About
Water park boasting multiple pools along with a wave pool and slides.
Specific pool temperatures for the outdoor Water Park at Eugene T. Mahoney State Park are generally not publicly available, as the pools are typically unheated and their temperatures fluctuate naturally with the ambient weather conditions.
What are people saying (AI review summary)? The water park elicits mixed reviews. Many praise its "awesome" and "best wave pool ever" (when functioning), variety of slides, numerous lifeguards, and reasonably priced snack options. However, significant frustrations are widespread. Frequent complaints highlight extreme crowding, long lines, and a perceived over-selling of tickets. Staff conduct is often criticized, with lifeguards described as "whistle-happy" and overly strict, and general staff as sometimes rude. Guests are particularly annoyed by an unposted, mandatory hour-long dinner break requiring park exit, and the additional cost for wave pool tube rentals despite high entry fees, leading to a perception of being "money hungry." Other issues include inconsistent wave pool operation (either minimal waves or frequent closures due to vomit), water causing burning eyes, and poorly maintained restrooms. Tips from a more positive review suggest arriving early for shade, understanding the specific hours and dinner break, and using free life jackets for the intense wave pool.
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Listing Reviews
July 14th, 2025Christie Barbosa
We would have had a great time if all the life guards weren't so whisle happy. They were whistling for the most minor things especially in the wave pool. We have been here many times & I've never experienced it this bad. One life guard was so bad she was actually whistling then yelling at the top of her lungs at people...mainly children. I understand they are there to protect people but they were way overboard with it!!!! Hope they get some better training & let kids be kids. Also not sure why but the wave pool was barely turned on. They would turn the waves on for a few minutes then turn it off for about 8-10 minutes.
July 19th, 2025Lexi Carmona
It was loads of fun, HOWEVER the water is still burning our eyes even after showering. It also got extremely busy, which would normally be fine but none of the other guests would listen to the rules and they were extremely inconsiderate of other people. But I had fun so I guess that's all that matters
June 14th, 2025Kourtney Martin
Very frustrated nothing is posted about their hour long dinner break where everyone needs to exit the park. The staff is very rude at times. You pay over $100 and still have to pay for a tube for their wave pool. And the restroom toilet paper holders are near impossible to use and almost all the locks are broken. I’d rather go to papio bay. Not to mention the throw up in the wave pool followed by never ending pool breaks.
July 1st, 2025Nikki Spotanski
We visited this past Saturday, June 28, 2025. It took nearly half an hour to get up to the ticket window, the lines being super slow moving. After paying $15 per person, then you had to pay to use a tube for the wave pool. I definitely feel like they oversold tickets because you literally could not move in the wave pool, as it was body to body, and the lines everywhere were incredibly long. Nebraska Game and Parks comes off as very money hungry in so many areas.
June 24th, 2025ME MC
We just visited the Mahoney Water Park in June 2025 on a Friday. Currently the hours are 12pm-5pm Sun-Thurs. On Friday & Saturday, the are open from 12pm-5pm, closed for a 1 hour break, then open 6pm-8pm. Price was $15 for ages 6 & up, and $10 for 5 and under. They do completely close down from 5-6pm for a dinner break. It would be a great time to head to the activity center and play in the kid jungle gym, or have dinner in your car, or play at the nearby park. It says no snacks, but the lifeguards barely checked our bags. It says no outside drinks, but you can bring unopened bottled water. I even brought frozen bottles in a cooler on a hot day, and they were fine with that. They do have water coolers there, but the cups, and water, ran out fast. We got there early (around 11:30am) to stand in line. They did open the line a few minutes early to start selling wrist bands. We were one of the first ones inside and were able to secure a spot in the shade. I'm sure weekends you'd have to be there earlier. All of your party needs to be at the counter when you are purchasing wristbands. The water park itself is awesome. It's the best wave pool we've ever experienced! Huge waves that last a long time, and not too much time waiting in-between. That being said, if you have small children, get a FREE life jacket to use in the wave pool (near the First-Aid station). They have lots of lifeguards, but it's better to be safe than sorry. The waves are huge and relentless! They are fun, but with a lot of people, a kid could definitely get knocked into. My youngest is 9 years old now, and I felt like I needed to be within feet of him at all times while the waves were going. They have a ton of lifeguards! I appreciated that they have multiple lifeguards on the slide tower. There is one blue tube slide (you can use a single or double tube) with a medium wait time. There is an orange drop slide (1-person) with a long wait time. And there is a green 1-person slide (no tube) with the shortest wait time - if you're going on that slide, you can bypass the other lines and go nearly to the top (this might differ on the weekends.) You can NOT take goggles, hats, or sunglasses down the slides, so remember to leave them at the bottom. There are two older slides by the original pool that my kids also enjoyed, and a diving board. The snack shack was great! Reasonably priced food. The peach slushie WITH ice cream was so delicious! Watch the line - at break times it is very long. When the wave pool is going, the line can get really short. Just leaving a friendly PSA - don't take more chairs than you need, especially if you'll be mostly in the water. And let people share in the shade, because there definitely isn't enough of it. We really enjoyed our time there. I feel like the Website should do a much better job of providing details, and they should be more responsive to questions. Overall, we had a great experience!
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Opening Hours
| Sunday | 12:00 – 5:00 PM |
|---|---|
| Monday | 12:00 – 5:00 PM |
| Tuesday | 12:00 – 5:00 PM |
| Wednesday | 12:00 – 5:00 PM |
| Thursday | 12:00 – 5:00 PM |
| Friday | 12:00 – 5:00 PM, 6:00 – 8:00 PM |
| Saturday | 12:00 – 5:00 PM, 6:00 – 8:00 PM |
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