Splish Splash
Groups: Explorers (Grades 5-8)
Ask any CRU Explorer to name the trips they remember most from their summers at camp. Somewhere in every answer, usually near the top, is Splish Splash. New York’s largest water park, sprawling across 96 tree-covered acres in Calverton, features over 30 uniquely themed water attractions, two wave pools, a lazy river, and some of the most thrilling slides in the entire country. Ranked by the Travel Channel as one of the top water parks in the United States, Splish Splash is not just a great day out. It is one of the defining experiences of a CRU summer. A full day. A finger food buffet lunch included. And memories that tend to stick around for years. This is one of the Big Three.
- Trip Dates: Check your campus calendar for scheduling.
- Location: Splish Splash, 2549 Splish Splash Dr, Calverton, NY 11933
- Lunch: A finger food buffet lunch with camper friendly foods is included. No need to bring lunch from home.
- Sunscreen: Camps ‘R’ Us provides Coral Isles SPF 50 sunscreen, a reef-safe, fragrance-free, hypoallergenic formula that is water resistant for up to 80 minutes and safe for all skin types. We recommend applying at home before departure. Staff will assist with reapplication throughout the day. If your camper prefers their own sunscreen they are welcome to bring it.
- Spending Money: Optional but recommended. Splish Splash has merchandise, games, and additional food options throughout the park. Based on typical water park pricing we recommend sending between $20 and $40 if you choose to send money. Campers do not need money to fully enjoy the park as lunch is included.
- What to Bring: Bathing suit worn under clothes, towel, change of clothes, backpack, camp water bottle, and sunscreen if preferred over the camp provided option. Aqua shoes or water shoes are also recommended for navigating the park comfortably.
- Backpacks: Backpacks travel with campers on this trip.
- No Rental Lockers: Please do not send valuables. Campers should carry only what they need for the day.
- Phones and Cameras: Not permitted. CRU is a phone-free and camera-free environment across all trips and programs.
- Swimwear Note: Splish Splash requires family-appropriate swimwear with no buckles, rhinestones, buttons, zippers, or snaps. Please dress campers accordingly.
- Transportation: Camps ‘R’ Us provides transportation to and from this trip from your home campus only. This trip may depart earlier than usual. All timing updates will be communicated through CampMinder.
What Campers Experience
Splish Splash spans 96 tree-covered acres and features over 30 uniquely themed water attractions designed for every kind of Explorer. Thrill seekers head straight for Bombs Away, a double trapdoor body slide that drops riders at 26 feet per second, or Dragon’s Den, a cannon bowl slide with a dragon at the center. Bootlegger’s Run, New York’s first and only hydromagnetic water coaster, sends riders through breathtaking drops from nearly five stories up. Dr. Von Dark’s Tunnel of Terror features high speed 360 degree spins and a 40 foot drop. Riptide Racer sends campers face first down four colorful mat slides side by side. The Cliff Diver drops riders 8 stories in just 3 seconds.
For those who want to bring the intensity down a notch, the two wave pools, Kahuna Bay and Surf City, deliver nonstop wave action that is genuinely hard to leave. The Lazy River is the great equalizer, everyone ends up there eventually, floating past fountains and through gentle waves with the whole day stretching out ahead of them. Stingray Bay, the park’s newest addition, features three slides, six interactive spray features, and a massive tipping bucket for the ultimate soak.
Lunch is served as a finger food buffet with camper friendly foods included in the trip. CRU staff supervise all campers throughout the day and the park’s abundance of shade, clean facilities, and attentive lifeguards make it one of the most comfortable full day outdoor experiences on the CRU calendar.
Highlights
- New York’s Largest Water Park. Splish Splash covers 96 tree-covered acres and features over 30 uniquely themed water attractions. It has been ranked by the Travel Channel as one of the top water parks in the entire United States. This is not a small day trip. This is a full scale summer experience.
- Bombs Away. The ride that everyone talks about on the bus home. Campers step into a capsule, a trapdoor opens beneath them, and they are launched down a body slide at 26 feet per second. It is exactly as intense as it sounds and exactly as popular as you would expect.
- Bootlegger’s Run. New York’s first and only hydromagnetic water coaster, featuring breathtaking drops from nearly five stories high. Once is never enough.
