Is Raging Waters Sacramento Closed? What Happened at Cal Expo (and Where to Go in 2026)

The short answer: yes. Raging Waters Sacramento at Cal Expo is permanently closed. The park never reopened after the 2022 season, the waterslides have since been torn down, and the plan to build a replacement park on the site fell apart in early 2026. If you have been typing "water park Sacramento Cal Expo" into Google hoping for good news, there is no reopening date, and nothing to visit at the old site.

The better news is that the Sacramento area still has real options for a full water park day in 2026, including a lakefront park about 20 minutes from downtown. Here is what happened at Cal Expo, and where local families actually go now.

What happened to Raging Waters Sacramento

For decades, the water park at Cal Expo was the default summer cool-off spot for Sacramento. Generations knew it under different names, including Waterworld USA, before it became Raging Waters Sacramento in its final era.

The timeline of the closure:

• September 2022: Raging Waters Sacramento finishes what turns out to be its final season.
• 2023: The park operator ends its lease with Cal Expo, and the park does not open for the season. The closure becomes permanent.
• 2024 to 2025: A developer is selected to demolish the aging slides and build a brand-new water park on the site, with an announced target of 2027. Demolition begins, but the project falls behind.
• February 2026: Cal Expo confirms the developer is in breach of contract, and the replacement project collapses. The site's future is now undecided, with no new park announced and no timeline.

So for the 2026 season, and realistically for several seasons after that, there is no water park at Cal Expo. Anyone planning a Sacramento water day needs a different destination.

Where Sacramento families go instead

The good news: within about 30 minutes of downtown Sacramento there are several legitimate replacements, and a couple of them offer things Raging Waters never did.

Velocity Island Park (Woodland, about 20 minutes away)

Velocity Island Park is a 15-acre water park built around a private lake in Woodland, just off I-5, about 20 minutes from downtown Sacramento. Instead of concrete slides, the day is built around the water itself:

• The Aqua Park, Yolo County's largest floating obstacle course, with slides, climbing walls, trampolines, and balance features out on the lake. Sessions run in 50-minute timed slots, so it never turns into a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd.
• A sandy swim beach with private beach sites and shade palapas you can reserve for the day, which is the closest thing the region has to a beach vacation without leaving the valley.
• Cable wakeboarding, the only cable wake park in the immediate Sacramento area. The cable pulls you across the lake, no boat needed, and first-timers usually get up and riding the same day.
• Paddle boarding, birthday party packages, and evening beach bonfires on select dates.

One thing no other park in the region has: a real lakefront restaurant. Costa Fuego serves wood-fired pizza, sushi, and a full bar right on the water, so the day does not end when everyone gets hungry. Aqua park sessions start at $21.69, and you can see all pricing and book online. The park is open daily except Tuesdays through the summer.

Wake Island Waterpark (Pleasant Grove, about 30 minutes north)

Wake Island is another lake-based park, north of Sacramento in Pleasant Grove, with a large floating obstacle course, cable wakeboarding, ziplines, and a sandy beach. It draws big crowds on summer weekends, so book ahead if you go.

Golfland Sunsplash (Roseville, about 30 minutes northeast)

If what you miss most about Raging Waters is specifically the waterslides, Golfland Sunsplash in Roseville is the closest traditional slide park, with a wave pool, tube slides, and miniature golf on the same property.

Community aquatic centers and splash pads

For younger kids or a low-budget day, Sacramento's community options quietly improved while Raging Waters sat empty: the North Natomas Aquatic Complex, the Barbara Morse Wackford center in Elk Grove, and a growing list of neighborhood splash pads. They are not a full water park day, but they are cheap, close, and easy.

A lake park day is a different (better) kind of day

If your family's water park habits were formed at Cal Expo, the biggest adjustment is that the region's best options are now lake parks, not slide parks. That changes the day in some good ways. Instead of standing in line for a 20-second slide, kids spend the whole session climbing, bouncing, and racing across floating obstacles. Parents can actually relax at a reserved beach site instead of circling for open lounge chairs. And because parks like Velocity Island run the aqua park in timed sessions with certified lifeguards on the water, the experience stays uncrowded even in peak July heat.

Life jackets are provided and required on the water, swimmers need to be at least 6 years old for the aqua park, and the swim beach welcomes all ages, so mixed-age groups all have somewhere to be. If you are planning a first visit, our first visit guide and water park packing list cover everything to bring.

Will Cal Expo ever get a new water park?

Maybe someday, but nothing is announced. After the replacement project collapsed in February 2026, Cal Expo said it is exploring future partnerships for the site. Even if a new deal were signed tomorrow, permitting and construction would put an opening years away. For 2026 and the foreseeable future, the answer to "when does the Cal Expo water park open" is: it doesn't.

Plan your water park day 20 minutes from Sacramento

You do not need Cal Expo to get a real water park day anymore. Velocity Island Park is open daily except Tuesdays through the summer, 20 minutes from downtown Sacramento in Woodland. Check pricing and sessions, sign your waiver online before you arrive, and see the plan your visit page for hours, directions, and parking (which, yes, is free).