About Us
The Wetlands at Great Bend is located at 2303 Main in Brit Spaugh Park. The water park, owned and operated by the City of Great Bend, was originally opened in the 1930s as a WPA (Works Project Administration) project. The original pool is still in existence, but many other changes have taken place throughout the years. In 2005, the pool underwent a major renovation. With the addition of a new bathhouse and concession area, a modern water feature that includes a tipping bucket, several slides for visitors of all ages, a spray park, a zero depth splash pool, and numerous colorful shade structures throughout the facility, we have become one of the finest water parks in Central Kansas.
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History
In September 1933, Great Bend voters approved the sale of $30,000 in bonds to erect, construct, and equip a municipal swimming pool in town. There was a turnout of 1,179 where 869 voted in favor of building the pool with 30% of the funding to come from the U.S. Government.
Rhodes Construction Company out of Newton, Kansas, was contracted to build the pool and it was officially completed on May 6, 1935.
In 1945, the pool served much more than the Great Bend community. On Mondays and Saturdays from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. it was used to teach 30 to 50 soldiers from the air base how to swim.
For the last nine decades, the Wetlands Waterpark has been a high-profile summer attraction in Central Kansas, drawing more than 20,000+ annual visitors to Great Bend each summer.