They're going to get wet anyway.
Might as well build a splash pad. Ground jets, arch sprayers, stream tables and play creeks that run on a timer, drain dry, and don't need a pool fence.
Kids think about
Which jet is the biggest. Whether they can plug it with a foot. Whether the water is cold. (It is.)
Parents think about
Where the water goes. What it does to the water bill. Whether it's slippery. Whether it turns off by itself.
How they work
A splash pad is a fountain kids are allowed to run through.
The water comes up from nozzles set flush in the surface, arcs through the air, lands, and drains to a catch basin. What happens next is the whole design decision.
Recirculating
Water drains to an underground reservoir, gets filtered and sanitized, and is pumped back up to the jets. This is how we build almost every residential pad in Colorado. It uses a fraction of the water of a hose sprinkler, and it's the only sensible approach with Front Range water rates and restrictions. It does mean a small equipment vault (think of a pool pump in a box) and a bit of routine care: keep the filter clean, check the sanitizer.
Flow‑through
Fresh water in, used water out to a drain or to irrigate the landscape. Simplest equipment and no sanitizer, but the water use is high. We sometimes design a small flow-through feature that irrigates a rain garden or a stand of native grasses, so the water does two jobs. For a full pad, we recommend recirculating.
The surface
Splash pads need a non-slip surface that drains and tolerates constant wetting and drying. Poured-in-place rubber is the most common for a reason: it's soft, textured, colorful and warm underfoot. Textured concrete and specialty pavers work in more architectural yards. We slope everything toward drains at a grade kids don't notice and puddles do.
Controls
A bollard or a button starts the pad. It runs for a set time and stops. That single detail is what keeps a splash pad from running all afternoon while everyone's inside eating lunch. Sequencing controllers can cycle through jets so the pad feels different every few minutes, which keeps big kids interested longer than a fixed spray.
Water play possibilities
Heart the ones your kids would pick.
Beyond the pad
Water play that isn't a splash pad.
Stream tables
A waist-high channel with a hand pump at one end and a drain at the other. Kids build dams with pebbles, float leaves, open and close little gates. Toddlers will stand at one for an hour. We build them from stone, timber or concrete, and they recirculate from a small hidden basin.
Play creeks
A shallow recirculating stream, an inch or two deep, running over river rock with stepping stones and a small waterfall at the head. It reads as landscape from the patio and as a creek bed from the kid's point of view. Pairs well with a boulder area and native planting.
Misting zones
Fine mist from poles or a pergola beam over the play area or the patio. Uses very little water, drops the felt temperature noticeably in dry Colorado air, and doesn't leave anything wet. Good for yards where a full splash pad doesn't fit.
Water walls and buckets
Vertical play: a wall of channels, wheels and funnels, or a slowly filling bucket that tips. Compact footprint, high play value, and something to do with hands that isn't a screen.
Pondless waterfalls
The sound and look of falling water with no open pond. Water disappears into a gravel bed and recirculates. This is the one for parents who want water in the yard without standing water anywhere.
Rinse stations
An outdoor shower and foot wash by the back door. Sand, mulch and grass stay outside. Almost nobody asks for this and almost everybody who has one says it's the best thing in the yard.
Water in a dry state.
Water use
A recirculating pad tops off for evaporation and splash-out, typically a few dozen gallons on a hot day. That's less than a lawn sprinkler running for the same hour. We size the reservoir so it isn't calling for water constantly.
Season
Realistically late May through September along the Front Range. We design for a fast spring startup and a straightforward fall blowout, with drain-down valves at the low points so lines don't freeze.
Cold water
Municipal water comes out of the ground cold here. The reservoir warms in the sun through the day; for shoulder-season use, a small heater on the recirculating loop is an option.
Codes
Residential splash features generally aren't regulated like public pools, but backflow prevention on the fill line is required almost everywhere. We install it and get it inspected where the jurisdiction asks.
Questions parents ask
Splash pad FAQ
Do I need a fence around a splash pad?
Splash pads drain dry, so there's no standing water and the pool-barrier rules that apply to pools generally don't apply. We still recommend keeping the equipment vault locked and the start button out of toddler reach. Check your specific municipality; we'll confirm during design.
How big does it need to be?
A three-jet pad that toddlers love can fit in a 10 by 10 foot area. A pad that holds a birthday party of eight-year-olds wants 15 by 20 or more, with taller arch sprayers so there's somewhere to run. We usually size the pad to the kids and then make sure the surrounding surface handles the overspray.
What does it cost to run?
Electricity for the pump while it's running, a small amount of water for top-off, and sanitizer for the reservoir. The timer is the biggest factor in operating cost; a pad that runs for 15-minute sessions when a kid presses the button uses a lot less than one left on. We'll give you realistic annual estimates in your proposal based on the pump size and how you plan to use it.
Is the water safe to play in?
Recirculated water is filtered and sanitized, similar to a pool, and we design the reservoir to be drained and cleaned easily. Splash pads aren't drinking fountains, and kids should be taught not to drink from the jets. Flow-through systems use fresh tap water each time.
What about winter?
The system is blown out and drained in fall like an irrigation system. Jets get capped. The surface handles snow fine. In spring it's a matter of refilling the reservoir, checking the pump and turning the breaker back on. We can do the seasonal work or show you how.
Turn on the water.
Tell us about your yard and how old the kids are. We'll tell you what fits.