for the most part, it is good, but sometimes it be closed, but it's great new slides, a rock…read moreclimbing wall

We're visiting KC over the July 4th weekend, and gosh, it's hot. This place was a perfect holiday…read moreway to cool off, because it has such large pools, and is clean and friendly. (Okay, the changing rooms/restrooms are a little public-park grungy, but not bad. And they have a series of private, roomy ones, so you can dress your kids in there.) It was $8 to get in, which I think is higher than what they charge locals, but I felt it was worth it. The slides were great for my husband, who's not so interested in plain swimming, but loves a bit of adventure, and the giant pools were great for me, a lap swimmer. It was crowded, and the lifeguards were not keeping idlers out of the lap-swim lanes, but there was enough space that it wasn't too hard to eke out a reasonably clear path for laps in spite of it. There were lounge chairs all over, and a lawn for the overflow. There weren't as many shady spots as I expected, but I spent most of the time in the water, where the temperature was perfect: cooling, but not so cold that the transition is a shock. I found the giant water slides a little scary, but I managed to try each of them once, and survived. The straight one is far faster, fyi. There's also a diving pool. If it's been a while since you've dived off a board, I suggest trying a dive off the edge before graduating to the diving board, which I regret not doing. I'm not sure if this is just a July 4th thing or if they always do it, but they played upbeat pop songs the whole time (not too loudly, but enough to be festive), and sent us off with a series of patriotic tunes at closing.

This place is awesome!…read more First, there's a lot to do: -Totally little kid friendly area. They call this the zero depth area. Two kinds of slides, interactive fountains and fenced in. -Lap Swim area - even during peak hours, they maintained a few lanes for lap swimmers. -Normal "pool" areas varying from 3ft to 6ft. -A "lillypad" challenge. Put your ego aside because the kids will kick your butt, but it's super fun. -Diving boards (low and higher - I think apx 3 m) -Aqua wall (like a rock wall) -two slides Note: What I love about the slides, they have double tubes so you can take your little one with you. This policy/allowance SAVED THE DAY -Lazy river So why is that important? Because you can keep rotating through the various activities and really enjoy a good, long time there. Finally - their staff is top notch. Super helpful, engaging, nearly always smiling. Shawnee is lucky to have this place! It's worth the drive!

I'm a long time Johnson County resident and live not far from this pool. I used to bring my…read moregrandkids for years and had a membership. This is the first time I've been back in probably four years. We tried out there twilight hours for the pool, which are from 6 PM to 8 PM. It seems to be the least busiest and also it's not blazing sun, and there's more chairs to choose from with umbrellas at that time. I brought my 12 year-old granddaughter, my eight-year-old granddaughter and my six-year-old granddaughter. They had a great time in the pool, but there were several things they were disappointed by. They wanted to go down the lazy river in one of the Floaties and even though there weren't that many people they did not have very many Floaties to use. Also, they had the slide closed down that you go down with on the Floaties. They did have a good amount of lifeguards who are paying attention. I think the one negative it seemed like there were no adults on the premises, it was all teenagers. Now I will say that the teens were doing their job and we're not messing around and very attentive. But I do believe they need an adult to handle unruly people or people trying to sneak in to the pool without paying. There was a line to get in at the 6 PM twilight hours. And everyone was waiting patiently, but there was only one teenage boy at the checkout. There were three adult women in their 20s, who clearly went around the line and snuck in the side door and were bold about it. I do believe that the young man saw them and just didn't want to deal with them. When I got up to the cash register to pay, he was friendly and he asked if I was a resident of Shawnee and I said yes, and he asked to see my drivers license which I have no problem with. I think that's a good thing but it's still irritating that he knew they had snuck in and did nothing about it. I paid by Apple Pay and then I got one lifejacket for the smaller granddaughter and the other granddaughter who is a brought her own. I found a seat easily and watched the kids enjoy the water. The pool seemed clean and fresh. The bathrooms were another matter, the women's bathroom was a mess, and I tried to put my purse in a variety of lockers on the outside that did not work. I finally found one that worked with my lock that I brought so that I could swim. I enjoyed the pool as well and most people behaved themselves. There will always be some kids that they need to blow the whistle on about rules that need to be obeyed for the safety of others. And the last comment I have was, I was sitting in a chair by the lazy river, watching the grandkids go by and there were what appeared to be older teens. There were two girls and one boy. The girl punched the boy and proceeded to call him racial slurs in a negative connotation, (she was the same race). She kept hitting him and he did not hit her back and he just tried to hold her wrist to prevent it. The lifeguard clearly saw what was going on and did not blow the whistle or say "Hey, stop that or you're going to have to leave. " He clearly just turned his back on it and did not want to deal with it. The other girl was embarrassed and saw everyone looking, and she de-escalate the situation. So that was concerning to me because what if it was a larger crowd that got into an altercation around all of the children that were there. I absolutely know that the lifeguards could not handle the situation and they would have to leave their posts which then leaves the swimmers at risk. They need to definitely have an adult or several on the premises, particularly a security guard to make people think twice about their actions.

