Review: Whirlin Waters Adventure Waterpark in Charleston, SC

Considered the best waterpark in Charleston, SC, Whirlin Waters Adventure Waterpark has a lot of ways to keep you cool on a hot, summer day in the Lowcountry!

This waterpark is the largest in the Charleston area, has fun slides and pool options for all ages, and stays open the longest (into August).

We’re locals who have always had good experiences here and can confidently recommend you consider it if the weather is cooperating during your visit. It’s a great alternative to the beach!

Let’s look at each ride and what ages it’s best suited for, all the food options and amenities available on the property, and how to get the most value for your entry fee.

Whirlin Waters Quick Info

• Location: Wannamaker County Park in North Charleston/Summerville area
• Cost:
  • $25 per adult (anyone over 48” tall)
  • $20 per kid (under 48” tall)
  • $15 per senior (age 60+)
  • Free for kids age 2 and under
• Season: mid-May to Labor Day
• Fun Stuff: 6 slides, 1 lazy river, 1 wave pool, 1 kids’ treehouse, & 1 toddler lagoon
• Amenities: changing rooms, showers, locker rentals, lounge chairs
• Food: standard theme park-type food
• Who’s it good for?: Most ages and abilities.

Park Overview

Whirlin Waters is the best overall waterpark in the Charleston area.

It’s got slides and fun for every age group, amenities and food so you can stay all day, and a season pass that’ll pay for itself after 4 visits.

It’s also the only water park open in August in Charleston. The other Charleston waterparks close for the season the first weekend of August, presumably because that’s when the kids go back to school and they lose a lot of lifeguards.

Because this park has the most to offer, it’s usually the busiest as well. There will be lines for the slides, and it can be hard to get a tube for the lazy river sometimes.

Overall, though, the lines move quickly, tubes become available, and everyone has a great time. You’ll spend more time in the water than waiting.

Recommendations

For toddlers: Otter Bay’s Lily Pad Lagoon

For older kids: Jungle Treehouse and tube slides

For adults: big slides and the lazy river

Good to Know: The lazy river is often busiest right after lunch. If you’ve got a strong stomach, this is a great time of day to try the slides with short lines. But beware of the racer slide! It’s hard on the gut/lower abdomen when you reach the bottom.

Slides & Areas

The Washout Older Kids’ & Adult Slides (Pink and Blue slides)

The biggest slides in the park, these slides are meant for multiple people to take a large inner tube and have a blast.

The pink slide is one steep drop, and the blue is a large tube slide with interior waterfalls. Pink is for the screamers; blue is for the adventurers!

These slides require at least 2 people per raft, have a strict minimum height requirement, and a strict weight limit. Before they let you in to get a raft, they will weigh your group on a large scale.

Don’t worry! It doesn’t show a number to everyone. It has a simple red light/green light system. If you aren’t within the acceptable weight range, it turns red and the lifeguard will tell you how to split up your group.

Good to Know: One set of stairs leads up to both slides, but you’ll often find that one slide has a longer line than the others. Ask the people in front of you which slide they’re waiting for. The lines move faster if you just ask and don’t stand in line waiting when you could be further up the stairs.

Rip Tide Run Racer Slide

Up to 6 people at a time can race each other, head first!, down this water slide on the “big kid” side of the park.

Mats are provided, so you’re not getting rug burn or tearing up your swimsuit.

There is a bit of a bump when you hit the bottom of the slide and continue into the flat, slightly deeper water part which acts as the brakes to slow you down.

It doesn’t bother most people, but some guys take it better than others, if you understand our meaning.

Rollin’ River Lazy River

There are only 2 parks that have a lazy river in Charleston, and Whirlin Waters’ lazy river is the longest. It has two spots where you can enter: one zero-entry and one with 5-6 steps.

The lazy river winds around an area with lots of tall pine trees that provide much-appreciated shady spots. It’s usually a good mix of shade and sun throughout the day.

My only complaint is there aren’t any jets or waterfalls to cool you off as you float. You’d have to get off your tube, dunk in the water, and then climb back on.

Good to Know: This is a popular spot right after lunch. Everyone wants to chill and float while their food settles. You’ll probably have to wait a while for a tube to free up at this time of day.

Big Kahuna Wave Pool

A fun spot for all ages, the Big Kahuna wave pool is zero-entry and alternates between regular pool and wave pool.

If you’re looking for a pool to freestyle swim around in, this is your only option.

The wave machine will run for a few minutes, get the water all nice and riled up, and then turn off so the waves can die back down to nothing for a little while before starting again.

A siren goes off briefly when the wave machine first starts, so if you don’t want the waves, you have time to get out before they start.

The waves get pretty choppy! Kids love getting tossed around by them. Lifeguards carefully watch from both sides of the pool, keeping everyone safe while they get swept around in the deep end of this pool.

Good to Know: The water in this pool is almost always warm. There’s no shade here so the sun beats on it all day, raising it to the temperature of a warm bath. It wasn’t refreshing to us in late July, but maybe it’s better when it first opens in May.

Lily Pad Lagoon & Otter Bay

This section is specifically for Whirlin Waters’ youngest patrons. The majority of the area is no more than a few inches of water with lots of splash pad gadgets.

Young kids will have fun getting wet without the risk of deeper waters. It’s also sectioned off pretty well from the other areas of the park so they won’t get distracted by other things.

