Rochester water park splashes family fun into Foster

ROCHESTER — While the splashing and dashing between play pieces creates summer chaos, Mikayla Berg said chaos is her favorite. Her favorite inflatable, that is. The chaos inflatable is a squishy white pillow-style where kids instantly become king of the hill at Water Parks of Minnesota.

The water draws Berg out into the water park almost every day. She jumps in with the kids, parents and grandparents to enjoy the fun of the floating playground with about 10 large inflatables, including slides, a rock wall, swing, monkey bars and the blob.

“My favorite part is just watching the kids play, it’s fun watching them laugh and enjoy it and have fun outside,” Berg said of the water park at Foster-Arend Park in Rochester. “One of my favorite things is just how happy people are to be here and spend time together.”

With screams of excitement and smiles plastered on their faces, kids strategized how to have the maximum fun and playfully sent their friends flying into the water. Parents, too, launched their kids gleefully into the cool water. The water park follows the public beach hours from noon to 8 p.m. daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekend at 4051 East River Road NE. The water park was closed in 2020.

The Owens family made their first summer splash in Rochester in 2018. They also own Silver Lake Fun Boat and Bike Rentals and a water park in Destin, Florida.

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“(They) decided a water park would be a really good thing for the community and families to come enjoy in the summer,” Berg said of the water park’s opening with her brothers Caleb, Eli and Ben Owens. “There really isn’t anything quite like this in the area so it’s definitely a good addition to Rochester and southern Minnesota.”

The water park extends the family’s enjoyment of water activities, including boating and jet skiing. Caleb Owens adds new pieces to his design over the years, including another inflatable by the end of summer 2023, Berg said. She says his creativity can be an inspiration for other water parks, and they welcome ideas from people, too.

“Our whole family absolutely loves the outdoors and anything water-related is the best to us,” Berg said.

On the shores of Foster-Arend Beach, people check in for their one-hour, two-hour or day pass options at the water park and put on their lifejackets. Kids ages 8 and younger must have an older friend or adult with them in the water park. There are also swan paddle boats, paddle boards and kayaks available.

“It’s also really funny when kids are laughing and screaming and then they fall in the water and then it goes silent and then they pop up they continue laughing again,” Berg said.

She also enjoys getting to know the families during her three summers at the park. Her new sets of friends return summer after summer, and even day after day. One visitor loves to invite the employees out to play with him and his dad during his twice-weekly visits.

“I think it’s really fun when the dads go out with their kids and they blob them. So there’s a kid that will sit out on the end of that piece and then the dads will jump on and they’ll go up in the air and land in the water,” Berg said. “That’s like our favorite thing, it’s really entertaining, it’s awesome.”

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