This is a very nice public swimming pool with a 22 feet high spiral water slide, a diving board,…read moretwo kiddie pools, a 25 meter lap lane, a concession area, locker rooms, rest rooms, a shaded seating area, and a dedicated parking lot. There is also a nice half basketball court, and a play area outside the pool area. Very nice!

Best music playlist of all the OP pools. Everyday I come the jams keep on kicking. Whomever made it…read morebravo!

The manager lifeguard literally came up and said he would "bend the rules" for another child that…read morewas the same height as my child. Would not for my child when I asked after watching another parent ask. Just another Lawrence thing that's a joke rn

I'm not a beach person, but when you take them for granted and then move half a country away from…read moreany, you start to miss them! You need a fix of the sounds of splashing and screams and the smells of suntan lotion and fried foods and the sun on your...well, at the end of your towel if it must be anywhere near your person (I am a shade lover). Really, I've always been more into pools than beaches. Sand is gross and waves and jellyfish (and SHARKS!) often make swimming impossible (NB: I am just trying to make myself feel better about missing access to a coast). When I was a kid, the highlight of my summer were the daily trips to one of the county pools, where I'd spend hours swimming to the point where I'd leave with a lung ache from the chlorine. The Outdoor Aquatic Center is a lot nicer than the pools I went to growing up. I spent many an afternoon here last summer. Sometimes, I'd get lucky and grab a chair in the shade of an umbrella (hello, beach!), but if none were available, I'd spread out my towel in the shade of the trees. Really, an idyllic way to spend a summer day. The pool has very carefully sectioned off areas according to water level. As most of the time I was in the pool hanging out with a 7 and 3 year old, we'd be in the shallow area, which is very kid-friendly, with fountains and waterfalls. In the other areas there are 2 awesome slides/flumes and diving boards. I can't lie. Part of me was dying to be a kid again so I could ride down that corkscrew flume! There are lockers, as well as a snack stand that is pretty cheap. The most awesome thing? It costs $4 to get in! $3 for those under 5 and over 65, but if you know you're going regularly, a season pass will only set you back 20 bucks per 30 days (162 bucks for an annual pass that includes the Indoor Aquatic Center). Surely this isn't much more than it cost back when I was a kid (trust me, this is a very long time ago).

I love how the "big kid" and "little kid" areas are separated by the lazy river where most adults…read morewanted to be, including me! Many areas are provided for those that don't necessarily want to swim or be involved in pool activities, but still be in the water. I love the padded splash pad for the littles, then the multiple streams of water throughout the "little kid sections" with two different types of slides. Then in the "big kid" section there's the pool for those that are older and I'm certain adults can enjoy it as well! In the general pool area there are built in basketball goals and in the diving pool there's a rock climbing wall....my first time seeing a wall at a pool. We came here with our 2 year old and she was asleep by the time we made it home, so it's safe to say she had a great time! This aquatic center was recently renovated and it was definitely money well spent, very inclusive and fun for all ages! Can't wait to spend more summer days here cooling off.

We were visiting from the west coast and needed a pool to lounge around at-this pool worked great!read more

First off concrete HOT shredded my feet but it wasn't bad extremely strict my spine is in shambles…read moreafter the tube ride do NOT GO if there idea of a water slide is speed bumps they nailed and packed

Terrible everything about it lifeguards are mean my food was moldy can I almost drowned and the…read morelifeguards did nothing construction was making the air hard to breath to

This is an outstanding park with so many amenities! It has a beautiful pond, hockey area, tennis…read morearea, skateboarding area, large playground area, disc golf course, a variety of walking trails that are paved. A multitude of picnic areas and benches scattered throughout. They also have it lit up at Christmas, which is beautiful.

This park is so beautiful and there's plenty to do here. There's a skate park, two tennis courts,…read morehockey area to skate, two kids playground, big walking trails that goes all around, plus there's an aquatic center with lots of water slides! Also when fall hits they hang christmas lights all around the park for people to visit and stroll aroundlat night. It's a must visit during Christmas time!