Swimming at the Nienhuis Aquatic Facility
Well, Joss has been out of school since last Tuesday, so that’s been four days without school, plus a 3-day weekend. And we’ve certainly managed to fill the days with fun! Including visiting a new-to-us swimming pool: the Nienhuis Aquatic Facility in Broken Arrow. Learn more about that below!
Nienhuis Aquatic Facility
Since I’m more comfortable driving out to BA than I used to be, I was excited to finally visit the Nienhuis Aquatic Facility. Broken Arrow posted a photo of the facility on social media the other day, and it looked so beautiful, we just had to make the drive. If you, like me, don’t prefer to drive on highways, it’s a long but easy-enough drive out on 51st. Just keep going and going, and you’ll get there 🙂
Amenities
The facility is made up of one large pool, a wading pool for ages 6 and under, and an Aqua Play system – basically, a playground but with water elements. The large pool never gets deeper than six feet, and that’s only in one of the roped-off slide sections. The main part of the pool gets to 4 feet 6 inches. Plus, there’s a 0″, gently-sloping entry, so a lot of the pool is much shallower than that.
It’s a great option for families with less confident swimmers, although it was very busy while we were there! Joss was kind of disappointed that there wasn’t a diving board. They do, however, have four slides that people over 48″ can use. They were all a bit too tall and fast for Joss, but I went down one of the large slides, and it was great. Nice and gentle, a little speed, but not too bad.
I didn’t get photos of the water playground or wading pool, but they looked very nice from a distance!
Joss’s favorite part was getting out of the water and lounging in the hot sun. The pool is lined with lounge chairs. Even though it was a busy day, we didn’t have trouble finding a free one. And there were lots of shady areas near the concessions area.
Concessions
You can’t bring your own food and drinks, but they do have a concessions area that seemed reasonably priced. Joss chose a pretzel and a pickle, which were greatly enjoyed.
Sorry the photo isn’t any better!
Lifeguards
I was very impressed with how well trained the lifeguards seemed to be. There were – I believe – four lifeguards watching the main pool. Two at each of the slide areas, one watching the deeper part of the pool, and one watching the shallower part. At one point, something must have happened because the three closest lifeguards started whistling back and forth. A fourth lifeguard came running to the area with a first aid kit, and another was on-hand with a stretcher. Once they got over there, everything seemed OK. But they were definitely on top of things and responded very quickly, which was good to see!
Pricing and Hours
Admission for the Nienhuis Aquatic Facility – and the other two BA Parks pools – is just $5 per person, ages 3+. Ages 2 and under get in free.
Hours are:
- Monday: 12-8 p.m.
- Tuesday-Wednesday: 1:30 – 8 p.m.
- Thursday: 12-6 p.m.
- Friday, Saturday: 12-8 p.m.
- Sunday: 12-5 p.m.
The Nienhuis Park
We didn’t explore the whole of Nienhuis Park, which is huge. There’s a large community center, sports courts and, just north of the pool, a skate park! So if you’re into skate boarding, scootering, BMX or roller skating, this looks like a fun place to visit.
A Sweet Treat on the Way Home
Because we were heading back home on 51st from BA, we had to stop by Andy’s Frozen Custard at 51st and Yale. It’s our favorite after-swimming treat! I highly recommend the blueberry chocolate concrete. There’s also an Andy’s in BA, but this one was on our way home.
