TANNERSVILLE, MONROE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — The rainy weather hasn’t been ideal conditions for waterparks across our region, but opening day is in sight for PA's largest outdoor park in the Poconos.
28/22 News stopped by Camelbeach in Monroe County ahead of its 27th season opener.
Jumping into summer, even on an unseasonably cold day.
“One thousand percent cold!” said Cooper Hower.
Cooper and his siblings, Lucillia and Jameson, braved the chilly temps all to learn about swimming safety at Camelbeach Outdoor Waterpark in Tannersville.
“Tried to kick my legs and swim by myself!” said Lucillia Hower.
The trio got an early morning swimming class ahead of the resort’s opening day on Wednesday. Learning their ways around a boogie board and talking about their favorite things to do in the water.
“Diving in!” said Jameson Hower.
“We’re here to give them the tools that they need to be successful and to never have a drowning happen. That’s our main goal at the end of the day, we want them to have fun and feel comfortable in the water, not be scared of the water,” explained Karysma Marshall, aquatics supervisor at Camelbeach Outdoor Waterpark.
Transforming the resort from snow to sand is no easy task.
“After the ski season, you know we have hundreds of barrels that line the river that we have to get out in order to get it open for the summer operation,” explained Ryan Smith, VP of recreation at Camelbeach Outdoor Waterpark.
Just days from opening, it’s crunch time for staff. Especially in the kitchen, trying out new menu items like this smoked jerk chicken with homemade mac and cheese.
“We brine our chicken for a couple of days, then we just marinate it with a dry seasoning and just put it in the smokehouse for at least a couple of hours to make sure it comes out nice and juicy,” explained Chef Martin Estevez, executive chef at Camelbeach Outdoor Waterpark.
And for the rides, 28/22 News' Sydney Kostus got a crash course on how to properly go down the rival racer.
Settlement reached in Purdue Pharma opioid lawsuit“You’re going to have your hands up like this on the board, and you're going to keep your shoulders straight on the board or the mat, and you’re going to lay down on your belly as well,” said Jase Chatman, lead lifeguard at Camelbeach Outdoor Waterpark.
“Each weekend we’re going to have Rival Races from one o’clock to two o’clock on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, where there’s going to be eight heats of people racing against each other and the winners can get some really cool swag prizes,” said Jason Warren, director of aquatics at Camelbeach Outdoor Waterpark.
Ready to welcome guests and hoping for Mother Nature to cooperate. The crew here at Camelback is racing to kick off summer.
“New colleagues, new coworkers, food, sun, you name it, I’m here for it all,” said Nathaniel Allen, lifeguard at Camelbeach Outdoor Waterpark.
Camelbeach opens on Wednesday at 11 a.m. Its grand opening weekend celebration kicks off Thursday with a special appearance by NASCAR driver Patrick Emerling ahead of race weekend at the Tricky Triangle.