• Water parks are a perfect way to beat the summer heat.Children's water park with sun beds and slides on the seashore image by Supertrooper from Fotolia.com
  
  Giant water slides, wave pools, lazy rivers and water playgrounds can be found at sprawling water parks, which draw vacationers all summer. Though the parks have different attractions, all provide an exciting day in the sunshine. Six Flags St. Louis, Splash City Family Water Park and Raging Rivers are the closest water parks to Pevely, Missouri, each providing hours of fun for every age.
  
  

Six Flags St. Louis

• The closest water park to Pevely, Missouri is the 12-acre Hurricane Harbor at Six Flags St. Louis. A 560,000-gallon wave pool provides 30,000 square feet of 4-foot rolling waves, as well as an 80-foot-tall steaming volcano. Ride a raft that seats five down the Big Kahuna, a 6-story winding raft adventure. Relax on the 1,100-foot lazy river, complete with waterfalls and geysers, or play at Hook's Lagoon, an all-ages play area with pirate ship, 5-story tree house, slides and sprays. The three 6-story, high-speed slides will entertain older kids with two enclosed, snaking slides and one slide with a 64-foot freefall, along with four tube slides and a six-lane water raceway. Free with admission to Six Flags. The entire family will love Hurricane Harbor.
  
  Six Flags St. Louis
  
  I-44 & Six Flags Road
  
  Eureka, MO 63025
  
  636-938-5300
  
  sixflags.com/stLouis
  
  

Splash City Family Water Park

• Surfers and body boarders take advantage of The FlowRider, a machine that pumps 36,000 gallons of water each minute and creates perfect waves. Surf lessons are available for anyone taller than 48 inches who would like to ride the waves. Swimming lessons are also available for ages 18 months to 11 years in the lap pool. A 50-foot-tall water play area, Monsoon Mountain, has five slides of all sizes, as well as hoses and up to 500-gallon buckets, which tip to drench those below. Smaller children will enjoy Guppy Gully water playground and a sand area, complete with buckets and shovels. Lily pads float in the pool with overhead ropes that can be used to cross. The attraction features two water slides, as well as a relaxing lazy river. Making it easy to spend the entire day, Splash City has lockers, chairs and lounges, umbrellas and a concession area. Private events such as birthday parties, family gatherings and corporate events can be held before the park opens or after it closes.
  
  Splash City Family Waterpark
  
  10 Gateway Drive
  
  Collinsville, IL 62234
  
  618-346-7529
  
  splashcity.org
  
  

Raging Rivers

• A little farther from Pevely is Raging Rivers in Grafton, Illinois. Head to the wave pool at Breaker Beach to ride 4-foot waves. A water slide with two flumes can be ridden with or without a tube, and small children may sit on an adult's lap. Itty Bitty Surf City is a water play area where smaller kids can ride child-size water slides and splash in shallow pools. Children 42 inches tall or under can enjoy a tunnel area, rain tree and Fountain Mountain playground. Treehouse Harbor is fun for older kids, with rope pulls, tunnel slides, a crawl tunnel and a 1,500-gallon tipping bucket. The Endless River is perfect for a relaxing float down tranquil, clear water. A shark water slide and the Runaway Rafts will attract the more adventurous, with faster-moving water and churning rapids. With the deepest water at the park, the Swirlpool is the only ride like it in the United States. Riders will slide down a tunnel and spin into a vortex before being dropped into deep water. Every age will find hours of entertainment at Raging Rivers.
  
  Raging Rivers
  
  100 Palisades Parkway
  
  Grafton, IL 62037
  
  618-786-2345
  
  ragingrivers.com