Splash Pad Review: Eagle Mountain Nolan Park

This particular splash pad is in Eagle Mountain and I've been wanting to visit it just for the sake of a change of scenery from our usual splash pads, but it might as well be in in Nebraska since the last thing I want to do on a hot summer day is drive for an hour to and from a splash pad. I mean, I will do just about anything for my kid to keep her entertained but, um, no. Hot car, hot cranky baby, hot cranky momma. No thanks. But my mom was in town and she stayed part of the time with my sister who lives out in Eagle Mountain so it turned out to be the perfect excuse to check it out.

First of all, I really like the location. The neighborhood was super cute with tree lined streets and front porches on every house. I could totally imagine us buying a house there and me sending the kids off to the splash pad while I watch from the front porch lounging in a hammock and sipping a lemonade. (I don't like lemonade but Diet Dr Pepper just sounds too prosaic, you know.) The best part about this splash pad is it's unique water features. My favorite was the tower that would dump a bucket full of water down at random intervals onto the suspecting and unsuspecting alike standing below. I kept hoping that Shye would dumped on but, hello, do toddlers ever stand still? The splash pad was a bit crowded but Shye didn't seem to mind. There wasn't much shade, though most of the moms there came prepared with either umbrellas or canopies. A few even had full blown tents! Those moms obviously take their splash pads very seriously. There was nary a bench or a lowly tree stump to sit on, which leads me to believe that it was probably designed by a man, they tend to not think of such feminine necessities like shade and seats. Oh well. Can't have everything you want, right?

Nolan Park report card

The fountains: 5/5

Ambiance: 5/5
Crowd factor: 3/5
Proximity: 1/5
Shady spots for mom: 1/5

Overall score 15/25

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