Summer is hot and school is out. As a mama in Midland, Texas you are literally scrapping the barrel for some way to keep your kids entertained. Also it would help if there was something they could do to run off all of their energy! Thank goodness for whatever genius thought up the idea of creating splash pads!
Midland, Texas may not have a lot to it; but it does have 3 FREE splash pads that kids will love! Heck, I am an adult and I want to play in these splash pads too! So break out the shades and sunscreen cause it is time to go splash pad hopping. Head to one of the 3 splash pads in Midland, Texas and watch your kids have a blast!
Splash Pad Essentials:
- Sunscreen– My kids were lucky enough to have a strawberry blonde mom, so they burn pretty easily. I don’t ever do anything less than spf50. I also love spray sunscreen with kids. It is 100 times easier to apply and quicker to!
- Collapsible Chair– Though each of the splash pads have picnic areas nearby they get pretty full. No guarantee that there will be anywhere for you to sit!
- Sunglasses– This is my most essential thing to bring to a splash pad in Midland, Texas! It is so bright and makes your eyes water to just watch your kids play. If you forget everything else, just bring sunglasses!
- Water shoes/non-slip shoes– No matter how many times you will tell your kids to not run around at the splash pad, they will do it! Speaking from a mom who has had a couple of kids with bloody noses and busted lips; these splash pads are really slippery.
- Towels-I mean unless you want a wet car, towels are a must!
- Water (for drinking)- Only one of these splash pads has a drinking water fountain and half the time it does not work. Bring water, this is West Texas and it is HOT!
- Picnic/snacks- My favorite time of day to go to splash pads is around lunch time due to people leaving for lunch. The splash pads are less crowded! But if you don’t want to bring a picnic here are a few of our favorite snacks for kids: apple sauce packs, skinny pop popcorn, blueberry fig bars, and fruit leather.
- Swimsuits– No judgement here though if you just take your kids in their regular clothes, I do it all the time!
Other Fun Articles In Midland and Odessa:
The Best Things To Do In Midland, Texas With Kids
The Rabbit Hunt For The Odessa Jackrabbits
Your Guide to Find the Best West Texas Pumpkin Patch
Things To Do In Odessa, Texas With Kids
Splash Pads In Midland, Texas:
XTO Splash Pad
Lets start with the BEST splash pad in Midland, Texas! The XTO Splash Pad is joined onto the Dennis the Menace Park (which by the way is the best playground in all of Midland, Texas)! This splash pad is our favorite for a number of reasons:
- Just look at this pirate ship theme! I mean it is cool enough to have water spraying out of the ground, but to give it a pirate ship theme just makes it all the more exciting! Whenever I tell my kids we are going to a splash pad this is the one they always ask for first!
- It has water slides! Not many splash pads have water slides and this one has 3! It has 2 straight smaller ones and one orange tube slide.
- There is a shaded pavilion for the parents. It is so hot in West Texas and to have to sit in the sun and watch your kids play is pretty dang miserable. Honestly I never last long sitting in the heat and so my poor kids don’t get to play as long, but not at this splash pad! Under the pavilion are picnic tables to sit at and plenty of shade!
- It is almost always on! It is turned on around Memorial Day, but unlike some splash pads, it stays on until Labor Day! The only days that it closes are Thursdays for maintenance. Because they close once a week for check ups it always stays up to date and working unlike some of the splash pads in Odessa, Texas.
This is by far our favorite splash pad in Midland, Texas; but of course where there is an upside there is also a downside. One of the main reasons that we avoid this splash pad is that it is very, VERY busy. It is the best and because of that there are lots of crowds. The pavilion gets filled pretty quick so bringing a collapsible chair (I love this one because it folds down so small and can fit if your beach bag) for sitting in the surrounding trees is a great idea.
The splash pad is filled with kids, which normally doesn’t bother me, except for the fact that there are slides. Don’t get me wrong I love the slides and so do my kids. The problem is that all of the kids are going down the slides and they get very crowded.
Kids will go down the slide one after another and bump into each other, causing fights kids to get pushed under water, and kicked in the back. Due to the high volume of kids that go to this splash pad, it takes away from the fun a bit.
It is still such a cute and fun splash pad and not one you will want to miss if you have kids! They will LOVE it!
Hours: Memorial Day-Labor Day, everyday but Thursday 10am-7pm (times may vary)
Location: 2201 W Indiana Ave, Midland, TX 79701
HEB Splash Pad
No there is not a splash pad inside HEB, but there is a splash pad in Midland, Texas that is sponsored by HEB. The actual splash pad itself is located at the Rockhounds ballpark just south of the actual HEB of Midland, Texas. This splash pad is a hidden gem of Midland, Texas and let me tell you why:
Nobody really knows about this splash pad. Whenever we want to play in peace without the chaos of a ton of kids, this is where we go!
This splash pad is literally just a circle, designed to look like a baseball. Inside this small baseball pad are different nozzles to spray water in different ways. If you are looking for a splash pad that puddles, then this is not it. The water sprays up and then it comes down and drains, that is it.
I know it doesn’t sound fun, but the freedom of having a splash pad to yourself is so much more enjoyable than fighting the crowds.
The thing I disliked most about this splash pad is the lack of shade. Sunglasses are a necessity to me when we visit this splash pad, because the bright sun reflects off of the white concrete and makes everything so bright that you can’t help but squint the entire time you are there. There is no escaping the sun either, the picnic tables are right in the sun and so I highly advice some SPF 50!
Hours: Memorial Day-Labor Day 10am-8pm (times may vary)
Location: 5514 Champions Dr, Midland, TX 79706
Centennial Park Splash Pad
The Centennial Park is the newest of the splash pads of Midland, Texas. Right smack dab downtown Midland, Texas is the cutest little city park. This park has a small log playground, a dog park, patio games, a giant hill to roll down, and of course the splash pad!
This splash pad is pretty similar to the HEB splash pad as it is just a flat concrete area that has water spraying from the ground. It does not have the variety of water spraying as the HEB splash pad, but it is still a very fun pattern to the water. The benefit to have a flat water surface is that it is easy to keep an eye on your child from the pavilion.
This is a very highly used park, so expect huge crowds of people and kids all over. It is hard to find an open seat in the shaded pavilion area surrounding the splash pad, but if you can find a spot the fans above will keep you nice and cool as well as the shade. If not, like I said before that collapsible chair is a lifesaver!
One of the things I heavily recommend with this park is that you have your child either wear water shoes or non-slip shoes of some sort. Due to the amount of water being sprayed, kids running around easily slip and fall. I have seen it happen many a time.
Another thing we love about this splash pad is that is always open! Just because the water is spraying does not mean that it is not working or turned off. Just press the button on either sides of the splash pad and up sprays the water. (Okay it isn’t immediate so if nothing happens when you push the button, just give it a moment.)
Hours: everyday 10am-8pm
Location: 200 W Wall St, Midland, TX 79701
Common rules for splash pads:
- Have any un-potty trained kids wear a water proof diaper.
- Do not visit the park if you have had diarrhea in the last 2 weeks.
- No pets allowed. (Except service animals)
- No littering
- All children must be supervised! Do not leave children alone!
Other Fun Things To Do In Midland, Texas Besides Splash Pads:
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