Long time coming: Peters Township Aqua Park opening to public
Peters Township employees and their families got to test out the community’s new aqua park at “soft opening” Thursday afternoon.
Dave Brooks, the township’s director of parks and recreation, spoke before a ceremonial ribbon cutting for what is known as Rolling Hills Aqua Park, located at 110 Warriors Way.
“This is a project that has been in the making for a long time, and we finally hit the finish line,” Brooks said. “In my opinion, I think we have the nicest water park in Southwest Pennsylvania.”
The park will open to the public on Monday. It features a large splash pad with slides and several other water features, such as a large bucket emblazoned with the logo of Peters Township that dumps water every minute.
There is also a toddler area, pavilion and a party room.
Planning for the aqua park began before the pandemic, and it was initially more ambitious with a swimming pool and lazy river.
“Early on in we looked at building a somewhat smaller splash pad, and swimming pool. We took that out to bid, and it came in more than we could afford to do,” Township Manager Paul Lauer said.
Bids came in about $7 million higher than the project’s $10 million budget, it was retooled into what Lauer called the “premier splash pad” in the region.
“There’s nothing quite like this,” Lauer said.
The park cost just shy of $6 million, and about half was funded through state grants.
Lauer noted that there is a large space near the park for the potential addition of a swimming pool in the future.
“It was designed to allow for the construction of a pool,” Lauer said.
Rolling Hills Aqua Park will be open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. On Sundays its hours will be noon to 7 p.m. After Labor Day, the park will be open on weekends, weather permitting.
Residents can enter for $2.50, while non-residents will be charged $5. An annual pass for four people will cost residents $25, and non-residents $50. The party room can be rented for $150, and the shelter for $100. The price for non-residents to rent is doubled in both cases.