Wow your Water: 5 wild water attractions your family will love

What’s more fun than an excuse to splash around? Whether you’re a kid or a kid at heart, the answer is… not much. These fun, water-themed vacation ideas are perfect for families who want to indulge in exciting aquatic adventures.

Manta Ray diving, Hawaii

Go nighttime manta ray diving and snorkeling off Hawaii’s Big Island
Supercool looking manta rays have roughly 20 foot wingspans and huge, gaping mouths, but they’re friendly and have no stingers, making them perfect for up-close encounters. Boat tours take off around sunset from the Kona Coast of Hawaii to areas where spotlights have been set up on the ocean floor to highlight the plankton the mantas feed on. The massive creatures treat snorkelers and scuba divers to breathtaking shows, often gliding and somersaulting around them. Kona Hanu Divers offers one- and two-tank manta dives and three- and five-hour snorkeling trips year round.

The Verrückt water slide. | Photo courtesy of Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts

Tackle the world’s tallest water slide in Kansas City
Kansas City’s Schlitterbahn water park is home to the is home to the Verrückt (that’s German for insane), which puts brave hearts atop a 17-story slide in three-person rafts and sends them down chute that drops 168 feet and seven inches at speeds of 60 to 70 miles per hour. If that’s not enough of a thrill, a second 50-foor drop follows soon after. Wheeeeee!

Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas

Paddleboard Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas
Named for the former first lady, this calm lake that winds through Austin is considered a perfect spot to learn stand-up paddleboarding, a trendy, kid-friendly sport which involves standing on a board that looks similar to a surf board (but wider) while using a paddle to navigate the water. Sign up for a lesson and rent a board from the fleet of more than 100 at Texas Rowing Center. If you want to make a more serious commitment, visit SUP ATX, which claims to be the largest paddleboard manufacturer in the world, to buy your own.

St. Joseph North Pier Lighthousein Michigan

Surf the Great Lakes in Michigan’s Harbor Country
Who says you’ve got to be by the ocean to surf? Third Coast Surf Shop is the largest surfing-specific shop in the Midwest, with two locations: one in New Buffalo, Michigan, a popular beach town on the shores of Lake Michigan about an hour’s drive form Chicago, and one near Silver Beach in St. Joseph, Michigan. The shop offers lessons, a surf camp for kids, rentals, repairs and its own line of gear for curious customers who want to get a taste of fresh water wave riding. The waves may not match the breadth and depth of what you’ll find on the West Coast, but for beginners, that may be a good thing.

Mono Lake

Canoe and kayak Mono Lake in California’s Sierra Nevadas
Just 13 miles east of Yosemite National Park lies an aquatic treasure: this 70-square-mile lake that’s one of the oldest in the western hemisphere. Book a guided kayak or canoe tour through local outfitter Caldera Kayaks to see prehistoric-looking tufa towers (limestone formations), visit youngvolcanic islands and spot birds from the literally thousands of species that migrate through here.