Imagine all sorts of fun, outdoor activities like swimming pools, a paint ball field, skate ramps for skateboard and in-line skates, an "inflatables" park, a rope obstacle course, go carts, pony rides, mountain bike trails and food. Now put them all together in one spot and what do you get? Moisty Skate & Family Park in Cagus, that’s what.

This park, newly opened in June 2009, is a nirvana for kids — and it’s pretty cool for adults, too. And a really good thing about this park is that it’s all available for a reasonable price — so you can actually afford to bring the family for the day and have a lot of fun without breaking the bank.

It is a great concept — this is actually one large 40-acre park in Caguas, which is about 35 minutes south of the San Juan area. It has a number of separate operators/vendors each offering their own activity. So you get the best of each activity. For example, there are experts who know and enjoy skate boarding who have made world class skate park ramps. Or there are expert rope and adventure course people who made the rope course challenge course. Not only does this make it better, it also makes it safer. And these experts can offer their advice and instruction for those of us who are novices at an activity.

The way they charge at the part is a novel idea. After paying $3 to park your car, the park itself is free to get into. So you can bring your family in and then you can wander around to see what each person wants to do. Then you pay just for the activities you want, but it is free if Mom just wants to watch. You can spend just an hour doing one thing, or all day doing one or many things. It is all up to you.

Skate Park

I have to say up front that I know nothing about skate boarding, but I know this place had lots of ramps! They allow skates, skate boards and scooters. It looked cool, we watched a kid do a few moves. It seemed like you could have a lot of fun if you know what you are doing. The cost of admission is $8 per person and includes all necessary equipment. Classes are available for an additional charge.

Viper Go Carts

They offer single and double cars. Each turn is about 5 minutes — maybe about 12 laps around the course. These are easy-to-drive carts with bumpers (though you are not supposed to bump anyone). You have to be a minimum 4′ 6" to drive (so that you can reach the pedals), but little ones (3 years and older) can be a passengers. The course is a little bumpy in spots, but it is not too bad. They don’t offer helmets. The cost is $6 for a single car and $9 for a double car with a rider.

Wave & Swimming Pools

There are a couple different pools available — a wave pool, a regular passive pool and an infant pool. There are always life guards on duty at all of the pools. The infant pool is for babies 1 year and older. This small area is a perfectly calm, shallow area for parents with infants to safely enjoy the water, while still being able to watch your older children in the main pool. It is attached to the main pool, but separated by a small wall.

The main pool is for everyone 1 year and older. It has a few small water slides and a rope bridge. It ranges from about 3 feet deep to about 5 feet deep.

The wave pool generates small mechanical waves every so often. It’s surrounded by what I would call a "cement beach". You can rent floats to use in this pool for $5 per float. The water ranges from 0 inches to about 6 feet deep.

The cost of an all-day pass to get into the water park (which includes all of the pools) is $8 for adults and $6 for kids under 6 years old. There are some lounge chairs in the sun and some in the shade. There are picnic tables in the shade, also. If you want a lounge chair, get there early.

They have restrooms and lockers in the pool areas. We only used the ones by the wave pool and we need to note that the toilet seats were unusually high off the ground, so children may have trouble reaching the tall toilet seats — someone may need to go with them. The day we went, there was no running water in the restrooms sinks. This was the only real problem we noticed in the whole park.

Jumping City Inflatables Park

They have a bunch of inflatables in all sizes. Some of the inflatables have age minimums and maximums, so not everyone can go on every inflatable house, but everyone can do some of them. They even have some inflatable water slides. They also have a few kiddie amusement rides, a rock climbing wall, a bungee trampoline (sometimes) and a bull ride. They seem to have different inflatables and activities on occasion, but they all seemed fun and not too busy.

Kids must be 2 years and older. They offer a $6 all-day pass for that only includes the inflatable jump houses. You can also purchase just a few tickets for individual jump sessions for a few bucks per ticket. The rock climbing and bungee are $2 per turn and participants must weigh between 50-200 pounds. Here is a tip: Wear your bathing suit so you can enjoy the water slides.

Adventure Rope Challenge Course

This activity is pretty neat. It has 4 tall posts in the corners and one in the center, with rope challenges connecting them. It has 2 levels of challenges, with 8 on each level. That’s a total of 16 challenges. Each challenge is about 40 feet long and consists of rope, cable and wooden things you need cross to get from one platform to the next. It is all you — your balance, strength and courage against the ropes.

