Wet Willy's water slides: One of the wildest rides St. Louis ever saw (2024)

Jeff Meyers

The first water slide in the St. Louis area was Wet Willy's in St. Charles, near I-70 and Cave Springs. It opened on June 9, 1978. The only thing separating riders from a hard concrete surface was a thin rubber mat. Within the first month that Wet Willy's was open, 10 riders were sent to the hospital, with one of the riders suffering a broken vertebrae.

Another Wet Willy's opened shortly thereafter in Peerless Park, near I-44 and I-141. By the year 2000, both slides were closed down. For a while, the Peerless Park abandoned slides were popular with skateboarders, but by 2009, all traces of the slides were demolished.

But in 1978, Wet Willy's was about the coolest thing around. Here were the first impressions of Post-Dispatch sports writer Jeff Meyers.

As soon as ancient man discovered the wonders of buoyancy and learned to swim, a new dimension in recreation opened up to him.

But, as man evolved and became more creative, he sought other means by which to enjoy the water. Swimming about in circles got old really quick and, besides, he was starting to look like a prune after a few hours in the water. So man invented different ways to be wet and wild and liberate himself from dry land.

Boating was a lot of fun. So was water skiing and scuba diving and jumping off cliffs into deep pools. Man even tried beating on his chest and swinging into the water from ropes, a la Tarzan. Occasionally, he also mixed it with Scotch and really had a blast.

And now, the latest example of man's quest to expand his relationship with water: A giant slide. Why not? If man can slide over snow and ice, there is no reason why he can't do the same thing over water.

The problem, of course, has been safety; On a river, water rushing downhill usually turns into rapids or, even worse, a waterfall, and can tear you to pieces before you're lucky enough to drown. But modern technology has taken the danger out of sliding over water.

Just west of St. Charles, off Interstate 70, the Rallo Contracting Co. has poured a few tons of concrete into a recreational complex called Wet Willy's.

It's the only water slide in the St. Louis area. There are many water slides in the country, particularly in Florida (there's also one at the Lake of the Ozarks), but according to some people, the slides at Wet Willy's aren't as fast as the others.

Built on a 40-foot hill, Wet Willy's has three winding, twisting 500-foot slides that resemble bobsled runs. Lubricated by a steady flow of water, the slides are safe, exciting and fun. On a hot, muggy weekend, about 3,800 customers pay $2 for 30 minutes of action at Wet Willy's. Sitting on slick rubber mats, people of all ages shoot around curves onto banked walls and then come crashing down the final straightaway into a shallow pool.

The ride takes about 30 seconds, and then you've got to trudge up the hill to do it again. Kids average 15 rides for the half hour; out-of-shape adults about half as many. There are various ways to use the 4-foot-by-2-foot mat. You can lie on your chest or your back; you can sit cross-legged or with legs outstretched and face either forward or backward and you can kneel. No one is allowed to stand on the mat.

By leaning away from the curve, it is possible to climb higher on the walls and therefore increase your speed.

"Everyone in the family can have a good time," said Jim Marx, the assistant manager at Wet Willy's. "What usually happens is that the kids start riding and the parents stand on the observation deck and watch. Then they see how much fun it is and pretty soon they're riding, too."