Of all the fun family activities associated with summer, none is more beloved than a day at the pool. Even if you don't have a watering hole of your own, St. Louis offers plenty of opportunities to make a splash with your kids this summer. In addition to the countless neighborhood and municipal pools, below are some of the area's best bets for water fun.

Wading Pool and Muckerman's Children's Fountain
For families with younger kids or those interested in merely dipping a toe or two in a cold pool, the Wading Pool and Children's Fountain at Tower Grove Park offer a refreshing option. The wading pool, which is staffed by lifeguards, is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursdays to Sundays beginning June 11. Muckerman's Children's Fountain is open daily during the summer, and offers a great place for kids to cool off while Mom and Dad browse at the Saturday morning Tower Grove Farmers' Market.

Tower Grove Park is located at 4256 Magnolia Ave., St. Louis, Mo., 63110. The wading pool and fountain are free. For more information, call 314-771-2679.

Aquaport
Located in Maryland Heights, Mo., Aquaport is one of the region's newer water parks. Its many amenities include an 8,000-square-foot pool, featuring sprinklers and fountains, a 750-foot lazy river, and a whole host of thrilling slides including the extreme bowl, flume slide, rapids slide, tube slide, wacky water slide and racer slides.

Splash City Family Water Park
Located 20 minutes from Downtown St. Louis, Splash City Waterpark offers something for water lovers of all ages and ability levels. The park's most popular attraction, the FlowRider creates endless waves, making it perfect for body boarding and surfing. Other highlights include Monsoon Mountain, a 50-foot-tall water fortress with slides and hoses and buckets for maximum drenching. Guppy Gully offers a quiet respite for younger kids, and a nearby sand area is perfect for sand castle construction. The park also offers a range of swimming, surfing and body boarding lessons.

Splash City Family Water Park is located at 10 Gateway Drive, Collinsville, Ill., 62234. Day passes range from $9 to $16, and season passes are available. For more information, call 618-346-4571.

Raging Rivers
Now entering its 22nd season, Raging Rivers is the granddaddy of St. Louis water parks. It boasts all of the attributes of a classic water park: a wave pool featuring four-foot tides (Breaker Beach), a massive lazy river (Endless River), a huge kids pool (Itty Bitty Surf City), and more slides than you can shake a stick at. The park also includes a number of dining options including the Surf Side Café, Casa del Rio and the Riverside Grille.

Raging Rivers overlooks the Mississippi River at 100 Palisades Parkway, Grafton, Ill., 62037. Day passes are $16.95 for guests up to 48 inches tall and $19.95 for guests over 48 inches. For more information, call 618-786-2345.

Hurricane Harbor at Six Flags
A little more than a decade ago, St. Louis biggest and best-loved amusement park got a little bigger (and a little more loved). That's when Six Flags St. Louis opened Hurricane Harbor, a 12-acre water park with all the thrills you've come to expect from Six Flags. The highlight of Hurricane Harbor is undoubtedly the massive 560,000-gallon wave pool, but plenty of other delights await visitors including a five-person raft adventure ride; a long meandering stream that gives new meaning to the term "lazy river;" a host of exhilarating slides and a children's play area.

City Garden
Water fun probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind when most people consider a visit to Downtown St. Louis, but Citygarden is slowly changing that perception. Located on 2.9 acres bordered by Eighth, Tenth, Market and Chestnut streets, Citygarden features 24 sculptures by internationally renowned artists. It also boasts decorative plants, stones and three water features. One of these, a state-of-the-art spray plaza is designed for children (and the young at heart) to frolic among its 102 computer-controlled spray jets. Suprisingly, children are also invited to splash in the park's shallow fountains. It's a perfect way to cool off after a day game at Busch Stadium or a visit to the Arch. Citygarden is free and open 365 days a year from sunrise to 10 p.m.

Best Bets articles represent the views and the research completed by St. Louis Sprout & About journalists and are not driven by advertising or requests by vendors or venues.

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