While the weather in Westerville is often temperate, when the heat hits, you’ll want to take the family to places where they can cool off. From water parks to the public library, here’s a list of five places to cool off this summer around Westerville, Ohio, which our team at Crème de la Crème of Westerville put together for you.

Zoombezi Bay

The twins flow through the lazy river by Dion Hinchcliffe is licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0

Kids of all ages will have a blast spending the day at Zoombezi Bay. This water-themed park, open during the summer, has so many rides and attractions that you and the family can spend days here staying cool and having fun. Whether you want to relax in the lazy river pool, get a thrill zooming down water slides, or careen down waterfalls, you’ll find just what you want at Zoombezi Bay.

A new feature includes a water park for toddlers with a splash pad, pint-size slide, and aquatic animals with which youngsters can play. Zoombezi Bay offers events throughout the year, such as the Splash Bash, Christmas in July, or Summer Nights. After a busy day floating and splashing, take a break and grab a bite at one of the many dining options this park offers.

Location: 4850 W. Powell Road in Powell.

Contact: 614-645-3400.

Highlands Park Aquatic Center

From Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, the family can cool off and get exercise at Highlands Park Aquatic Center. This family-friendly aquatic center offers season passes for residents or non-residents, or you can purchase daily passes as needed. The designers of Highlands Aquatic Center created this park to have a natural, organic-feeling environment, making it easy to relax and have fun on a warm summer day.

Features of this center include a speed and body-slide tower, a spray playground, and a lazy river pool perfect for laying back on a tube and enjoying the day. Toddlers get their own zero-entry pool with a small simulated rockslide to keep their active bodies engaged all day, and swimmers will appreciate the 25-meter pool with eight lanes and a diving well. The family will work up an appetite after spending the day having fun and swimming at Highlands Aquatic Park, and you can refuel everyone’s bodies at any of these family-friendly restaurants in the Westerville area.

Location: 245 S. Spring Road in Westerville.

Contact: 614-901-7665.

The Scioto Mile Fountain

If you find yourself about 20 minutes from Westerville in the beautiful city of Columbus on a warm summer day, take time to stop by the innovative Scioto Mile Fountain. This striking sculptural fountain is an architectural wonder and also an interactive water play area. During the summer, the family can enjoy the 15,000-square-foot, 200-foot-long splash area that can shoot jets of water up to 75 feet in the air from the underground reservoir that holds about 110,000 gallons of water.

Kids will have fun playing in the 1,079 ground-level spray nozzles as a way to cool off. At night, the fountain becomes quite the spectacle as it lights up and becomes enveloped in a mysterious fog from the 1,000 fog nozzles. Enjoy one of Columbus’s highlights, Scioto Mile Fountain, daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 27 through Sept. 5.

Location: 233 Civic Center Drive at Bicentennial Park in Columbus.

Contact: Via the website or 614-645-3800 for reservations.

Westerville Public Library

Take the family to the Westerville Public Library so they can expand their minds, explore new worlds, and stay cool on a hot Westerville summer day. At this local library, kids and teens can find age-appropriate books to read at the library, take home, or at a park to read underneath a shady tree.

The Westerville Public Library also has an imagination station where young children can play with the light table, an interactive projector, a peg bright wall, and a fun tree house. This section is open during regular library hours in the children’s area. Check with the library often to see when they offer story times for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, or families. Westerville Public Library also offers items and kits that kids, teens, and families can borrow, such as a guitar, plant and flower seeds, tools, puzzles, and games.

Location: 126 S. State St. in Westerville.

Contact: 614-882-7277.

Alum Creek State Park 

It’s a breeze to spend the day or weekend swimming, fishing, boating, or camping in nature when you visit Alum Creek State Park. This large park, located in nearby Delaware, offers families a chance to swim or relax on the 3,000-square-foot beach, complete with a changing area and a concession stand where you can buy snacks and beverages. If you’d like to go kayaking, canoeing, or paddleboarding, you can enjoy the calm waters of the 3,387-acre Alum Creek Reservoir.

You can also bring power boats for those who want to go water skiing. Don’t forget to pack a fishing pole and gear to try your hand at catching bass, bluegill, or crappie in the sheltered coves and inlets found on the northern part of the reservoir. Hikers and equestrians in the family will appreciate the 40 miles of trails that wander along the shore of Alum Creek Reservoir and under the shady beech-maple forests. Alum Creek State Park is open daily from sunrise to sunset for day use.

With the kids out of school for the summer, why not spend a few days camping at Alum Creek Park? You can choose from the 297 campsites with either wooded or sunny areas, some of which overlook the lake. Each site has electrical hookups, and you can take a hot shower at the shower houses located throughout the campground.

Location: 3615 S. Old State Road in Delaware.

Contact: 740-548-4631.

Knowing how to stay cool in the Westerville, Ohio, area is the best way to beat the heat when the temperatures climb. What’s your family’s secret to staying cool in our area? If you have another place you can recommend taking the kids on a hot summer day, let our team at Crème de la Crème of Westerville know, and we’ll share your information with our community.