H2OBX Waterpark closed for the year after Labor Day and will not reopen until late May 2027. If you are reading this in the off-season, treat it as a planning guide: the 2027 season is the park's tenth, and the park has already said that a new tiered season-pass program will launch in November for the holidays. If you are booking a summer 2027 week at Grandy Cove, this is the one attraction where staying on the Currituck mainland is a genuine advantage rather than a trade-off.
Everything below was checked against the park's own website in October 2026. Ride names, height minimums and policies are theirs, not ours. Dates and hours for 2027 had not been published at the time of writing, so we tell you what the pattern has been and where to confirm it.
Where It Is and Why Grandy Is the Right Base
Address: 8526 Caratoke Highway (US-158), Powells Point, NC 27966
Phone: (252) 491-3000
Drive from Grandy Cove: about 10 to 15 minutes south on US-158
Parking: free, every day, with accessible spaces at the front of the lot and a drop-off zone at the entrance gate
The park sits on the mainland side of the Wright Memorial Bridge, about three miles before the bridge by its own description. That geography is the whole point. A family staying in Kitty Hawk or Kill Devil Hills has to cross the bridge against beach traffic to get here, then cross back. A family staying in Grandy drives a few minutes down the highway, never touches the bridge, and is home for dinner on the deck before the beach-side crowd has cleared the causeway. Our traffic guide explains why that matters most on summer Saturdays.
If you are planning a full day on the mainland without crossing the bridge at all, our Currituck mainland day pairs H2OBX with Sanctuary Vineyards, the farm markets and the dock.
When the Park Is Open
The park has historically opened Memorial Day weekend and run through Labor Day. The 2026 season was sold as May 23 through September 7. In past years the park has run daily through most of August and then dropped to a reduced schedule once schools reopen, so a late-August or early-September visit needs a check of the published calendar rather than an assumption. Typical in-season hours have been 10am to 6pm.
For 2027, watch three things on the park's site:
- Opening day. Expect Memorial Day weekend, which falls on May 29 to 31 in 2027, but confirm it once the calendar is posted.
- The daily calendar. The park's Hours & Schedule page lists operating days once the season is announced. Build your trip around it, especially for shoulder weeks.
- Ticket pricing. We do not quote prices here because they change season to season and the park sets them. In 2026 the structure included general admission, a reduced rate for guests under 42 inches tall, a rate for guests 65 and over, and a twilight ticket for entry after 3pm. Season passes for 2027 go on sale in November.
General-admission day tickets have not required a date reservation. A ticket has been valid on any operating day that season, which makes it easy to buy ahead and then pick your day by the forecast. Cabanas are the exception: they are date-specific and the park strongly recommends booking them online before you arrive.
Every Ride, by Name
The park lists more than 30 rides, slides and attractions. Here are the named ones, grouped the way the park groups them, with the minimum rider height from each ride's own page. Heights matter more than ages at a waterpark, so measure your kids before you go.
Thrill Rides (teens, adults and tall kids)
- The Plank (48" minimum): the signature drop slide. You stand in a capsule, the floor drops out, and you free-fall roughly 90 feet. Water shoes and flip-flops come off or get held on drop slides.
- Paradise Plunge (48"): the nine-story free-fall slide, the tallest thing in the park.
- Storm Chaser (48"): single or double tube.
- Midnight Marauder (42"): an enclosed orange tube slide, seven stories, three drops, single or double tube.
- Riptide (42"): a 50-foot-tall tube slide with dark twists, lit sections and a near-vertical 35-foot wall. Single riders need to be at least 100 pounds.
- Dune Runner (42"): a 70-foot tube ride for one or two riders with three drops. Same 100-pound minimum for single riders.
- Wild Horse Run (42"): tight corners and high-banked turns, alone or with a friend.
- Endless Wave Flowrider (42"): a stationary surf wave, the closest thing to a lesson without going in the ocean.
Family Rides (the whole group together)
- Queen Anne's Revenge (42"): a six-person raft ride themed on Blackbeard's ship. Three riders minimum, six maximum, 1,000 pounds total.
- Rogue Wave (42"): the six-story family raft ride, same three-to-six rider rule.
