The best water parks near NYC

While summer is in full swing, the price of admission to this Pennsylvania amusement park (about a two-hour drive from Manhattan) also includes full access to the Wildwater Kingdom water park. The 28 water slides offer the same heart-racing thrills that the best roller coasters do, with the added bonus of a climactic splash at the end. If you're looking for that kind of excitement, you should try the 450-foot-long freefall body slide Python Plummet, race your friends on the Aquaracer, or hold on tight to your tube on high-speed twisty slides like the Constrictor or Boa Blaster. For a less intense chlorine-filled experience, try floating on the Runaway River or Wildwater River rides, which drift tubes through features including mists, fogs, fountains and "hydra-swirl" whirlpools. 3830 Dorney Park Rd, Allentown, PA (610-395-3724, dorneypark.com). May 1–Nov 1; hours vary. Adults and children taller than 48 inches $39.99–$44, children 3 and up under 48" $34, ages 2 and under free.

Attached to the Keansburg Amusement Park, this Jersey Shore hotspot lets visitors have fun in the sun without getting sand in their nether regions or fighting off a shark (we saw Jaws, and we say, “No, thank you!”). With your two- or three-hour all-access pass, you’ll barely have time to squeeze in all 18 slides, the Nestea Plunge rope swing and the small pools. If you want to dry off quickly before hitting the boardwalk, just walk over to the amusement park side and buy tickets for the nauseating Looping Star. 275 Beachway Avenue, Keansburg, NJ (732-495-1400, keansburgamusementpark.com) Open daily (depending on weather) through September 7, and September 12 and 13; times vary. Two-hour tickets $25.95, three-hour tickets $27.95.