History is rife with tales about the Fountain of Youth. Herodotus thought it was in Ethiopia; Alexendar the Great crossed the Land of Darkness to find it; and Juan Ponce de Leon spent much of 1513 poking around for it in present-day Florida.

This all pre-dates Roseland Water Park by several hundred years—and that’s a good thing. Alexander’s elephants would have hogged the Giant Wave pool, and conquistadors’ armor isn’t conducive to sunbathing or paddle boating. But if early explorers had stumbled on this Canandaigua landmark, they absolutely would have found a place where time slows and youthfulness reigns.

O.K., enough hyperbole. We are just talking about a roadside water park, right?

Weeeellllllll, right and wrong. Ask the 75 year-old Corning gentleman who comes every year with his 40 year-old son for “Father/Son Day,” and the myriad parents who, once having established family check-in times, are free to settle into the shade with a book (one that doesn’t involve a Cat in a Hat). For them and many others, the sparkling (and heated!) waters wash away cares, and everyone is enveloped by a sense of real community. Trained lifeguards keep careful watch; grounds and facilities are spotlessly maintained; families enjoy reunions and birthday parties; and snacks and sunscreen are never more than a few steps away. There’s both a peaceful and playful feeling here that’s rare in today’s hyper-charged world.

This year marks the park’s ten-year anniversary, and there are over 80 events planned for the season (June 26th – September 6^th). The NASCAR Display is back by popular demand (including the Pit Crew Simulation), Youth Fit will do a live demonstration of an exercise video for kids (developed by a local tween – how cool is that?), and there’ll be visits from jugglers, magicians, balloon artists and colorful characters from the Renaissance Faire. No elephants though.

Visit Roseland’s website for info on events and promotions, and call for special group rates.

Roseland Waterpark
250 Eastern Boulevard
Canandaigua, NY 14424
(585) 396-2000

Directions
roselandwaterpark.com

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 24th, 2010 at 11:54 am and is filed under Attractions, Bloomfield, Canandaigua, Geneva, Location, Outdoors, Type. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.