BEACH MOUNTAIN
WHERE: 2590 Waterpark Drive, Mason
OPENING DATE: Nov. 21
HOURS: 1 to 9:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays (non-holiday); 9:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sundays and holidays. Additional holiday late-night hours: 9:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Dec. 26 through Jan. 1. (Holidays: Dec. 22-Jan. 4; Jan. 21; Feb. 15.) Closes at 4:30 p.m. Christmas Eve. Closed Christmas Day.
ADMISSION: $22: Weekends and holidays for ages 3 and younger and under 42" tall; $25 weekends and holidays for guests over 42" tall
MORE INFO: www.thebeachmountain.com or 513-398-4356
The Beach Waterpark may be winding down from the summer season, but that doesn’t mean things will be quiet when the crews shut off the water slides.
The park’s staff will quickly shift gears to prepare the area’s newest winter wonderland: Beach Mountain. The new winter park is scheduled to open Nov. 21, and remain open through March 2015.
“We wanted to provide a family environment for the winter season and Beach Mountain will have something for all ages. There’s nothing in our area like this,” said Natalie Dunlap, VP of marketing for The Beach Waterpark and owner of Media Mix.
Beach Mountain’s hub of activity will center around 10 snow-tubing lanes supervised by trained staff, Dunlap said. Visitors can go online to www.thebeachmountain.com to reserve a lane for two-hour increments for unlimited slides on the 400-foot long hill. Tubes are ridden individually and available for a wide variety of ages from preschoolers to senior citizens. Once riders are done sliding down the mountain, they can climb on board the “magic carpet” conveyor belt that will carry them back to the summit to enjoy another ride.
Not interested in sliding down the slopes? Dunlap promises more fun activities for the whole family.
“Guests can stay and play in the snow in our winter village and enjoy the Beach Mountain chalet with its concessions,” she said. “We are also planning a variety of events around the holidays including cookie decorating, an ugly holiday sweater contest, and more. We’re also hoping to have a winter version of Club Splash, our popular teen event. Everyone will be able to come to Beach Mountain and find something fun to do.”
Beach Mountain has its own snowmaking machines, which will make sure that there will always be snow to play in, even if Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate. At Beach Mountain, the snow machine uses no additives or anything artificial to produce the snow.
“We’ve invested more than $300,000 on this project, including the snowmakers, to give our guests an authentic experience” Dunlap said. Pricing ranges from $17 to $25 per person for a two-hour slot, depending on the day of the week and rider’s height. Group prices are also available for parties and corporate events.
Beach Mountain plans a preview event in mid-September for visitors to experience the snow. Dunlap said once a specific date is announced, it will be posted on the Beach Mountain’s website calendar.
A recent study by Tourism Economics and the Ohio Tourism Division showed Warren County’s booming tourism economy surpassed a whopping $1 billion in total annual sales. Tourism is the No. 1 industry in Warren County.
The study showed in 2013, 8.3 million visitors to Warren Co. generated more than $1.063 billion in economic impact and the top three areas of visitor spending were retail ($245.5 million), recreation & entertainment ($184.3 million) and food & beverage ($161.3 million).
Not to mention 11,866 tourism-related jobs in Warren County generated $252.1 million in wages and $136.5 million in federal, state and local taxes. The study says no other county in southwest Ohio is more dependent on tourism for jobs than Warren County.
Relative to other counties, Warren County out-paced the state average growth rate of 4.6 percent with a one-year growth of 5.2 percent.
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