- CAT-5 Bay Wave Pool (48" to ride unassisted): billed as the biggest man-made waves on the East Coast. Anyone under 48 inches must wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket, which the park supplies free.
- Twin Tides Family Wave Beach (42"): a zero-depth, beach-entry wave pool with two entrances, gentler than CAT-5. Under 48 inches wears a life jacket.
- Teach's Tides Adventure River (36"): more than 1,000 feet of lazy river in single and double tubes. Under 36 inches wears a life jacket.
- Deep Six Adventure Lagoon (36"): a non-wave pool with a floating Wibit obstacle course, a lily-pad crossing, a climbing wall under a waterfall, and a leisure section for kids still learning to swim.
- Calico Jack's Cove (36"): the multi-level pirate play structure with its own small slides. The yellow and red slides take 36-inch riders, the Bermuda slide needs 40 inches, and the Spin Cycle needs 48.
Kids Rides (toddlers and little ones)
- Sand Pail Beach (no minimum): a shallow splash zone of small slides, swings and spouts. Children must be with an adult, and life jackets are recommended under 48 inches.
- Pelican Plunge, Blue Heron Twirl, Swooping Seagull, Turning Tern and Osprey Landing (36" each): the starter slides, open and enclosed, with a 200-pound rider limit. Kids under six must be supervised by an adult, and on Pelican Plunge anyone under 48 inches rides with an adult.
A quick way to read that list: a child at 36 inches gets the lazy river, the lagoon, the play structure and the starter slides. At 42 inches the family rafts, Twin Tides and most of the tube slides open up. At 48 inches everything does, including the drops.
The Crowd Strategy from 10 Minutes Away
The park's own FAQ says most guests spend four to six hours and that early in the week is calmer. Our version, from a base this close:
Be there before the gates open. With a 10-to-15-minute drive you can leave the condo at 9:30, be through bag check when the park opens, and ride The Plank, Paradise Plunge and the rafts before the beach-side families have finished the bridge. The park notes that seating is easiest to claim at opening.
Go Tuesday or Wednesday. Weekend days are check-in and check-out days for most of the OBX, and Saturday-arriving families tend to hit the park on their first full day. Mid-week is noticeably easier.
Consider the twilight ticket for a second visit. The after-3pm entry has been the cheapest way in, and the park says crowds thin later in the day. Teens who want to re-ride the drops at the end of the week do well on a twilight ticket while younger kids stay back at the condo.
Leave and come back. Re-entry is allowed with a hand stamp. Lunch at the condo and a return for the last two hours is realistic from Grandy in a way it simply is not from Nags Head.
Rain in the forecast is not a reason to cancel. The park's weather policy is clear. Tickets are non-refundable, but if lightning or weather suspends operations for more than 90 minutes before 5:30pm, you get a Return Visit Voucher. A full closure before 3pm earns a full-day voucher. A closure between 3pm and 5:30pm earns a twilight voucher, which can be upgraded to a full day at the ticket window for a small fee. Vouchers have been valid the following season as well, so a washed-out day on a late-August trip is not lost. You must be inside the park when it closes to receive one, and cabana rentals are not refunded.
What to Bring, and What Stays in the Car
The park searches every bag at the gate. Here is the policy as published:
- Water: one unopened 20-ounce bottle per guest, or an empty reusable bottle (plastic or metal, never glass) you fill inside. There are drinking fountains just inside the entrance and near the Beechville restrooms, and a filling station at Outer Banks Eats.
- Food: no outside food, snacks or drinks. Baby food, formula and milk are allowed in plastic containers. Guests with medical dietary needs can bring items in a small soft-sided cooler with documentation and should check in at Guest Services. Insulin in a soft cooler is allowed and gets tagged at the gate.
- Coolers and speakers: hard and insulated coolers are not allowed. Neither are speakers.
- Glass and alcohol: none of either. Flyboys, the park bar, serves beer, Sanctuary Vineyards wines and frozen drinks to guests 21 and over with ID.
- Towels: bring your own. The park does not supply them, though the Wright Stuff shop near the entrance sells them.
- Life jackets: free, all sizes, first-come first-served. If you bring your own it must be marked US Coast Guard approved.
- Cameras: fine on dry land. No cameras on slides or underwater, and GoPros and selfie sticks are not allowed in.
