Loveland Used to Have a Great Little Waterpark

July 28 of each summer in Colorado (and across the nation) is Waterpark Day. Loveland used to have its own waterpark on the west side of town, Crystal Rapids. You couldn't have asked for a better name: it made you think of those great Colorado creeks and rivers.

How Long Was Crystal Rapids Waterpark in Loveland?

From 1993 until the summer of 2005, it was great to be a kid (and an adult) in Loveland and Northern Colorado when you needed a fun way to cool off. I was living in Fort Collins at the time Crystal Rapids launched, when I worked at NCR. We took at least one "Fun Day" excursion out there for team building/family fun.

READ MORE: The West Side of Loveland Used to Have an Amusement Park

When I started at the radio stations here in Windsor in 1997, every so often, we'd go out and do our shows at Crystal Rapids at the corner of East 15th Street and Boyd Lake Avenue. Talk about a rough job: hanging out by the water, pretending that you're working on a beautiful summer day in Loveland.

Dave Jensen at Crystal Rapids

When you consider the cost and (what can be) hassle of going to Water World with the family, having a waterpark in Loveland was very convenient. It had wave pools, slides, concessions, etc.; it was legit.

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At the end of 2015, ten years after Crystal Rapids had closed, the Housing Authority of Loveland began construction on the site of what is now The Edge affordable housing apartments. 2016 saw the first complex go up; in April of 2026, The Edge III had opened.