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side·track (sīd´trăk): n. 1. A diversion from the main course. 2. A detour taken with children that you would never, ever take without them.
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Who:
Me, my three kids (ages 10, 8, and 4), and their grandparents.

What:
Slide Rock State Park, Arizona.  Wondering what’s so great about a state park? Slide Rock is no average state park—it’s a water park. A breathtakingly beautiful, naturally formed water park with enough pools, slides, twists, and turns through a quarter mile section of Oak Creek to keep everyone entertained for hours.

The lower area offers a slick, flat plane of rock for toddlers to splash in, complete with a few less intimidating slides and eddies polished out of the rock bed. Upstream, the creek widens and deepens to allow a perfect jumping area (no diving!) off the chiseled canyon walls, and deeper, swifter slides.

Sunbathing on the red rock on both sides is divine. Oh, and instead of paying upwards of $20 per person admission, you need only part with $5 per car load.  There’s a lot of scrambling over rocks and boulders, however, and a set of stairs to climb, so anyone who has trouble navigating such terrain may have to sit this one out.

Why:
Because it’s so fun, and the water so clean and clear, you will have to drag your kids (and yourself) away from this place at the end of the day (and yes, you will have toleave…there’s no overnight camping).

The Low Point:
There are two.  First, these rocks are slippery. When I say slippery, I mean that a reasonably coordinated, athletic adult needs to shuffle or crawl over parts of it, unless they want to end up on their rear end…hard. Trust me, we saw it happen at least a dozen times in one day.  For some reason, kids seemed to have less trouble.

Why there’s not a collection of lawyers handing out cards at the entrance, I have no idea. (In all seriousness, the state park has signs posted warning of the danger, and emphasizing that there is no lifeguard present.)

Second, during the summer months, it gets crowded. And when the moderately-sized parking lot fills up, they close the park for the day. On the day we were there (weekday in July), we were one of the last cars admitted at 11 am. Get there early!

The High Point:
Sliding down a natural chute of red rock with kids laughing so hard and having so much fun they’re getting water up their noses. Watching my ten-year-old and eight-year-old leap off the canyon wall into the crystal blue water. Hearing everyone beg for ‘please just five more minutes!’ at least ten times before we finally headed for the car.

The Kids’ Take:
We visited Slide Rock State Park during a trip that included The Grand Canyon, Laguna Beach, and even Disneyland, and each of my kids cite Slide Rock as the highlight.

The Bottom Line:
If you find yourself in Sedona (five minute drive) or Flagstaff (30 minute drive) or even passing through anywhere nearby, it’s worth spending the bulk of your day here. And pack a lunch.  There’s a snack bar, but it doesn’t serve anything more substantial than hot dogs and nachos.

For more information, see Amy’s full review on her excellent blog, Pitstops for Kids.

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