Ramsey's long-planned Waterfront waterplay area is finally turning on the taps, opening at 10:00 a.m. today with a 17,000-square-foot decorative plaza powered by 90 interactive spray nozzles and a cascading waterwall that flows into a shallow, winding stream. The splash pad, billed by the city as the region's largest waterplay area, comes stocked with Adirondack chairs, chaise loungers and three shade pavilions for drawn-out summer afternoons.
Photos posted by the city on Tuesday show kids already darting through the jets and families spreading out under shade canopies. The city calls the new plaza the region's largest waterplay area and notes that pets must stay outside the plaza. Splash pad sprays, bubblers and jets operate from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., according to City of Ramsey on Facebook.
What's Included
The east end of The Waterfront centers on a roughly 17,000-square-foot decorative concrete plaza with landscaped berms and natural stone seating, fed by a system of spray jets and bubblers for interactive play. The city newsletter notes the site will include a cascading waterwall and a programmable nozzle array with LED nighttime lighting for one zone, a setup meant to brighten summer evenings for local families, per the City of Ramsey Resident newsletter.
Plan Your Visit
The Waterfront waterplay area sits at the east end of the park at 7667 Ramsey Parkway NW and opens to the public at 10:00 a.m. today, as laid out in the city's post. Pavilion space, Adirondack chairs and benches surround the plaza for parents and caregivers keeping an eye on the action.
Two pavilions can be reserved in three-hour slots, and reservations will be available online at secure.rec1.com, the post adds.
The city's development materials list The Waterfront's opening as planned for July 1 and position the waterplay area as a key amenity in the COR downtown build-out, tying it to planned trails, a fishing pier and other park features. For more on the broader project and timeline, see City of Ramsey Economic Development.
Why It Matters
Officials have pitched The Waterfront for years as a family destination, and the play area shows the city's capital plan turning into a community amenity, with project documents detailing the piping, programming and landscaping work that led to this opening. Those timelines and construction notes are laid out in the city's agenda materials, which show the phases of work from excavation through final landscaping, per the city agenda materials.
Expect busy summer afternoons at The Waterfront. The city says it will post ribbon-cutting details, programming and any schedule changes on its channels. Visitors should plan for crowds and follow posted rules while the new space settles into regular operation.
