Reston’s own water park is suiting up for a new season, just in time to provide relief from a blast of summer heat.
The Water Mine Family Swimmin’ Hole will reopen for 2026 at 11 a.m. this Saturday, May 23 at Lake Fairfax Park (1400 Lake Fairfax Drive), giving local families an aquatic escape for Memorial Day weekend.
Discounted season passes remain available to purchase online or by calling 703-246-5929 through next Monday, May 25, according to the Fairfax County Park Authority, which operates the Wild West-themed park.
“Season passes offer savings on daily admission prices — the more you visit, the more you save,” the park authority said in a press release. “Season passholders experience faster entry and can purchase guest passes at a discounted rate.”
The Gold Rush Season Passes cost $111 for a single person, $177 for two people, and $65 for each additional person. Daily admission prices vary depending, with slightly higher costs for non-Fairfax County residents and on weekends and holidays, but children 2 and under can always enter for free.
Built in place of a lap pool that had been around since the 1950s, The Water Mine was an instant success upon its opening in 1997, exceeding projections with nearly 120,000 visitors in its first season, the Washington Post reported a year later.
Two decades later, the 1-plus-acre water theme park expanded with a $5.5 million project that added a slide tower, spray pads, improved seating areas and new play structures to supplement longstanding attractions like the Big Pete and Little Pete slides and lazy Rattlesnake River.
The Water Mine drew just over 90,000 visitors in its 2025 season, a park authority spokesperson says.
“The Water Mine offers fun for the whole family!” the FCPA said. “Race down exciting water slides, relax in the 725-foot lazy river, play in the spray and showers of the water playground, compete with your friends along the log walk obstacle course, or spend time with toddlers enjoying gentle bubblers, fountains and pint-sized slides in the Tenderfoot Pond. All ages can find something to enjoy in this Old West-themed water park.”
The Water Mine will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends until operations expand to include weekdays and an extra hour in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays on June 20. The season will conclude in September on Labor Day, an occasion typically marked with a “Dog Daze” event where pooches can take over the attraction.
