Splash Pads

Also known as a spray park, spray ground, aquatic play pad or water playground, the dynamic Splashpad® is a zero-depth aquatic play area that provides hours of fun for the entire family. Splashpads combine the sensations of different water movements — flowing, misting and jetting — with over 250 diverse features for an unequaled aquatic play adventure.

Vortex brand aquatic playgrounds add value to public parks, aquatic centers, residential developments, water parks, hotels & resorts, camps, and campgrounds. They breathe new life into outdated swimming pools, wading pools and commercial water parks. Designed to stimulate and challenge children of all ages and abilities, Splashpads have proven to be solid winners in almost any setting.

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Explore Aquatic Play Solutions

Dive deeper into the endless possibilities for fun and engagement with our innovative aquatic play options.

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The benefits of Splashpads are many

Social Engagement – Brings people of all ages together to create engaged communities
Sustainable & Eco-Friendly – Innovative water management systems reduce water consumption
Designed For Safe Play – Zero-depth spaces eliminate drowning risk and staffing needs
Stimulates Imagination & Creativity – Unscripted free play encourages children to create their own play experiences
Integrates With Surroundings – Splashpads feature and color options ensure that they always compliment the surrounding landscape & facilities
Maintain Interest Over Time – Light mists, jets, flowing and sprinkling effects combine to keep play experiences fresh and entertainment value high
Flexible & Expandable – Can be big or small to fit any space and budget, and future play elements can be added
Designed for Inclusive Play – encourages physical, functional and social development in children of all abilities
Enhance With Lighting – Lighting elements extend the hours of usage and create a stunning architectural piece during evening hours

Water management is a vital component. That’s why our solutions feature Smartflow™ technology.

With options for any size, Smartflow water management solutions are specifically engineered for your project – operating with the best efficiency and highest standards of water quality. Vortex Water Management solutions feature three kinds of systems:

Recirculation: A closed circuit system that recycles and disinfects the water to and from the play area through the advanced Water Quality Management System (WQMS).
Repurpose: sustainable solutions that are designed to integrate with the overall project scope and needs by reusing the Splashpad® or Spraypoint effluent water for surface or sub-surface irrigation. These systems are simple to operate and require minimal maintenance.
Flow-Through: Easy to operate, low maintenance and eco-friendly solutions to manage water use for Splashpad® or Spraypoint®. These systems use potable water that goes through the play area. Effluent water is then returned to the municipal wastewater system, or percolated back to the water table.

Learn more about sustainable design and the importance of sustainable solutions.

The way kids play today

Splashpads squeezes more fun out of every drop. Splashpads have forever changed the way children play in parks and urban spaces and Vortex is proud to have been a driving force behind this revolution in play. As early developers of Splashpad®, our flagship product, Vortex has gained a deeper kind of expertise in the design of play features that engage and enthrall children of all ages. Every product we make is the result of long development by our designers and product engineers, and benefits from years of specific experience, play value testing in the field and ongoing product improvement and refinement. So besides having creative, attractive designs, you can be sure that kids will get hours and hours of play out of the exclusive Vortex water features we use on every Splashpad®.

Dynamic play, social play and more

Part of the magic of Splashpad® and a big reason why kids become so absorbed for so long in Splashpad® play is the sheer diversity of water features that can be integrated in a single Splashpad® experience. Splashpad® combines the sensations of different water movements—such as flowing, misting, and jetting—with over 250 diverse features for an unequalled aquatic play adventure. From interactive water features like Bamboo Cannon or Ombrello Twirl, to visually fascinating water effects, to features that promote social play or inspire intuitive discovery, every Splashpad® strikes a fine balance, ensuring that the play desires and styles of a broad range of users are met in full.

Yes, we engage in “pad think”

Even when our customers choose the kinds of play equipment they would like to have on their Splashpad®, we bring our expertise to bear on the choice of individual aquatic play products and the relative positioning of these items. We’re looking to maximize play value and opportunities, encourage maximum interaction and movement between experiences, and always stay focused on accessibility. This extends to designing-in areas dedicated to high-energy, boisterous play for tweens and teens (using high-energy sprays and streams), transitional zones for people of all ages, and sections for low energy play where the youngest toddlers and their parents can feel right at home. All that goes into making sure every Vortex Splashpad® delivers the best possible play value for the widest possible cross section of users.

Designing for the imagination

Driving by a park or urban space, a Vortex Splashpad® is immediately recognizable by the characteristic design style of its water features. One big difference is how a Vortex tree, for example, does not directly emulate a tree but rather evokes a sense of “treeness”. While realistic designs tire quickly, Vortex’s evocative designs inspire a child’s imagination, helping them to create their own make believe play worlds and games they can share with children around them. This “less is more” design philosophy has become a hallmark of every product we make.

So everyone can play

At Vortex, not only do we believe that people with different abilities should have easy access to play, we believe they also deserve to get the maximum amount of enjoyment from play. To this end we have been proponents of the principles and tenets of Universal Design, and nowhere is this inclusive approach to design more in evidence than in our Splashpad® products and Splashpad® project designs.

Cooling off with peace of mind

With zero water depth surfaces, a Splashpad® is a reassuring presence for any parent on a hot day when water play is just the ticket. Park administrators appreciate how they require no lifeguard supervision as they pose no more risk than standard dry-play playground equipment, even when enhanced with multi-level Elevations™ play structures.

► SERIOUS ABOUT MORE THAN FUN.

We’re very serious about Splashpads. And, we’re even more serious about seeing you get results. No dream is too big, and all of your goals are attainable. Let’s get started.