Now, if you're looking for a Wisconsin-Dells-caliber water park, this is not it. But if you are looking for a swimming hole with some fun extras, River Bend is a great place to try.
First off, there IS an old-fashioned swimming hole. Well, maybe not exactly traditional.
They have a shallow, sandy beach on one side. Across the buoy line is much deeper with inflatable water equipment, like jumping pads and slides. We did not venture that far with two little ones, but we did enjoy the floating lounges the resort puts out. They are pretty sturdy and fun to float around on.
The main attraction, though, is the pool area. River Bend has a nice splash pad/kiddie pool. We had to hold both of our kids (ages 5 & 2) back from racing in as soon as they saw it. There are fountains, a spray arch, and a slide with a nice pad at the bottom, as well as plenty of open water for playing.
And then we ventured to the big pool! I would say the main draw to River Bend is probably the big green water slides. However, both of ours were still too small for those ones. It is also worth noting that they do not run the entire time the pool is open.
Although the kiddo was a little disappointed she couldn't go on the big slides, they BOTH had a blast flying down the little slides. There is a smaller frog slide (above, at the right) as well as a pretty decent-sized eagle slide (below, at the left). We did lots of swimming practice and sliding. The eagle slide was the definite favorite, but they are both good and fast.
We visited as soon as the pool opened in the morning, so we worked up quite an appetite by the time we dragged the kids out a few hours later. We opted to order some lunch to-go from their restaurant. It was reasonably priced and gone before we got home!
One thing I really appreciated about River Bend was that they allowed us to use our own floaties. For some reason some places don't, but I always feel more comfortable when the kids have them on.
River Bend has nice bathrooms with coin-operated showers.
River Bend RV Resort
W6940 Rubidell Rd ~ Watertown, WI ~ (920) 261-7505
Admission: 3&under free, Monday-Thursday $5/person, Friday-Sunday $10/person
