A few weekends ago, the family and I went to the Double JJ Ranch and resort to visit the Gold Rush water park. I’m not a huge fan of water parks but I thought I would try to put together a trip report for those of you who do.

The double JJ ranch is a unique tourist attraction located outside Muskegeon Michigan. You can read more at their website: http://www.doublejj.com/ranch.htm We spent a day in their fairly new water park (opened last fall).

As a rating system, I thought I would used a grading style like those in college (X.X/4.0) as I am familiar with it and hope it is clear to all those who read this.

Value: 3.75/4.0

When we arrived at the building it was very clear that the Double JJ was a world-class indoor water park. The first thing that captures the eye on the outside of the building is the water tower facade that makes up the focal point of the western themed building. It is obvious that the water tower façade is only a rouse to hide the pinnacle of the tallest water slide in the park as the tell-tale tubes protrude from it swoop around a couple of twist and turns and re-enter the building near the side.

As you enter the building, you are received into a large lobby type area where the ticket sales kiosk is. The tallest water slide continues to captivate your attention as the tube runs straight through the lobby. I felt that this was a unique feature to have as a welcoming element to a park.

I found the prices to be reasonable and of good value considering the size of the park and the diversity and quality of their attractions.

Theme: 3.75 / 4.0

The entire park was themed in a western style. This style was the natural choice as this water park is part of a much bigger operation that not only has the western theme. After all it is primarily a ranch.

Not only was it a good choice for a theme, it was well executed as well. Every attraction has a good western name and paint job. The facades of the structures are constructed with authentic looking barn wood. Even the construction of the hand rails which had an interesting construction of fence wood placed willy-nilly as a decrepit old fence supports the theme.

Attractions: 4.0/4.0

In general the Double JJ had diverse attractions such that every family member could find something to enjoy. From the very mild small kids area, to the slightly wilder kids splash area, to the very wild slides. What follows is a list of the individual attractions and my thoughts.

JJ’s Hideout – A small interactive area for the very small kids. There was lots of things to do here and our smallest member of our group (1&1/2 YO boy) spent most of his time here. His favorite attraction was the small fountains that come out of the floor. I’m not certain what he saw in them but every time they appeared they were followed by looks of wide eyed amazement and laughing.

Hot Springs – A large custom hot tub for the entire family. It’s best feature is that it is constructed half inside and half outside the building. It is a great place to relax in-between sessions of more exciting fun.

The Getaway Spring- If there is one attraction that the Double JJ could do without, it would be this. It is a smaller hot tube that is intended for adults only. However, it is too small for the park. It only seats 3 to 4 adults and the temperature is no higher than the family tub. I’ve seen more enjoyable tubs in people’s backyard. I guess if you’re going to a water park you just expect to see something better than you could put in your own back yard.

The lazy / Crazy River – This was a typical lazy river attraction. What made it unique was the number of interactive splash type attractions. I’ve see lazy rivers with allot of attractions but not so interactive. There were water cannons that shot great loads of water onto the rivers patrons. A number of water dumpers, sprayers, also line the river all controlled by park guests. One of the more unique interactive elements were the placement of “depth charges in the river. These devices are operated by guest that pushes down on old plunger type actuators and an explosion of water comes up from the bottom of the river splashing people and possibly upsetting their rafts. Of course there are several ways that the river patrons can fight back with the people who are splashing them as well. The whole thing was great fun both as a river rafter and river mischief maker.

Golden Pond – A small pool where water volleyball and basket ball are played. We didn’t spend a lot of time here. However, A couple of our young guys (age 7 & 5) liked the challenge of trying to cross the pool on the floating logs.

Wild Waters – A small wave pool. Most of the family from adults to the second smallest (age 3) enjoyed some time spent here. Again I want to point out that this wave pool was subject to many of the same perils that exist in the lazy river (in fact the river runs through it). When your just enjoying the pool and the waves you just never know when someone will shoot the large water cannon at you.

Miners’ Plunge – A tube slide with a large vertical funnel element. I had never seen a slide quite like this one as it has a very large vertical funnel that you swirl around a couple of times before dropping into the remainder of the slide. The kids of our group took to calling this one by it’s unofficial nickname “the big toilet slide”. However, don’t let that name fool you our entire party, who were big enough to ride, enjoyed this slide.

Stallion Falls – A tube slide. Although this slide did not have any remarkable elements it was a lot of fun and the ability to ride on a double tube added to the experience.

Thunder Canyon – a large tube slide that was built for four man rafts. This was by far the best family experience at the park. What made the experience so great was the ability to share it with so many of your family members. Not to mention if you load the raft with four full sized adults it gets really fast! It’s amazing to see your group members ride way up on the sides of the tubes as your raft races through the turns.

Rustler’s Gulch – This slide is not for the faint of heart but is an experience reserved only for the most daring of sliders. First it is quite tall as the mentioned earlier leaves from the water tower above the building, races outside the building and back in through the lobby, and finally back into the actual water park. What makes this slide particularly daunting, is the section that is a black out that you cannot see what is coming your way.

The Lost Mine – An interactive play area for the slightly older kids. This play area was a favorite with the in between kids of our group (ages 5, 7, and two 9 years). There are many water shooters, and splashers mixed in the structure, as well as slides. However if there isn’t enough action for you just hang a round for a minute when the giant ore cart fill up and dumps out it’s enormous amount of water over the structure and splashes everyone.


Overall, I am very impressed with the Gold rush park at the Double JJ Ranch. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for an indoor water park experience in Michigan. A weekend getaway here is a great little getaway and could be used to break up the long winter season away from the bigger amusement parks.

The Gold Rush; a job well done by the good folks at the Double JJ. My family will look forward to next winter’s trip.

__________________
Jim says; "The Potential energy of the system at the height of the lift hill is equal to the Kinetic energy at the bottom of the hill...."
Jim's friends say; "Just shut up and ride it would you."

Wow, I'm very happy everything went well, thank you for this report.

I believe I'm visiting this waterpark tomorrow and thursday. I'm pretty excited now.