“Water” You Waiting For? Get to Sandcastle!

There’s nothing like summer in Pittsburgh – the bright sun shining down on the city skyline, kids getting their baseball gloves prepped to catch foul balls at Pirates games, the fireworks at the Point, kayaking on the river, etc. But perhaps the most dreaded thing about summer in Pittsburgh is, naturally, the heat. While Summer 2017 may have been a cool one for the ‘Burgh, it typically gets pretty hot in Pittsburgh during the summer. That’s why, on a hot day, it’s a great idea to stop by Pittsburgh’s premier water park, Sandcastle. 

Sandcastle is located in the Homestead neighborhood of Pittsburgh, across from the Waterfront shopping area. Its sister amusement parks are the nearby Idlewild and Soak Zone, as well as Kennywood Park. Prior to its opening in July 1989, the site was a facility that serviced the US Steel Homestead Works mill. Sandcastle contains fifteen water slides, two pools including a wave pool, a lazy river, and two children’s areas. I’ve only been to Sandcastle about three or so times, but I’ve been on all the slides and I assure you, they’re fun for all ages.

If you want to ride the slides with a friend, there are several slides where you can go down on a double tube. If you want to go on these slides by yourself, however, you can also go down on a single tube. The slides requiring tubes include Blue Tubaluba, Cliffhangers, Thunder Run, Tuber’s Tower, and my personal favorite, Dragon’s Den. Dragon’s Den is a stereotypical water park “toilet bowl” slide. Please don’t take that the wrong way; all it means is that there’s a part of the slide that’s bowl-shaped, and you go around and around in your tube until you land in a hole in the center of the “bowl”. Even though these types of slides can be found at a variety of water parks, the Dragon’s Den is still a lot of fun. The same goes for the other slides with tubes.

If you prefer to slide down on your back, you also have the option of going down body slides. One of my favorite slides at Sandcastle is Boardwalk Blasters. This is not a very long slide, and when I say that, I mean it. The slide itself is only about twenty-five feet, and the bottom of the slide is seven feet above the air. This means that, once you get to the bottom of the slide, you drop seven feet into a twelve-foot pool. Even though it’s a great slide, it’s imperative that you don’t ride it unless you’re a skilled swimmer. Also, my personal recommendation is to hold your nose when you’re going down. The most intense body slide, however, and probably the most intense slide at the entire park, would have to be the Lightning Express. It contains two smaller orange slides on its left and right side. However, the slide in the middle starts at eighty-five feet above the ground. It is definitely recommended that you lie on your back with your feet and arms crossed while going down these slides, especially the eighty-five-foot one. You can watch a video of the Lightning Express below. I definitely enjoyed all of the body slides at Sandcastle.

I’ve covered pretty much all of the slides at Sandcastle, but that’s not it for attractions. Sandcastle has a few more options for those who may want to take a break from the slides, or who may not want to slide at all. One is the Lazy River. You can get a decent twenty or so minutes out of one trip around Sandcastle’s Lazy River. And these twenty minutes are sure to be relaxing, whether you’re floating down the river alone on a single tube or with a friend on a double tube. I enjoy the Lazy River because not only is it relaxing, but there are geese that often linger around the area and that are really fun to observe. There’s also the wave pool, Mon-Tsunami. I always enjoy wave pools because they take the typical boredom out of what a regular swimming pool has to offer. This wave pool is pretty special to me because it was the first wave pool I ever swam in. If you want to swim in a regular pool, however, there is also the Mushroom Pool, which is located on the park’s lower deck. Even if you’re not going to swim in the Mushroom Pool, I recommend coming to this area to find beach chairs for your party. Even though there are beach chairs located pretty much all over the park, I’ve found that this area in particular contains lots of shady and peaceful spots. For very small children, there is the Tad Pool and Wet Willie’s Water Works. The Tad Pool contains two very small slides, and the pool itself is only two feet deep. A reviewer on TripAdvisor stated that the tad pool is a great place for young beginners to ride their first water slide, and also included a picture of a young girl on the slide. Wet Willie’s Water Works is basically a water playground for small children, or as a TripAdvisor reviewer put it, “a water-themed jungle gym.” Sandcastle has plenty of options for you, even if you don’t wish to go down the water slides.

I’ve covered pretty much all of the water-based attractions, so now I’ll discuss some more things to know when planning a trip to Sandcastle. The park has delicious food, so definitely stop by one of the food counters. My personal recommendation is to get some Potato Patch Fries while you’re at Sandcastle. They’re homemade French fries that you can get either plain or with toppings, and they’re considered a Pittsburgh delicacy. The original Potato Patch stand is at Sandcastle’s sister park, Kennywood. Sandcastle also has rental options. You can rent a locker to keep your belongings in for the day. You can also rent a cabana for your party; this is a great option if you want to be guaranteed both shade from the sun, as well as a bit of a VIP experience, during your visit to Sandcastle. Sandcastle hosts plenty of events, and also allows you to reserve your own private events. And the final thing about Sandcastle that’s definitely worth discussing is season passes. If you want to visit Sandcastle on a regular basis during a single season, consider buying a season pass. A season pass serves as your admission ticket throughout the season, and depending on which package you buy, gives you lots of perks and discounts. If you’re in the Pittsburgh area and looking to spend the summer at both an amusement park and a water park, consider the Ride & Slide Pass. It gives you admission to both Sandcastle and nearby sister park Kennywood, as well as lots of perks and discounts at both parks. And in 2018, Sandcastle and its two sister parks, Idlewild and Kennywood, will be introducing the All Season Dining Pass. The offerings for this pass differ between the three parks, but Sandcastle’s All Season Dining Pass allows you to get a combo meal every time you visit, provided you purchase this pass along with a season pass. Season passes and cabana rentals can be purchased through the park’s website.

If you’re looking to beat that Pittsburgh heat, then grab your trunks, towel, and sunscreen, and head on over to Sandcastle!