Kidsburgh: Places to cool off besides the pool
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Summertime and the pool go hand in hand, but for families with little kids who are not strong swimmers, going to the pool can be nerve-wracking. Kidsburgh has a guide to 18 places where you can get wet and cool off outside other than in a pool.
Kids can blast off to the Moon at Moon's spray park which opened less than three years ago. Plus, there's a playground, sand pit and shade for a picnic.
"We love coming to the spray park," Amanda Wydra of Robinson said. "It's an opportunity to burn some energy but not so much energy we don't play well for baseball tonight."
Kristen DiDonato of Cecil added, "It's always on our summer list of things to do."
Another great place to go is the Water Steps on Pittsburgh's North Shore near PNC Park. It's not only a play area, it's also a sculpture.
Jamie Kozusko of Wexford took her kids to the Water Steps and said, "There's lots of places to climb, and with all the waterfalls, the water's not too deep. And you can see the kids everywhere, so it gives them a lot of freedom to be creative with climbing and splashing and playing."
Her son, Zander, adds, "When you walk on them, it feels really nice."
At the Water Steps, there's beauty everywhere you look: the children, the falling water and the views of the rivers and downtown Pittsburgh. And you don't have to be a kid or even have a kid with you to enjoy the Water Steps. It's a great place to stop to cool off after a bike ride or walk along the North Shore.
More great spots for families are the eight spray parks in the city of Pittsburgh. At the spray park in Troy Hill, kids make new friends.
"We never knew anybody here, but they all say, 'Can we be friends?', and they play and chase each other, and she doesn't want to leave now," dad Tom Aland said.
His 5-year-old daughter, Abby, says, "I like the fan (of water). It comes out when you touch the button. It's like a house but it's like a spray thing."
A 4-year-old girl named Selah Belle said she loves "going in the water and playing in it and getting people wet."
You can find the full guide of fountains and spray parks on Kidsburgh.org here.
