Real Mom Review: Pirate's Cove Waterpark

By Jennifer Walters, CertifiKID Subscriber
Posted Jul 24, 2018 Real Mom Reviews Things to Do DC/MD/VA

I visited Pirate’s Cove Waterpark with my husband, 7-year-old twin boys, and 3-year-old daughter. The park is located in Pohick Bay Regional Park in Lorton, VA. There is something for everyone at this water park, and we all had a blast!

We arrived when the park opened at 11 a.m., and other than a few camp groups, the park was not crowded at all. So, a weekday morning is a great time to visit!

Pirate’s Cove has a huge main pool, most of which is 2.5-feet deep and includes a climbing structure with lots of fun water features—spray guns, ropes you can pull to dump water on your head, and more! There is a also a small double slide that my daughter went down about 50 times and a slightly bigger, winding slide that my boys loved. The water was just cold enough to make me jump a little when I got in, but not so cold that I couldn’t enjoy it—and it felt great on a 91-degree day! I also liked that there were TONS of lifeguards both inside and outside the pool who really kept an eye on the kids and enforced the rules. There were two other sections of the pool that got progressively deeper (up to 4.5 feet), but those sections were clearly marked off and had their own lifeguards.

Two smaller areas of the park can only be entered through tall doors that you have to reach all the way to the top to unlock. That means kids cannot enter or exit without a parent opening the door for them—another layer of safety. One area is a wading pool for kids 6 and under with a small slide for little ones. 

The other area is Buccaneer Beach, a sand and water area stocked with sand toys. Here, kids can dig for gold coins that they can trade in to the staff for prizes. I saw many older kids enjoying this area in addition to the little ones!

Finally, at the far corner of the park there are two large, winding water slides for kids 42” and taller. One slide is enclosed and the other is open. My boys went down them several times and loved them!

There are concession stands that are well stocked with lunch food like pizza and burgers, snacks, and drinks. At one point, Pohick Bay Regional Park staffers brought some animals from the park, including a box turtle and a snake, for kids to hold and touch. My son was thrilled to hold the turtle!

Overall, though Pirate’s Cove is on the small side, it provides lots of fun for kids of all ages. There are a ton of chairs, many of which are under huge umbrellas so you can sit in the shade. We stayed three hours, but definitely could have stayed longer. There is also lots to do in the massive Pohick Bay Regional Park, including boating and fishing, hiking, mini golf, a playground, and more. You could easily spend the morning at Pirate’s Cove and the afternoon exploring the park if you so choose. I definitely recommend this place for family fun!  

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Tags: water park northern virginia lorton pohick bay kids family fun

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