It has heated up and families are finding ways to stay cool.
As temperatures settled in the 80s for much of Orange County on Saturday, kids and adults alike found ways to cool off at Wild Rivers in Irvine while still having a fun day out.
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The water park many OC adults remember from their youth reopened in 2022, more than a decade after the water was turned off. With a new location at the Irvine Great Park, it rejoined Knott’s Soak City as a popular destination for beating the heat.
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On July 25, Wild Rivers will be having Christmas in July with holiday music, photos with Santa, a Christmas costume and “Find the Elf” challenge, and a holiday-themed scavenger hunt.
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A family holds onto their raft as they ride up “the wall” on Bora Bora Boomerango at Wild Rivers Waterpark in Irvine on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Families cool off as they float down the Castaway River at Wild Rivers Waterpark at the Great Park in Irvine on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Wild Rivers visitors ride on mats as they fly out of tubes and down steep slides on the Tomcat Racers at the waterpark at the Great Park in Irvine on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Shane Rasmussen, 13, of Rancho Santa Margarita plunges out of a tube on the Bombay Blasters slide at Wild Rivers Waterpark in Irvine on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Buckets dump water on Wild Rivers guests as they float down the Castaway River at the Irvine waterpark on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Wild Rivers Waterpark guests ride a variety of slides that twist and turn around each other at the Irvine waterpark on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A giant bucket of water, which dumps 800 gallons of water every five minutes, drenches parkgoers at Cook’s Cove at Wild Rivers Waterpark in Irvine on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Zach Guilds of Laguna Hills rides Tiki’s Revenge with his son, Carter Guilds, 7, at Wild Rivers Waterpark in Irvine on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Lifeguard Leonardo Bressan splashes riders as they set out in their raft on the Tortuga slide at Wild Rivers Waterpark in Irvine on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Families cool off as they float down the Castaway River at Wild Rivers Waterpark at the Great Park in Irvine on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Ashley Canton of Chino rides Pelican Plunge with her daughter, Ava Canton, at Wild Rivers Waterpark in Irvine on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A dad and son cool off as they float down the Castaway River at Wild Rivers Waterpark at the Great Park in Irvine on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Buckets dump water on Wild Rivers guests as they float down the Castaway River at the Irvine waterpark on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Friends hold onto their raft as they ride the Tortuga slide at Wild Rivers Waterpark in Irvine on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Families cool off in the Shaka Bay wave pool at Wild Rivers Waterpark at the Great Park in Irvine on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A family holds onto their raft as they ride the Tortuga slide at Wild Rivers Waterpark in Irvine on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Families cool off in the Shaka Bay wave pool at Wild Rivers Waterpark at the Great Park in Irvine on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Albert Nevarez and his son, Aiden Nevarez, 8, of Hawthorne scream as they ride down a steep section of Pelican Plunge at Wild Rivers Waterpark in Irvine on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Families cool off as they float down the Castaway River at Wild Rivers Waterpark at the Great Park in Irvine on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A family holds onto their raft as they ride up “the wall” on Bora Bora Boomerango at Wild Rivers Waterpark in Irvine on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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