Raging Waves Waterpark

raging waves lazy river water slides

Raging Waves waterpark information and review (and our stay at Best Western’s Timber Ridge Lodge as part of a discount package).

You can get 2012 Raging Waves waterpark coupons for $5 of admission from the couponclipper.com website here.  They are good through 9/3/2012.

Looking for fun and good times? Not too far west of DuPage County, you’ll find what is touted as the largest waterpark in Illinois, Raging Waves.  I recently took my children there for a short family getaway.  Best Western Timber Ridge Lodge in Sandwich, IL has an overnight package ($159) that includes four Raging Waves passes, four free tube rental vouchers, and one free VIP parking pass.  I purchased two of the overnight packages for our little getaway.

Raging Waves is located in Yorkville, IL.  The park entrance is on the east side of Route 47 (locally referred to as Bridge Street), roughly 8 miles south of I88.  If you are heading westbound on I88, you’ll want to take the Route 56 exit (heading west) to Route 47.  You can’t miss the water park; a cluster of colorful water slide corkscrews stands tall in sharp contrast to the surrounding corn and soybean fields. We left the Wheaton area at about 8AM on a Wednesday morning and had Raging Waves within sight about 35 minutes later.

raging waves official hotelBefore the kids could see the water park, I made sure to let them know that our tickets were waiting for us at the hotel.  The Raging Waves water park / Best Western package deal would be even better if the tickets were mailed out prior to your arrival.  If you are traveling from the east, the hotel is about 15 minutes beyond Raging Waves water park.  No big deal though, we traveled on to the Best Western located off Route 34 in Sandwich.

timber creek best western sandwichAt the hotel, staff welcomed us and had our Raging Waves waterpark passes waiting for us.  They were given to us in a small sand-pail (with shovel) that included, our four water park passes, four free tube rental vouchers, free VIP parking pass, directions to the water park, and coupons for free ice cream upon our return to the hotel (nice touch!).  I wasn’t expecting to check-in at this time, the stated check-in time is 4PM and it was just past 9AM, but we were told our room was ready (cool!).  The check-in and pass pickup was super-quick and organized, taking no more than five minutes.

Since we had some time to spare, we decided to take a look at our hotel room.  The room was very clean and tastefully decorated.  The furniture and fixtures were new and in excellent condition.  The flat-screen TV swiveled with little-to-no effort and could be viewed from just about any place in the room (yes, I tried).  The bathroom was spotless.  Even the coffee-maker was clean.  For the price I paid, I was very satisfied with the accommodations.  What a value!

We arrived at Raging Waves waterpark about 10 minutes prior to opening.  There were a few dozen cars already parked in the main lot, but we were the first car to park in the VIP lot (to the left after you enter the parking area).  Our VIP parking space was all of 50′ from the main entrance (oh yeah!).  After parking we walked up to the main entrance gates where staff did a quick check of our bags.  Here’s what we brought in:

  • Towels – Be sure to bring your own towels as there are not towels to borrow or rent on-site; you’ll have to buy them them at the gift shop (YIKES!).
  • Sunscreen and sunglasses – Yeah, you’re gonna want to be sure you have those.
  • Bottled water – You cannot bring in any other food or beverage.
  • Small amount of cash
  • Camera
  • Phone

raging waves mapYou can rent a locker for $7/day.  The lockers are outside and easily accessible and you won’t have to worry about anyone stealing your stuff.  I did not rent a locker and had no problems, but it’s a gamble. I should also note that you cannot bring in pool toys or floaties; certified life vests are available (in many sizes) for free.

Once through the main gates, we found ourselves in the center of the water park.  Directly in front of us was an open area surrounded by snack shops, bathrooms, and the gift store.  From this point, the wave pool was to our left, the lazy river and water playground were to our right, and ahead, the water slides and main attractions surrounded the entire outer edge of the park.  The grounds were very clean and well-maintained.  I did not see a spec of trash anywhere.

As for the attractions at Raging Waves waterpark, there is a wide-range of water fun available for all ages and temperaments.  Thrill-seekers will, without a doubt, find the water slides fulfilling.  If that’s not your thing, the lazy river is quite water slides raging wavesrelaxing when it’s not overcrowded with empty rafts and gobs of people (maybe 50% of the time).  I won’t go into the descriptions of each individual attraction; the Raging Waves website can do a far better job of that for you.   We did have a fun time on all of the attractions.  Even kids who are fearful of the water can find plenty of fun things to do at the park.

It’s usually the case that you will pay an arm-and-a-leg for meals at any amusement park.  Though the food prices at Raging Waves are somewhat within reason, they were still way more than I was willing to pay.  I had a cooler waiting in the car that was packed with fresh fruit, crackers, cheese, and other snacks.  At lunch time, the kids and I had our hands stamped and we went out to the car to eat our lunch.  This offered us a nice break from all the commotion inside the park, as well as some significant cash savings.

raging waves yorkvilleI really do not have anything bad to say about Raging Waves.  We had a great time there.  The park is well-maintained, safe, and properly staffed.  The only thing that I could see as a potential issue, and it is to be expected, is that the water park would most-likely get very overcrowded on the weekends.  Even mid-week, there were times when I felt a bit cramped in the park.  That being said, do not let that deter you from going; Raging Waves waterpark is a blast!

Now, back to our stay at the Best Western…  The indoor pool was like a big, warm bath (maybe a touch too warm).  The free breakfast we had was tasty; the kids and I loved making our own fresh waffles.  We had no bad experiences with noise or being disturbed.  I was also impressed that the beds (and bedding) were very comfortable.  Overall, our stay was great!

If you are looking for a fun, well-priced, convenient getaway, I highly recommend the Raging Waves / Best Western Timber Creek Inn water park package.

Best Western Timber Creek Inn & Suites
3300 Drew Ave, Sandwich, IL 60548
Local Phone: 630.273.6000
Toll Free:  866.992.7335

Raging Waves Waterpark
4000 N. Bridge St., Yorkville, IL 60560
630.882.6575