The Fugitive Beach — Attraction in Rolla

Edit One, you did not talk to my *fiancè. You spoke to a friend that was in our group. She was no where near the slide when the incident happened, but was enraged when we went back to our seating area and explained what happened. My life vest was tightened and positioned correctly. Nice try though. My 16 year old cousin also had to rescue an older woman who just went off the slide and was shouting for your unlicensed "lifeguard" who was being negligent. A few bystanders were shouting "hey!" While pointing in the water towards her. She shouted "help me!" Three times before my cousin, Chris, went to her aid. Your "lifeguard" remained unbothered. She thanked my cousin and explained she could not catch her breath. As for the trash, obviously I did not state you "dumped" trash in the water and it's pretty moronic to even imply that as an option. Your underage and unprofessional staff should be cleaning the water more frequently, though. Thank you for commenting on the bathrooms you provide because that was something I wasn't even going to address but need to note, they are tragic. One could catch a disease in the bus that you have turned into a bathroom that needed attention asap. Thankfully I did not go into the 13 porta pottys on site. Funny you should mention washing hands. Having that luxury would have been nice. In order to have that ability, your staff would need to be half way attentive and keep the soap filled up on the bus because the two times we all went in there, it was empty. You would thank with all of the money you make, it would be spent accommodating your guests with a bathroom that didnt hold 16 diseases

We drove 3.5 hours to visit this place. Honestly, it looks like a great place online but it is not all the hype once you're there. They make adults wear life jackets down the slides and while cliff jumping. It is so uncomfortable and chokes you out you literally cant even enjoy being in the water or swimming. The life vest got wrapped around my head and my hair when I went down the slide. Thankfully my fiance saw that I was in danger and came to unbuckle my life vest. The boy "lifeguard" did not do anything but blow his whistle for me to buckle my vest because I was in deep water. (It was still wrapped up in my hair, I could not buckle it. Had he been paying attention he would have realized that) my fiance went and chewed him out after the fact. The people acting as life guards are literally teenagers and they do not pay attention and act miserable to be there. We knew Saturday was going to be crazy busy because of online reviews, however; you would think they would have reached capacity and started turning people away at some point. There was literally no more available seating on the beach. You were basically sitting on top of one another. If you want a more enjoyable experience, visit any day besides Saturday. So today is the day after and 5 out of the 6 of us that went are all sick as heck today with sore throats so I'm assuming the water has some type of bacteria in it. It looks pretty because they dye it so honestly theres no telling what is being covered up. A lot of trash and soda cans were in the water and my friend cut her foot on one. The slides, cliff jumping and games make this place seem worth it and for some people it is worth it! However, I will not be back and none of my friends that accompanied me will be either. Needs a health...

Some friends and I decided to do something different and we thought this would be a great little weekend trip to get away. All of us have pretty crazy work schedules so as much as we wanted to go not on a Saturday (because busy) it's what worked for most of us.

We arrived around 12:30pm and the parking lot was full so we parked basically a row behind the last bit of parking. I could see how this would be a troublesome walk for some. Not the distance but the ground is rocky (yes i know it's a quarry) and very uneven. I think it would have been much better if they rolled it all out, paved, and lined it. It would make it much safer for everyone, especially because most people were hauling chairs, umbrellas, wagons, kids, etc.

There was a pretty long line to the check in area. We were probably in line for 30 mins which doesn't seem that big of a deal and normally for me it wouldn't be but there was 0% shade to find relief. I think if they added on to the check in area to accommodate patrons faster or somehow tented/shaded the area where the line would be and add fans and misters it would be much better. Literally witnessed a girl who just got into the main check in area and she was having either heat stroke or major dehydration. People asked for 1st aide and it took awhile to get to her.

Check in was easy and quick. They accept cash/card and also allow cash/card for drinks, food, and merch!

It was the hottest day of the summer so far so it was super crowded. Luckily we rented a picnic table for $30 for the day and it was in a nicely spaced area with easily accessible trash cans. There was a smaller stand to purchase drinks and such in the middle of the beach area too for convenience which was nice.

The water was so nice considering the heat. In the areas where there were less people hanging around it was definitely cooler!

After being in the water for awhile my friend and I ventured to get drinks/food. All boozy beverages are only $5 and there was quite a selection. My friend ordered a hot dog and fries and I ordered the nachos. Whatever cheese sauce they have is SO GOOD! I like that it's not spicy (they have jalapenos if you want it spicy) Chips were good too. My friend enjoyed her hot dog and the fries were decent.

After we ate we decided we might as well use the restroom since they were nearby. This is where some points were lost for me. It was absolutely rancid over by the porta potties. They have a potty bus that is women only and on the website it said it was air conditioned and the toilets were flushable. There was no AC, it reeked, no fan/air flow, and only 4 toilets were working. I'd definitely recommend building some legit facilities for men and women. AC/or vented. Having plumbed toilets, showers, and changing area all in one spot for everyone would be much more sanitary.

We then went back to the water to cool off and relax before it was time to leave.

Overall, we had a good time and enjoyed it. There are just a few kinks that need to be worked out to...

We picked one of the hottest days to go after some other plans fell through. We got there around 1 and the place was packed. We had never been and I will day it’s super petty. With COVID going on the amount of folks there did concern us a bit but we decided to forge ahead. We found admission for kids/adults was very reasonable - $12 for adults. The Staff were nice and I did appreciate that they checked your bags at the entrance - I assume mostly for alcohol. You can’t bring in your own but they do sell it inside. There’s also a restaurant but it’s your typical overpriced fare. We also noticed that folks weren’t really socially distancing nor did folks wear masks when not in the water. This may or may not be a big deal to some.

As far as the downsides I was unimpressed with the changing rooms- they were open air and had shower curtains for privacy. They were also bug infested - ie wasps, bees, spiders etc.

I was also not impressed that they did not have actual restroom facilities. They only had portable restrooms and I’d say the lower end ones at that. I say that because you can see everyone’s business when you open the door- not that one chooses to look- but still. Other portable restrooms Ive used have had mechanisms or a cover that at least block the disturbing sight and help with the smell. They were already semi gross and full-ish when we got there at 1pm and with Covid I did not feel just hand sanitizer was appropriate especially when you have a restaurant/bar on site. Also I found the smell from the restrooms to LINGER across the whole place and I found it to be overwhelming in spots.

For as much as they charge for chairs, life jackets, admissions etc, I’m sure they could invest in some better portable facilities or even pay to have some built and supplement with portable ones for busier days.

Here are my Tips:

Rent one of the cabanas (approx. $30-40 I believe) otherwise bring your own lawn chairs- they charge $5 to rent chairs. It did appear they have lockers you can rent too but we didn’t use them.

Also if you want to do any of the fun stuff - ie water slides, cliff jumping, etc bring your own life jackets as they charge $5 per life jacket as well and anyone under 10 has to have one on.

Overall I’d go back but I’d definitely stop at a gas station or McDonalds and use the restroom beforehand and make sure everyone was in their swimsuits upon arriving to avoid some of my complaints. Kids will obviously have a blast and I’m sure on a less hot day I’m sure it’s not as bad but for a first time visit it...