Woodsy waterparks: campgrounds add waterparks to draw families and extend seasons.(CAMPGROUND WATERPARKS)

Activities now available at your local campgrounds: floating down lazy rivers, rafting into unknown caverns, jumping down tumbling flails, scrambling through grottos and splashing away summer days by the riverbank.

A typical outing in the woods? Sure ... if you add chlorine to your venue, a few water slides and a multilevel play feature. That's right, the waterpark, long a staple of suburbia, is fast becoming the hottest new attraction at family campgrounds across the United States.

"That's a natural extension," said Jeff Coy, president of JLC Hospitality Consulting Inc. in Cave Creek, Ariz. "I can see an RV campground owner adding a waterpark very easily because it's an extension of an outdoor pool."

Many campgrounds already offer activities such as tennis, batting cages, rock climbing, swimming, guided hiking, minigolf and other kid-friendly outdoor activities. "[They] extend their season and enhance their service level to the clients," said Duane Wepking, aquatics project manager at Ramaker & Associates in Sauk City, Wis.

Waterparks vary in size and equipment, of course, but even adding a water slide and play feature makes the aquatics area more family-friendly and kid-suitable, Wepking said. His company has already added improvements to approximately 30 projects in the past two years at campgrounds, and continues to receive calls asking for more. He said many take on a theme to mirror the campground, usually with a woodsy or local historical feel.

Ron Vitkun added a waterpark at his campground, Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park in Hagerstown, Md., with the ...