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Case Study: Foster Arend Park

Rochester, Minnesota

For decades, Foster Arend Park has served the Rochester community with a free source of waterfront entertainment. But through various community engagement efforts, residents raised concerns about the lack of aquatics-based recreation. The city’s Parks and Recreation division determined that a large-scale commercial water park was simply not feasible, so they began looking for less-expensive alternatives that wouldn’t compromise on fun.

The solution? An inflatable floating water park

Custom-designed by Commercial Recreation Specialists (CRS), the inflatable water park is a public-private venture nestled off the shores of Foster Arend Beach. The city owns the beach, and a third-party concessionaire, Water Parks of Minnesota LLC, operates the facility. The hugely popular Aquaglide Aquapark 75 offers a circuit configuration with multiple routes and activity zones to allow for constant play throughout the course and, of course, constant fun. (Scroll to learn more…)

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Caleb Owens, owner and operator of Water Parks of Minnesota LLC, is a native of the Rochester area, growing up in Austin, Minnesota. He felt strongly about bringing something positive back to his hometown area, and what better way to do that than with an exciting and engaging water-based recreational facility. He commented, “I think that people will be coming into town because they hear about it. The Twin Cities doesn’t have it, Austin doesn’t, Albert Lea doesn’t. I think that people will be willing to drive to this area to try out something new.”

Since it’s opening in June 2018, the park has seen huge success. In addition to the inflatables, the park offers stand-up paddleboarding, a beach and swimming area, volleyball, trails, shelters and rentable space, making it the perfect one-stop destination to escape the summer heat. Mike Nigbur, Director of Parks and Forestry Division, is happy that the City of Rochester was able to give the community such a popular recreational outlet. He stated, “This helps provide some of that [water-based] activity that people are looking for during summer.“

The public has been raving about the park since it's opening.

Facebook user Karissa Jane Krause states, “I had a blast playing on the water park. The staff was kind and helpful, and the inflatable equipment and life jackets were in excellent condition. We shared many laughs and wore ourselves out. We can’t wait to come back and bring more friends!”