Long before Zoombezi Bay brought wave pools and wristbands to the edge of Powell, Central Ohio had Wyandot Lake. And if you grew up here, you probably still think about it every time the temperature cracks 80.
It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t sleek. And if we’re being honest, it wasn’t always the cleanest place in the world. But Wyandot Lake had a kind of scrappy magic that made it feel like the most exciting place on earth when you were a kid.
The creaky paddle boats. The water slides that felt a little too fast. The wandering peacocks. The insane wave pool that was both delightful and vaguely terrifying.
You’d go with your church group or your cousins or on that one big school field trip in June. Your skin would smell like chlorine and ketchup. You’d stand in line for the big blue slide and feel like you were waiting for a rollercoaster. You might win a plush banana with sunglasses. You might throw up after the Black Squid ride. It was all part of the deal.
Owned by the Columbus Zoo since the 1980s, Wyandot Lake had a split personality: a mini amusement park in the front, and a humble-but-beloved water park in the back. When it closed in 2006 and reopened the following year as Zoombezi Bay, the vibe changed — more polished, more modern, more “destination.”
And that’s not a bad thing. Zoombezi Bay has become a local institution in its own right, especially for families looking for a summer day that runs on Dippin’ Dots and lazy rivers.
But for a lot of us, there’s still a soft spot for the clunky charm of Wyandot Lake. It was simple, chaotic, and absolutely unforgettable — the kind of place where memories got made whether you meant to or not.
So here’s to the water park that walked so Zoombezi Bay could run — and to the childhood summers that never quite rinse off.
