Splashpad season about to begin at Lake Pacawa Park
By Brian Kurzynski
PLOVER — People are already soaking up the sun and summery temperatures at Plover’s Lake Pacawa Park, which officially opened for the season on the last Friday of April, and anticipation is building for Memorial Day weekend when the popular splashpad will be turned on for the summer.
“Everybody asks when it’s going to be ready to go,” said Scott Klemm, public works manager for the village of Plover. “It’s a big draw for the park. Families love it.”
The splashpad, which opened in 2022, has quickly become a centerpiece attraction at Lake Pacawa Park. Since its debut, it has boosted park attendance.
“It’s a big draw for the park, along with our nice play system and all the green spaces,” Klemm said. “At this time of year, it starts filling up fast.”
As popular as the splashpad is, Klemm said one part stands out as the crowd favorite.
“Everybody loves the big dump bucket. It holds about 20 to 30 gallons of water that dumps all at once and splashes everywhere.”
Klemm explained that the splashpad uses fresh city water which flows through the equipment and then is channeled out into Lake Pacawa.
“The water goes into a drain, passes through rocks that help filtrate it, and the chlorine evaporates before it flows into the lake,” he said. “So it’s clean, reusable water when it hits the lake.”
The splashpad is open from Friday, May 23, in time for Memorial Day weekend, and operates through Labor Day weekend. Its hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.
Families visiting Lake Pacawa Park have many other recreational options beyond the splashpad, including walking and biking trails, a bandshell, playgrounds, a ball diamond, soccer field, sand volleyball, picnic areas, canoeing and kayaking, areas for fishing and swimming, and a locker room and shower facilities.
“Just about anything you might want to do outdoors is here,” Klemm said.
Throughout the summer, a variety of community events are hosted at the park. To get things started, the 4th Annual O’so Honor Flight Fun Run/Walk 5K will take place at Lake Pacawa on Saturday, May 17; the annual Wisconsin Korean War Veterans Memorial ceremony will be held on June 1; Cops-n-Bobbers is scheduled for June 7; and Celebrate Plover returns on July 26 and 27.
“We’re working on a food truck area for food truck events,” Klemm said. “Pickleball is being added and will open sometime in June or July. We’re also adding new ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) swings, as well as some regular swings this summer, so we’re always adding to the park.”
As for the splashpad, no major changes are planned at this time. “Eventually, we’ll have to do a recoating on the surfacing, but we don’t have a timeline on that yet. That would probably be the next big expense to eventually go back into it.”
Klemm encouraged families to come out and enjoy the park.
“There’s really something for everyone here,” he said. “We’re proud of the park, and we hope families will take advantage of everything it offers this summer.”