There are short otter slides for toddlers on the end, so they can still experience and enjoy slides appropriate for their activity level. Lots of joyous shrieks in this area of the park!

Good to Know: Swim diapers are required for little ones. You can buy some at the park if needed.

Big Splash Treehouse

There’s water everywhere in this fun, jungle-themed treehouse, perfect for kids 3ish to 10ish years old.

There are a few slides in this area that you have to navigate through the treehouse to reach. A couple of tube slides are fun for older kids, and there’s another lower slide for the younger ones that want more activity than Otter Bay offers.

There are plenty of jets to aim at friends, buckets to dump on passersby, and one supersized bucket at the top that fills and dumps over the whole treehouse every few minutes.

You will get soaked here, and there’s a lot of screams and laughter as kids of all ages and their adult supervisors enjoy this Whirlin Waters area. Probably the loudest section of the park!

Tubular Twister Kids’ Tube Slides

Another set of 3 slides are tucked away into the corner of the “kids’ area” of the park.

These are good for younger, in-between aged kids that aren’t quite ready for the big slides on the other end of the park but want more adventure than the tube slides of the Treehouse.

There’s still a height requirement, but these slides don’t have steep drop offs. Adults might enjoy these, too, but you’ll probably be the only adults in line. (We tried them and enjoyed them!)

The Food

Dining at Whirlin Waters is very much a theme park vibe: burgers, hotdogs, fries, pizza, and ice cream.

Food prices are surprisingly reasonable. You’re looking at $3 for a bottle of water, but only $7 for a cheeseburger. We spent about $30 for lunch for two adults, which was 2 cheeseburgers, 2 drinks, and an ICEE.

You’ll pass the Dippin’ Dots and the frozen bananas right as you enter the park.

They try to provide healthier alternatives, so you’ll find a salad, a couple of wrap options, and a fruit side, usually mandarin oranges or something seasonal, also on the menu.

And they haven’t forgotten the youngest kids’ palates, so you can get Uncrustables and CapriSuns, too.

Calypso Kitchen, on the kids’ side of the park by the wave pool, is where you’ll get most of the food. They have sun shades over round picnic tables, or you can take your food anywhere in the park except for in the pools.

The lines at Calypso Kitchen can get long. Bring your shoes. The line area is not shaded, and the pavement will burn your feet.

The Pizza Spot is a pop-up food trailer on the adults’ side of the park, near the wave pool and the racer slide. The lines usually aren’t quite as long here.

Good to Know: Outside food and drinks, besides water, are prohibited inside the waterpark. You can’t bring coolers inside, either.

However, you could leave a cooler in your car and go out to the parking lot to eat, if you’re willing to get everyone dried off and back into shoes.

You won’t be the only ones. Plenty of people do that. Just get your hand stamped for same-day re-entry.

The Amenities

Whirlin Waters has all the comfort amenities you’d expect at a good waterpark:

• Locker Rentals
• Free Changing Rooms & Showers
• Free Lounge Chairs & Sunshades

Complimentary chairs and sunshades are amenities that often get taken for granted. You don’t have to pay to get a locker to hold your stuff. Leave your towels and shoes on a few chairs, and go enjoy yourself!

The locker rental system is automated, so you can pay with a credit card at the kiosk and secure your stuff for the day. Locker keys come on a flexible wristlet strap so you won’t lose it while you’re enjoying the slides or pools.

Good to Know: We’ve also left our bag on our chairs for the day and not had any issues. It’s always safest to use a locker to secure your valuables, but I wouldn’t say it’s unsafe here. It’s a large park, though, so it’s hard to keep an eye on your stuff. If you’re a worrier, get a locker.

Changing rooms and showers can be a gamechanger for your itinerary. It’s so nice to get out of your swimsuit and into dry clothes so you can go to dinner or the store on the way home.

The Price

The entry price might seem steep, especially if you’re bringing a crowd of tall kids or adults, but the value is there if you spend an afternoon or whole day here.

If you get tired of the water, you could always dry off and go explore the rest of Wannamaker County Park. There are mountain biking trails, a disc golf course, paved trails, and playgrounds to enjoy.

They offer rainchecks in case of lightning, which would shut down the park. The raincheck allows you to enter free of charge on another day in the same season.

That’s only helpful to you, though, if you live in the area, know you’ll be back another time that same summer, or you have another day or two left on your vacation.

They offer Splash Pass season passes for those that want to visit often throughout the summer. There are two tiers to the season passes, but if Whirlin Waters is the one you want to visit, get the Super Splash Pass.

Is Whirlin Waters Worth It?

Yes, Whirlin Waters is, hands down, the best overall water park in Charleston.

It can accommodate a wide variety of ages, and it has the amenities to make it a comfortable way to spend the day without leaving, maximizing your entry fee.

The only time we consider a different water park is if we have very young kids that would do better at a smaller, quieter park.

Other Water Parks in the Charleston Area

If your kids aren’t quite big enough to enjoy big slides, then Splash Zone in James Island County Park is a good alternative.

Splash Island is the smallest, least overwhelming water park in Charleston. It’s ideal for toddlers and young kids.

Prefer lakes over pools? Charleston Aqua Park is a better fit for you.

Safe travels, adventurer!

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