around in, as well as a smaller version for tiny tots.

MUNROE FALLS and SILVER CREEK

For a relatively low price, you can swim in the lakes of Munroe Falls and Silver Creek. Adults can get in for $4, and kids for $3. They are open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

WADING POOLS in CUYAHOGA FALLS

One nice thing about the suburb of Cuyahoga Falls is that many of the neighborhood parks have wading pools. They are ideal on a hot day when you have kids under the age of five. One of my fondest memories of our time there was when we would load our daughter into her wagon with all of her swim toys and take her down to Oak Park. She had such a great time. The wading pools are free, and they are worth a trip if you live anywhere near Cuyahoga Falls.

FALLS RIVER SQUARE

You can find even more free splashing in Cuyahoga Falls at the downtown amphitheatre at Falls River Square. Kids love to run though the fountain jets that shoot up out of the ground. On a 90-degree day, this is where you want to be. Sunday evenings are a good time to come downtown. The kids can splash in the fountains while you listen to live music at the amphitheatre. That's a good way to spend a Sunday night, and it's all free.