Browns Mill Family Aquatic Center Makes A big Splash
The Browns Mill Family Aquatic Center is more than a neighborhood pool. It’s a watery amusement park, complete with twin water slides that tower three stories above the pool, kiddie water slides, a snack bar and picnic tables
The DeKalb County Parks & Recreation program spent $7 million on the park. Little bathers will adore the center’s colorful pool/play structure, allowing children to climb and slide while being splashed with water. The center abounds in shallow-water fun, with multi-colored buckets filling and tipping over to shower delighted bathers. The young and young at heart dance in the spray of fountains of water that bubble up from the pool.
Patrons can practice balancing on floating wooden lily pads, while steadying themselves on the overhead rope ladder. Bathers can cool off by sitting in a fat yellow tube as they let the jet-fueled currents push them along the undulating lazy river.
The pool area is amply supplied with white plastic lounge chairs, but bring your own umbrella if you want shade. Outside the pool area are dozens of picnic tables with umbrellas; get to the pool early to be sure you get one. Dozens of picnic tables with umbrellas ring the pool, but flip-flops or some other pool shoes are a must. The artificial turf in the picnic area will sear your feet faster than a George Foreman grill.
Swim diapers are mandatory for toddlers. Patrons can borrow life jackets for non-swimmers. The pool has showers, but you must bring your own towels.
A snack bar at the pool serves burgers and hot dogs, chips, candy and sodas. A vending machine dispenses sodas and water. No outside food or drink, except water bottles, are permitted into the aquatic center.
The aquatic park, tucked into a neighborhood in south DeKalb, is open daily during the summer, and switches to weekends only when school starts, closing after Labor Day. Near the aquatic center is the 54-acre Browns Mill Park and Recreation Center which has baseball fields, basketball and tennis courts, picnic grounds and other activities.
Posted on Jul 25, 2011 by Diane Loupe