- Swimwear: proper suits or shorts above or just below the knee. No cut-offs, thongs or suits with heavy buckles, rivets or zippers. Toddlers wear swim diapers with covers.
- Payment: cash, major cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Lockers come in three sizes with PIN access, in several spots around the park, and take cards or exact change. Pack a small dry bag anyway for phones and keys between lockers.
Where to Eat Inside
Because outside food is barred, plan on eating in. The park's outlets, as it describes them:
- Outer Banks Eats: wraps, salads, pizzas, burgers, chicken tenders, fruit cups and parfaits.
- Heavenly Hawgs BBQ: Carolina pulled pork, loaded nachos, mac-and-cheese bowls, fried shrimp and pickles. The mother's nursing room is beside the restrooms here.
- Mako Takos: the yellow taco truck near the family raft slides.
- Outer Franks carts, Dune Devil Desserts for funnel cakes and soft-serve, Bait & Tackle for smoothies and acai bowls, and Mini Melts stands.
The park says fried seafood uses dedicated fryers, but that baked goods, packaged snacks and Mini Melts may contain nuts. Families managing a serious allergy should talk to an outlet manager rather than trusting a sign.
Cabanas: Worth It for a Big Group
The park has 55 private cabanas. Standard cabanas hold up to eight guests near the adventure river, Calico Jack's Cove or the CAT-5 wave pool. Deluxe cabanas hold up to 12 and sit near the adventure river and Calico Jack's. All deluxe and some standard cabanas come with a server who brings food and drinks from Outer Banks Eats and Flyboys through the day, with an automatic 20 percent gratuity.
For a multi-family week at a three-bedroom condo, a cabana is the way to park grandparents, strollers and a cooler's worth of towels in shade all day. Book it online in advance, and know that it is a single date with no refund or rain check.
Birthday at the park? You may decorate inside a rented cabana, and the one exception to the food rule is a cake or cupcakes with a cabana booking. The park stores it in a refrigerator at check-in and brings it out on request.
Toddlers, Grandparents and Accessibility
Very young children have Sand Pail Beach, Calico Jack's lower slides, the Twin Tides beach entry and the lazy river with a life jacket. A half day here plus a quiet afternoon back at the condo is a better plan than a full day for most under-fives. Our Outer Banks with kids guide covers the rest of the week by age.
Grandparents do well in the lazy river, in shaded seating and in a cabana. There is no spectator rate, so every member of the party needs a ticket.
Accessibility: the park describes itself as wheelchair accessible with wide gates and restaurant entrances. You may bring your own wheelchair or motorized chair, and daily wheelchair rental is offered. Braces and casts may be restricted on some slides. First aid with EMTs is on site. Guests with disabilities can email guestservices@h2obxwaterpark.com or call ahead. For the rest of the OBX, see our wheelchair-accessible guide.
Dogs: only trained service dogs are admitted, and they stay with a non-riding member of the party. If your pup is part of the trip, this is a day the dog sits out. Grandy Cove is pet-friendly with up to two dogs, and the sound-side yard and dock make a better afternoon for them than a hot parking lot.
Building the Day Around It
A waterpark day pairs best with low-effort bookends. Our recommended shape from Grandy:
- Morning: out the door by 9:30, at the gate for opening, drops and rafts first while lines are short.
- Midday: lunch inside, then the lazy river and wave pools through the heat of the day.
- Late afternoon: home by 4, dogs out, kids in the shower, and the private dock for sunset.
On a rain day the park may close and the rainy-day guide takes over. On a beach day, our closest beach accesses post tells you where to park. And if you are stacking a three-day trip, the 3-day itinerary slots H2OBX in as the kids' option on day two.
Everything else nearby, from the wild horse tours to the aquarium, is on our things to do page.
Plan Your 2027 Visit
Summer 2027 weeks at Grandy Cove are open now, and the park's tenth-anniversary season will be its busiest in years. A three-bedroom condo on the sound with a dock, a full kitchen for the mornings you do not want to eat out, and a 10-to-15-minute drive to the gate is the easiest waterpark week on the Outer Banks.
Check availability for summer 2027, or book direct and skip the platform fees.