$10.5 Million Water Park is New Louisiana Road Trip Destination

The forecast for Louisiana's summertime is not for the faint of heart. Forecasters say from Shreveport to New Orleans and Monroe to Lake Charles life along the bayou will be sticky, steamy, and muggy, with a chance of hurricanes thrown in for good measure.

Liudmila Chernetska

And while we can hope the hurricanes stay away we have already gotten a taste of the sticky, steamy, muggy part of that scenario. But since we've lived in the Gulf South for more than a few summers we know there are ways to beat the heat. One of the best ways to knock down the temperature by a degree or two is to get wet.

Louisiana's 9 Best Waterparks

One of Louisiana's favorite ways to get wet is the water park. Quite often these parks include outrageous slides, wave pools, splash buckets, and my favorite, the lazy river. The trouble with a water park is that once you've been, you've seen what they have to offer. Unless you're content with just soaking up the sun and downing a beverage or two you're probably in the market for something new.

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Introducing the Gulf South's Newest Water Park

The latest edition to our great list of get wet ideas is just a few short hours from Lafayette. It's even closer if you're in Baton Rouge or New Orleans and it's in one of my favorite towns. That town is Hattiesburg, Mississippi and the new water park is a part of the Hattiesburg Zoo.

The fun at Serengeti Springs includes the Blue Rapid Run, The Feather Flight, The Reptile Racers, the Peacock Plunge, the Serengeti Swirl, the Water Cannons, and Bucket Dump Stations. Judging by the videos on the Serengeti Springs Facebook page it looks as if it's loads of fun.

Like most water parks, you may purchase passes for the season or for the day and there is a wide range of snacks and food available for purchase. Serengeti Springs is located at 1700 Hardy Street and you'll want to check the website or Facebook page for operating hours.

And if you don't want to travel that far to get your "beat the heat" fix, might we suggest renting a swimming pool? Yeah, you can do that.