We tried this course. I was able to do some with no problem. Others were more tricky. Ray even "fell off" of one, but of course, he was safely attached by his double safety lines, so he didn’t really fall or get hurt. But he had to get back upright on the line and keep going. You do 8 challenges and then you go up another 10-15 ft and do 8 more! Of course you have to sign the typical liability waiver, but that’s expected since it is an adventure and all. But you wear a harness and helmet at all times. If you are afraid of heights, you may not like it, but face your fears (you are always on a safety line or two) and try it. It is tricky, wobbly and exhilarating, but appears safe.

The cost of this activity is $10 per course run. This includes all needed gear — harness and helmet. The maximum weight is 275 pounds and participants must be 8 years and older. If you get scared or can’t finish, they will help get you down. You are always attached to a safety line to prevent anyone from falling and a guide is always there to show you how to do each challenge. You should wear sturdy shoes (like sneakers) and long shorts (or pants) to protect your thighs from being chafed by the harness.

They are open every day the park is open, but during weekdays, it is best to call and make a reservation. You can contact them at 787-633-7165 or email them at airelibrepr@gmail.com. They’re currently working on adding a separate 700-foot zipline, which will cost an additional $3 per ride.

Gotcha Paint Ball

This one looks like a teenager’s paradise! They have set up a paint ball field and supply you will all the gear you need to shoot paint balls at your friends. They will let you go out with between 2-10 people at a time, separated into 2 teams. You get 200 balls and the game ends when you run out of paint balls. There is a referee inside to make sure it is played safely. No reservations are required. Players must be 8 years and older. I did not do this, but we watched a group. I would suggest you wear some clothes you don’t mind getting paint on them! Cost $15 per person with all gear included. If you have your own equipment (you need the pistol, vest, face mask, and CO2), it costs only $5 per person, but paint balls must be purchased at the park. It costs $2 for unlimited CO2. They also have a Gotcha store for your paint ball equipment needs.

Pony Rides

This is so cute. They have ponies of all sizes — anyone 3 years and older can do it. They have small ponies for little kids and larger ponies for larger kids (and even a small adult if you want!). They have helmets available for the riders if you want. The cost is $6 for one ride.

Downhill Mountain Biking

They just completed their mountain bike course. At this time it’s strictly BYOB — bring your own bike. They don’t (yet) have bikes available for rent. We’ll update this when we hear that they have bikes available.

Tickets & Other Details

You buy tickets near the waterpark entrance. They give you a wrist bracelet and tickets that shows you paid.

You aren’t supposed to bring food/drinks into the park, but there are plenty of choices for food and drinks (beer too!) in each of the areas.

Minors must be accompanied by a parent/guardian. The paint ball, skate area and rope course require waiver forms before anyone can do them. Children under 18 years old must have a parent sign the waiver.

There is a Moisty Package, which costs $20 and is available at the office (near the park entrance). This package includes a choice of 3 things from this list:

• day-pass to the pools
• 3-hour pass to the skate park (does not include equipment)
• day-pass for the inflatables
• Gotcha paint ball (includes 100 paint balls and all equipment)
• Rope Challenge Course (only the 8 challenges on the lower level)
• 2 Pony Rides
• 1 Go Cart Ride

For locals, they also have a $300 annual family pass. They also have the ability to host parties at the park.

Winter Hours (August – March): Friday – Sunday 10am – 6pm

Summer Hours (April – July): Monday – Wednesday 10am – 6pm, Thursday – Sunday (and holidays) 10am-10pm

You can easily spend 4 or more hours at the park, depending which activities you decide to do.

You can call 787- 903-6064 or 787-903- 0504 for more information.

You can visit their web site for more information.

To get there from the San Juan area or the cruise ship piers, you will need to rent a car. It is easy highway driving (there is a toll), just about 35 minutes from the metro area. You could always take a taxi, but it is about $55 each way, while a car rental is about $30/day.

Driving directions from the San Juan area — Take Route 18 south to Route 52 south and get off at exit #18 toward Aguas Buenas. At the end of the exit ramp, go to the right onto Road 196. You’ll see signs for the Botanical Gardin (Jardin Botanico) and Moisty Park.

You can locate Moisty Skate & Family Park on our Interactive Island Map