The East Valley city of Queen Creek offers two splash pads – and they are both so fun! We spent four hours total enjoying the water fountains and fun features at Mansel Carter and Founders Park. Read on to learn about the best splash pads in Queen Creek.
Founders Park (22407 S Ellsworth Rd, Queen Creek, AZ 85142) – this gated splash pad has so many fun features! The main attraction is a water tower that periodically dumps a large amount of water. The kids absolutely loved it! If you stand under the tower you won’t get as wet, maybe just splashed. Makes for great photos! Also at this splash pad you’ll find water sprayers, ground fountains, what my kids call toad stools, a ring spray and four smaller buckets that dump water.
Around the pad perimeter are four large ramadas with plenty of benches and picnic tables for seating. Restrooms are a little difficult to find. Take the path towards the playground and just past on the left you’ll see a brown building with a marked restroom sign. On a side note, this splash pad was slippery; our toddler and 5 year old fell as few times. We’ve been to a lot of splash pads and normally this isn’t an issue. So bring water shoes, or remind children to not run. Founders Park splash pad runs March 1- October 31, 10am-6pm March and April, 9am- 7pm May – August, and 10am – 6pm September and October. Learn more here.
Mansel Carter Oasis Park (19535 E Appleby Rd, Queen Creek, AZ 85142) – this “pirate ship” splash pad is probably the most talked about of the East Valley, and for good reason. It’s epic and worth the drive! It also features a dumping bucket of water – a very large bucket of water, that reminded us of the water dump at Great Wolf Lodge, it’s so powerful! Kids will either love it or hate it, ha. Ours basically lived for the next dump! Another key feature of the Mansel Carter splash pad is the climbable pirate ship, complete with water fountains on deck and two slides! So fun! You’ll find other familiar water features here like ground fountains and cute animal themed water sprays. We can’t wait to come back here!
This splash pad also has a wonderful playground nearby, and a sand/water area. Seating isn’t plentiful, just a couple ramadas with picnic tables and benches, so it might be worth bringing your own chair. Restrooms are located nearby. A parent note on this splash pad – it’s located right next to a lake. The lake does have a thick wire fencing around it, but it was definitely possible to climb and enter the water. So watch your kiddos, please, especially if you have ones that like to roam. Mansel Carter splash pad runs March 1 – October 31, 7am-9:30pm. Learn more here.
