Where A Mama of Wee Ones Can Enjoy at Peace
By: Martianne Stanger
A Summer Riddle for Locals
Better than a splash pool in the back yard. Safer than the ocean when you’re a mama alone with young ones. What is it?
The wading pool at the Freetown State Forest on Slab Bridge Road!
Safe and Easy
Newly renovated in the past couple years and discovered by my family last year, the Wading Pool is now a favorite summer spot of ours.
When my husband is at work or away, I am comfortable bringing my three young ones to the wading pool alone. The completely-fenced in area there keeps everyone corralled. The shallow depth of the pool, plus two or more life guards on duty at all times, ensure extra safety. So, I can breathe easy while my children enjoy splashing in the water or playing on the spray deck.
On weekends when my husband is around and a trip to the beach seems too far or too cumbersome to fit in with our other weekend plans, the Wading Pool provides a convenient alternative for cooling off. We simply drive down, park right across from the pool, and enjoy the sand-free destination (meaning less mess in the car and tracked back into the house) and the convenience of having bathrooms just outside the pool area. More than once, we’ve headed to the Wading Pool for a cool down with a picnic lunch or a picnic dinner around other commitments. We’ve also, admittedly, blown off “should do’s” in order to simply stay and enjoy the “want to” of spending family time at a fun location.
Strangers and Friends
Regardless of when we go to the Wading Pool, my family always find the crowd there to be reasonable, both in size and demeanor. We have yet to go on a day when there are too may people there, and we have always found fellow Wading Pool goers friendly. In fact, until this year, when the “new rule” about “no flotation devices” took effect, blow up toys, beach balls and boogie boards seemed to get passed around at the pool even among strangers—such a community feel. The Wading Pool is a great place to make new friends, as well as to plan play dates with old ones.
Wading Pool Plusses
So, if you’re looking for some free, fenced-in water fun for your young children this summer at a place where you can breathe easy, I’d encourage you to check out the Wading Pool. With:
- two or more lifeguards on duty
- a zero-depth entry area and handicapped accessibility
- a spray deck that features a “Dew Drop” water curtain, a shower tunnel, foam geysers and jets
- a surrounding patio and grass area
- exterior rinse showers
- new fencing and landscaping
- some older, but okay, bathrooms nearby
- outdoor grills/firepits steps away, and
- adjacent fields and picnic tables
The Wading Pool packs a lot of ease and enjoyment into a single cost-free destination.
Hope to see you there!
Or, if Freetown is a bit too far for you, try checking out one of the other state-funded swimming pools, wading pools and spray decks.
Community Voices for Health 
Fun! That looks fabulous, we will definitely check it out. We’re always looking for free summer fun, and my children love splash pads. Thanks for the tip!
Makes me wish mine were younger, your kiddos look like they are having so much fun! I can’t remember where I heard it but I’ve always believed that if kids are cranky, put them in water. It improves their dispositions!
Discovered this great place yesterday after hearing about it from a grandmother at our library story hour. My kids (ages 4 & 8) had a blast, it was close-by, and completely free! We will definitely be back – along with some friends that I’ve made plans to meet up with there for playdates!
Pam, glad you liked it. Sheila, if you do hiking or play ball in the park, even big kids and adults can go there for a quick cool down. And, I completely agree with the “put them in water” sentiment! Kris, we are there most Saturday afternoons and sometimes during the week lately, so be sure to say hello if you see us.
cute and round water babiiiiieeee~!!!!
How do you get to this particular area of the park? I live nearby but always felt it was a big, ominous park. I wouldn’t know how to navigate it! My kids are grown but I have a two year old niece who LOVES the water! We just got back from a Dennisport vacation and she is still yapping about it!
Great review!!! I have been searching for a personal review with pictures of this splash park for a whole – this was perfect! Headed down there today 🙂
When my two boys were little, we would go often and they loved it! Safe nice day of fun for the young children. Now that they are all grown, maybe I’ll take a trip back down to Freetown just to visualize in my head the fine memories that I once made with my boys and family. It’s a great place!
It really did seem to be a nice place. They talk about the new renovations and its handicapped accessibility. Unfortunately, when we did bring a few local handicapped kids over there to enjoy some safe water play yesterday….we were turned away and recommended not to bring our kids there. Very sad – they are part of that community and should be able to enjoy it as well.
I hope this was reported. Breaks so many laws !
Really Kelly? That’s awful! We go there every year with our group of over 30 kids with autism and have never had a problem, you should’ve made a stink about it and complained 😦
Hi, I just heard about the wading pool and was wondering based on above comments if adults with disabilities are permitted to enjoy the wading pool/ park or is it specifically for children?
It’s aimed towards children, and the pool park is really shallow (not sure if adults with disabilities or not could do much there). As for turning away kids with disabilities, I’ve never seen anyone turned away because they have a disability. However, for those in wheel chairs, it maybe difficult for them to enjoy the wading pool unless you yourself have some kind of rigging or floatation device for your kids in wheel chairs (as the park doesn’t have anything like that provided on their own).
Our first experience at the Wading pool was a couple of weeks ago on the 4th of July. Due to the holiday it was definitely a bit chaotic! I do feel there should be some sort of age limit. There were kids around 12-14 years old who just play too rough with all the little ones around. Although floaties are not allowed, water guns are. I can’t begin tell you how many times I was squirt in the face (while out of the pool) by a pre-teen. My daughter is only 3 years old so the older kids were definitely a concern of ours. Aside from that, it really is a nice place. Absolutely love that it is fenced-in with 2-3 lifeguards present at all times. The pool is open daily from 10-6, but is shut down 3-4 times for approximately 20 minutes for clean-up and to check chlorine levels. There are also picnic tables and grills outside of the fenced-in area which we did utilize for a little cookout. In closing, yes, I would recommend the wading pool to parents of younger children. However, I would also ask that the older kids stick to the beach and leave this area for kids 10 and under.
Hello! Can you please provide the address? I can’t seem to find it. Thank you very much!
Hi…I can’t tell you how unhappy I was to find this post. I’m sorry I’m sure I will get some backlash but as a resident of Freetown this used to be our happy hideaway, now there are all kinds of people from different areas who have invaded. I have experienced many rude people and rude children, parents who just let their kids run wild, the fact that it’s fenced in does not mean you can just let your kids act like animals. I still don’t understand how or why it is free also? It would surely discourage a lot of the riff-raff if the mandatory state beach pass was required, why shouldn’t it be?? there are two lifeguards on duty costing taxpayers money…I have contacted several agencies about this to no avail.
Please correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t this a State-owned park, and not a Freetown-owned park? Isn’t it suppose to be open to all residents whether they pay taxes or not? Give me a break! Its attitudes such as yours that don’t belong.
Well said. 🙂
I’m a tax paying mass resident. All resudents should be welcome. You are too much!!!
Hi are the trails good? We love to walk and let the kids play in the water so this place seems perfect!
sounds like fun,just moved to the area and cant find any lake beaches.have to check
this out ,even if its just to get my feet wet ,and have a lunch.
Is it open yet??
The spray deck is open but the pool will not be filled until June 27, 2015; when the lifeguards are back on duty.