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Labor Day is your last chance to see Water World’s biggest expansion in decades

Summit Canyon brings exciting new attractions to Water World, but there’s limited time left to experience it this year.

Summit Canyon and Water World
Summit Canyon features four new waterslides, an expansive kids’ area, activity pools, and more. (Courtesy of Water World)

As we mercifully reach the end of a summer that has seen record-breaking heat waves and the hottest month ever recorded in certain parts of Colorado, there is still relief to be found at Water World, which in July opened its largest expansion in 40 years. 

Summit Canyon opened on July 16, according to 9News, transforming 2.5 acres of the existing park into a three-tiered world featuring The Summit, Mid-Mountain, and The Basecamp. 

This new land includes Lookout Tower, a signature water-slide complex that includes the park’s first drop-capsule water slide, according to Amusement Today. At 60 feet, Lookout Tower serves as the tallest element within Colorado’s largest waterpark, Aquatic Development Group, a firm that helped build the new area, boasted. 

Aspen Falls asks riders to enter a clear capsule, where they await a countdown before dropping into more than 425 feet of slide. There’s also the body flume Columbine Cascade, which features clear fiberglass for more than half of a 520-foot ride.

Summit Canyon also includes a quiet leisure pool called Emerald Lake; Creekside Crossing, featuring themed activities; a basketball lagoon with the apt title Puddle Dunkers; and Critters Cove, which comprises seven slides and over a dozen interactive features for kids. There’s even a separate pool where children can learn to swim. 

Summit Canyon replaces Calypso Cove, which retired in August 2025 as the new construction began. 

But there’s limited time to check out this new development, as Labor Day marks the final day of the Water World season. While the full park remains open on weekends, the “Back to Pool” schedule means Summit Canyon is all that’s open on weekdays from here on out, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. 

Check out the website for tickets, directions, and other info.

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  • Ryan Pitkin is a writer and editor based in Charlotte, where until recently he ran an alternative weekly newspaper called Queen City Nerve. He is also editor of NoDa News, a community newsletter in the neighborhood where he has lived for 15 years.

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