- Dragon’s Den. A cannon bowl slide with a dragon at the center that has been a Splish Splash signature attraction for over two decades.
- Two Wave Pools. Kahuna Bay and Surf City give campers two full wave pool experiences to choose from. The only problem is deciding which one to hit first.
- The Lazy River. Every Explorer group has the same experience with the Lazy River. They plan to spend twenty minutes there. They stay for two hours. It is a universal truth.
- Buffet Lunch Included. A finger food buffet with camper friendly foods is included in the trip. No lunch planning needed.
- 96 Acres of Natural Shade. Splish Splash is set among trees that provide genuine shade across the park, making a full summer day outdoors genuinely comfortable from start to finish.
Why We Love It
Some trips are great. Splish Splash is one of the Big Three. It earns that status because it does something that most experiences cannot replicate: it gives our Explorers a full day of freedom within a world class setting, with the kind of rides, the kind of scale, and the kind of energy that produces the memories that stick around for years.
The groups that come back from Splish Splash are different from the ones that left in the morning. Not in any dramatic way. Just in the way that people are different after they have spent a full summer day together doing something genuinely great. The inside jokes get established. The who-went-on-what conversations happen. The bus ride home is loud in the best possible way.
When our Explorers look back on their CRU summers years from now, Splish Splash will be in there. It always is. That is why it is on the schedule. That is why it is one of the Big Three.
FAQ
Splish Splash is an Explorer program trip available to all campers in Grades 5 through 8.
Yes. Splish Splash is fully included as part of the Camps ‘R’ Us Explorer program at no additional cost.
Bathing suit worn under clothes, a towel, a change of clothes, a backpack to carry everything, a camp water bottle, and sunscreen if they prefer their own over the camp provided option. Aqua shoes or water shoes are also recommended for navigating the park comfortably throughout the day.
Yes. Camps ‘R’ Us provides Coral Isles SPF 50 sunscreen, a reef-safe, fragrance-free, hypoallergenic formula that is water resistant for up to 80 minutes and safe for all skin types including sensitive skin. We recommend applying at home before your camper boards the bus. Staff will assist with reapplication throughout the day. Campers who prefer to bring their own sunscreen are welcome to do so.
Yes. A finger food buffet with camper friendly foods is included as part of the trip. Campers do not need to bring lunch from home.
No. Your camper does not need to bring money to fully enjoy Splish Splash. Admission and lunch are fully covered. However if you would like to send spending money for merchandise, games, or additional food options at the park, we recommend between $20 and $40 based on typical water park pricing.
No. Please do not send campers with valuables on this trip. Campers carry their belongings in their backpacks throughout the day and should bring only what they need.
Yes. Splish Splash has height and age requirements on certain attractions that are set and enforced exclusively by the park. CRU staff have no authority over these decisions. We encourage parents to review the park’s ride requirements with their camper before the trip. Full details are available on the Splish Splash website.
Splish Splash requires family-appropriate swimwear. Suits with buckles, rhinestones, buttons, zippers, or snaps are not permitted on rides. Please dress campers in standard swimwear to avoid any issues at ride entrances.
This trip may depart campus earlier than a regular camp day to maximize time at the park. Return times will also vary by campus based on distance from Calverton. All departure, arrival, and return time updates will be communicated through the CampMinder app. Please ensure your CampMinder notifications are turned on well ahead of trip day.
No. CRU is a phone-free and camera-free environment for all campers across every trip and every program. Personal devices are never permitted. All photography is handled exclusively by designated CRU staff who have undergone extensive background checks.
Please check your campus calendar for scheduling.
This Trip Is Part of Something Bigger
Splish Splash is one of the many field trips included as part of the Camps ‘R’ Us Explorer program, one of Long Island’s most trusted day camp experiences for kids in grades 5 through 8. With campuses across Nassau and Suffolk County including Syosset, Farmingdale, Massapequa, Bellmore, Hicksville, East Rockaway, Saint James, Kings Park, Williston Park and more, CRU offers families a screen-free, activity-packed summer built around confidence, friendship, and adventure. All programs are ACA accredited, and transportation to and from every trip is included from your home campus.
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