Venture River Water Park — Attraction in Eddyville

TL;DR: Good family fun with friendly staff and reasonable priced food and drinks but you’ll need some muscle if you plan to ride everything.

I, a lone adult, took three children (aged 7, 10, and 11) to Venture River on a Tuesday this summer for our first visit ever. Here’s how it went:

Parking: Ample parking in a lot that’s going to be a challenge for folks using a wheelchair.

Seating: It took a bit to find a lounge chair that wasn’t in the blazing midday sun, but there were options available. There are canopy cover for some groupings of chairs, but not all. And unfortunately, the covered groupings are tight. Like, prepare to get super close to your neighbors whether you know them to not. It protects more seats from sun but is extra cozy. The chairs are made of rigid plastic with slats and adjustable backs, so theirs not the most comfortable, but they do the trick.

Food/drink: We didn’t actually purchase any foods or drinks, so I can’t speak to quality, but I did note the prices and offerings. I was pleasantly surprised. You could get a drink and plate of nachos for around $12, which is stellar for prices at a place like this.

Gift shop: Stopped in the gift shop for some sunscreen after forgetting mine at home. They had both souvenirs and items of use within the park. A decent variety — better than I would have otherwise expected and prices weren’t exorbitant. Sunscreen was $10, which is about the same as what I pay at Walgreens for the same purchase. Nice.

Attractions: We rode all of the multi-person rides, including several as a whole family. The rides were clean and so much fun, but be prepared to walk up hills and steps to get there. My greatest complaint of the whole trip was the weight of the inner tubes. These rafts are HEAVY. It was nearly impossible for me, a gym regular, and three kids to lug these things up hills and stairs to ride. The kids and I wanted to ride everything multiple times, but I had to limit their experience because we just couldn’t do it. I know it’s a hard aspect of water parks to avoid, but it was disappointing. If you have physical limitations, you might not be able to do much outside of the lazy river and wave pool. If you bring a bodybuilder (or two) with you, you’ll be fine.

Price: For our party of four, we paid $111. The per person price is based on height and all in the $24-$30 range. I think that’s more or less what the experience is worth. Season tickets were less than $100 per person, which felt like a steal if you live close enough to go 4+...

This place has amazing family fun for ALL ages and preferences to the water. The wave pool gradually decends in depth, so if you have little ones or perhaps are unfamiliar with swimming yet, you can gauge exactly how far out you, you deem as a "safe" distance. There are areas for little snacks, and I noted that they did have more than just the ordinary hot dogs, nachos, and ice cream. (They also had ICEEs, dippin dots, chicken nuggets, and chicken salad. They do start closing up the snack shacks before the park is completely closed, so this is just a little advisory, bc you may have hungry munchkins who instantly realized they are starving, as soon as they are out of the water. I went to the snack shack about 30 mins before closing, and it was already closed. I would wager that going about an hour before closing, will put you in a good time zone to still be able to order. I was able to get dippin dots for my kiddos, bc it DOES stay open until the very end, HOWEVER, this is a separate side concession stand, which ONLY sells dippin dots. ALSO, this particular concession stand does NOT HAVE capabilities to pay with a card; it is CASH ONLY. (Which is a major bummer whenever you are drenched and they refer you to their atm, that you know is going to charge you an arm and a leg in fees. As far as the park itself though....absolutely amazing!!! They have a splash pad for itty bitty toddlers, with plenty of seating for parents, a HUGE play area capable of fun and water excitement, for those kiddos who may be hesitant to the pool, and definitely not ready for the slides yet. And of COURSE, they have an AMAZING water slide selection, to choose from! They have a map of the park that you can/will be able to obtain, upon entrance, and it has a pretty acurate assessment of the level of "EXTREME," that each ride possess, as well as a listing of how tall riders must be, and whether or not the ride is only solo or a multi-person ride. Oh yes....and there are 2 lazy rivers. One is significantly smaller....but I think that that's more for just a quick "chill and dip," instead of the typical parents fave, of riding the lazy river. So, in closing, pack a bag of towels, sunglasses, sunscreen, and of course your swim suit, and get there early; bc there's a lot to do and have fun with...

I came on a day where there was an overcast, 20 percent chance of rain, and the temperature was 84 degrees. The day turned out really nice, and the water in the pool areas was not freezing.

The Cyclone is where most of my family spent our time. The water in the Cyclone was warmer than in the wave pool, and it's fewer people. The Cyclone uses jets to push you in your tube floaty around and around. My daughter and nephew would try to catch me to force me under the bucket of water that pours out of one side, but I managed to avoid them a lot. They are 8 and 9 years of age and had a blast.

The park is clean, there are several tunnel rides, a ride called The Cliff Hanger that I saw my life flash before my eyes all while trying to keep the contents of my stomach from ending up all over me, the large Wave Pool, a Lazy River, several kiddy areas, there's a concession stand that serves, hot dogs, nachos, beverages,cotton candy and Dipping Dots Truck.

One can even rent an area where you can rent little gazebos areas for privacy. There are plenty of shaded umbrellas and seating to work on your tan, rest in between slides, or just watch the kiddos have a blast. The lifeguard presence is appropriate and visible.

After 3:00, most days is half off the 29.00 price of admission for adults. Children are 1/2 off as well after 3:00pm. Season pass for adults is 85.00 plus tax and 65.00 plus tax for children. Also, about an hour before closing, pizza and hot dogs sometimes go on sale for $1.00 while it lasts. Parking is free, and there is plenty of space. You can bring in water and light snacks in your bag. The staff was very nice and helpful. One lifeguard stopped the Cyclone ride to help my daughter find her goggles she had lost in the pool.

There is lots of fun to...