Ridge Waters Water Park — Attraction in Butte

My family and I love this waterpark for its simplicity, size, and prices. 7 dollars is amazing in this economy!!

However, this last time we went, EVERY SINGLE employee was incredibly rude. Every dang one. All of the lifeguards were a confusing level of strict ( ex: didn’t let my niece hold onto my arm, but also didn’t let her be more than a foot from me without getting after her — where’s the middle ground?); the woman running the water slides was so mean to the kids in line (demanded they “HOLD STILL” even though they are at a park for children); the manager was horribly cruel to us because we were sitting on our towels on the ground (every single chair and cabana had been rented or claimed and we had 14 kids with us — where else were we supposed to go?) — she demanded we move the towels off the sidewalk as I was trying to nurse my baby. Very unaccommodating. At exactly 3:06 we were finishing packing up our belongings in the changing room and one of teen girl staff members shouted “IT IS 3:06 YOU NEED TO BE DONE AND GET TO AN EXIT!” UMMM??? If the park closes at 3, it only makes sense it would take longer than 6 minutes for everyone to get changed. I had to use the restroom but she didn’t let me because she wanted us out.

I eventually discovered why the lifeguards were in such a rush to get us out of the park. I watched all of them leave together to go get fast food and then they all took pictures together and hung out. So they shoved my family out without a care in the world just so they could get an hour break to goof around. Not very cool of them to do, but what I would expect from the way they treated everyone during their shift.

My suggestions: Hire people that actually enjoy children and families. It is easy to tell when someone hates kids, and that type is not the right person to be employed by a place literally made for kids. If you are going to let people rent out every cabana and claim every chair, then let the remaining customers sit on the ground. It sure wasn’t ideal to have to nurse my infant in the direct sun, while sitting on the ground, but it sure beats being forced to...

This is a fairly new water park that offers many aquatic diversions for the patron. There are shallow water play areas for the younger generation. There is also a larger scale play area for the older children that has a large pail that fills with water that eventually tips over sending many gallons of water cascading down and over the people below. There's also a great water slide to enjoy. There's also a lazy river that one can float on with a float inner tube that's provided. There's also a deep end that offers a climbing rock wall on one side and a short diving board at the end. There is also a concession stand where one can purchase snacks and drinks. Of course there are also dressing rooms for men and women. The staff is very pleasant. The cost is very reasonable. Parking is available and the water park is located in Stodden Park which also offers an old fashioned carousel that was restored from the former Columbia Gardens park. The park also has a wonderful playground with lots of different climbing opportunities as well as slides of different lengths, a zip-line, softball fields, and horse shoe pits. There are covered picnic areas that can be reserved by contacting the city parks department. I strongly recommend the Ridge...

This is a fun water park. There are two sessions, and they accept the first 300 people. There was already quite a long line when we arrived 15 minutes early. The line moved quickly once the doors were open. It's easiest to pay cash. The cost for adults is $6. If you use a card, there's a fee. The locker room has bathrooms, showers (even the hot water was quite cold), and private changing areas. There are free lockers outside. Those don't lock though. If you want one that locks, there are a few inside the locker room. I'm pretty sure there is a fee for those. We just used the outside ones. As for the pool area, there's a large area with small slides for young children. The lazy river is pretty relaxing. You just wait for someone to leave a tube on the side, then you can use it. You don't have to have a tube to go in the lazy river though. There are two waterslides. The red one is less scary. I also noticed that the life guards are...