Although San Diego has quite a few water parks to cool off in, this particular one was one of a kind.
It offered all of the usual water park amenities, as well as nearby camp sites, and unique surrounding scenery.
We did get caught and kicked off the property, but there is usually a hefty price for trespassing on Native land.
HISTORY
When it opened in 1985, the Sengme Oaks Waterpark was the first water park in the country on a Native American reservation. To learn more about the La Jolla tribe and some of the cool spots you can visit on the reservation, click here.
Located 60 miles north of San Diego, Sengme Oaks was quite a drive. Despite the distance, it still managed to turn quite some profit in its first year!
Although it was one of the smaller water parks, it featured eight thrilling slides (some of which took riders up to speeds of 50 mph or more)!
(To read the first news article about Segme Oaks and learn more about each individual slide, click on this archived news article)
In the following years, the park added a wave pool and high-speed inner tube rapids.
With these new additions, popularity continued to be on the rise.
However, as larger and flashier competitors began to emerge around San Diego, revenues at Sengme Oaks slowed immensely.
The park finally closed its doors in 2008, and has been abandoned and decaying for over a decade now.
TODAY
Once again, you will be trespassing.
There is one other abandoned waterpark in California that everyone likes to visit. (Click here to read about it)!
However, most of the slides have been destroyed or donated.
That is one big reason why I was so excited to see that this park still had them intact after all of these years!
Of course you can’t find an abandoned structure without graffiti or destruction nowadays, but at least it is still standing.
Following a path below the two long slides, leads to a cute little concession shack and wave pool.
The concession shack had a decaying grill out front..
.. a few soda dispensing machines in the back..
.. a fridge that was still inside..
..and the front counter, that used to serve customers through the window.
Across from the concession, was the kiddie pool!
It was shallow and hosted three different slides leading into it.
The mushroom water dispenser was still standing as well!
To the right of the kiddie pool is where all of the magic happened.
Pumps, lockers, and gas canisters were all abandoned along with the park.
Next to the shed that powered the park, was a break room!
Although the park only supported 45 employees during peak season, this was the only break room and it was pretty small.
Next to the shack was another pool for older kids, that had two of the big swirly slides lead into it.
I loved seeing some of the small details and items lying around from decades ago (like this lunch table in the pool).
There are “sleds” designated for the slides lying around the two long slides.
If you walk the “sled” all the way up, you can enjoy a dry slide down and imagine yourself at what once was a fun waterpark.
THE HIKE
Again- there will be multiple warning signs about trespassing and repercussions.
This is part of why I assembled my explorations into a blog- so that some people can see it all in pictures and details and don’t have to go in person.
The longer we can preserve little parts of history, the more our next generation can have a chance to see it too!
Anyway- the road leading to the park starts out with the police station and reservation office. There is no way to avoid this, so instead of parking at the park entrance or on the main road, keep on driving.
I would park at these coordinates: (33.2746503, -116.8582158)
It is on the opposite side of the park and at the bottom of the hill.
There is a business next to this location, so be cautious and courteous.
You will see the pools and slides in the open, so don’t worry about missing it as you drive by.
There really is no hike, unless you plan on running up the sleds a few times.
Other than that, be respectful of the area and don’t aid in destroying the little bit of history that we have left to witness.
DOGFORMATION
Many videos on YouTube show stray dogs (just as with any reservation), so I would be very cautious if bringing dogs.
There are no poopy stations or accessible water. It gets REALLY hot here, so know the signs of heat exhaustion in a dog. Check out this page to learn a little more about the dangers of heat exhaustion in dogs !
There is little to no shade and just as with any abandoned ruins- there is broken glass and other hazardous substances that could harm our furry friends paws.
The grass is also very overgrown, so beware of snakes or other wildlife (and stray dogs)!
Again, it gets really hot- so please keep that in mind if you decide to bring your partners on this one.
This was such an incredible experience (especially since many places like this don’t last very long in California).
The reservation itself has cool attractions alongside the road- like these mud huts:
We will definitely back to explore more of the surrounding areas.
So, what are you waiting for?
Pack your bags, grab your pawtners, and Follow Me Into The Wild!
Follow Me Into The Wild 
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