Splash play areas continue to be among the most commonly planned amenities for parks and other outdoor recreation areas. As their popularity has exploded, those who design these spaces have grown ever more innovative, which is great news for communities whose plans for splash play are constrained by space limitations, budgetary belt-tightening and other constraints.

Aquatic facility managers must juggle a range of daily tasks and challenges, but ensuring the water is safe is one of the most critical. Ideally, you have a preventive maintenance plan, created as part of your design process, which helps ensure you are proactive.

Whether you're building a brand-new facility or updating existing ones, you'll need to find and purchase new equipment. Where to begin? With such a wide variety of options, determining which suppliers will be the best fit is complex and time-consuming. For those who want to simplify and streamline procurement, the good news is that there are service providers whose central purpose is to make it easier for you to sail through the procurement process.

If you're thinking about how to expand your dog park offerings, there's a lot to take into consideration, from the types of amenities available to the materials they are made of.

When you host events, from parades and concerts to sporting events and tournaments, you want to be sure spectators have a great view. But when your events occur in a variety of locations, such as parks, ballfields and downtown areas, it can be challenging to find a spot for every spectator. And in the post-pandemic world, you might want to accommodate attendees who would like a little more space.

If you have older playground equipment made from wood, you likely are looking for a way to update it. But in many communities, local citizens are attached to older playgrounds and resistant to replacing them entirely. You need solutions that can help you please everyone—modernizing equipment to protect kids and minimize maintenance, while maintaining the look and feel that your community members love.

Gazebos, shelters and other structures make your park more inviting. They not only can improve the aesthetic appeal of your site, but guests will stick around longer if they have a place to get out of the hot sun or a sudden rain storm. But the structures you add to your park sites can do much more, providing entertainment as well as opportunities to generate revenue.

From rustic woodland escapes to the green oasis in the midst of the city, people gravitate toward parks for a wide variety of reasons—exercise, socializing, sports, play, or just sitting and taking in the natural scenery. If you want to attract more visitors and build a sense of community in your park, choose a mixture of site amenities that can meet a broad range of needs.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in four U.S. adults have a disability that has an impact on their major life activities. That's 61 million American adults, with the most common disability type being mobility, which affects one in seven adults.

Many aquatic facilities considering renovations choose to replace their kiddie pools with splash pads, and for good reason! Kiddie pools tend to be under-utilized and outdated, with little playability, while splash pads can bring new interest—and new people—to the facility.