Water Parks and Scary Rides in the Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin

Wet 'n' Wild

Boat tours, copyright Wisconsin
Dells V&CB

So what if the ocean's 1,500 miles away? The Dells has the largest concentration of water parks in the U.S., and they add new rides or remodel almost every year. You can ride on the stuff, splash in it, and even shoot it out of cannons.

If you're traveling with little ones, point the car toward Treasure Island Resort. There, you'll find two parks: Family Land, an outdoor attraction with gentle rides including the always popular kiddie bumper boats (motorized inner tubes), and Bay of Dreams, an indoor complex featuring Hispaniola Bay, a "zero-depth" pool surrounded by waterslides, geysers, and a 35-foot pirate ship.

Take the older kids a few blocks down the highway to Noah's Ark Family Park, the largest water park in the country. Daredevils are already buzzing about the Point of No Return. Brave souls can race each other down this extreme body slide on 10-story, 70-degree angle tracks.