Much of our nostalgia lingers on sunny days at the pool, splashing and sliding and canon-balling before a sweet treat back with Mom. You might’ve grown up and put those places in the past.

But those places still very much exist around Colorado’s biggest cities, you know. And if you’ve got kids of your own now, what are you waiting for?

Great Wolf Lodge

Colorado Springs families rejoiced with the 2017 opening of the city’s first indoor water park. Even better news: They don’t need an overnight reservation to enjoy. Day passes are available for the fun zone consisting of a splashy, four-story “treehouse,” a wave pool, a tube ride, a raceway, and the Howlin’ Tornado — a swirling, six-stroy plunge.

Water World

This is the undisputed king of aquatic play in Colorado, a vast and varied expanse north of downtown Denver calling to residents and tourists alike. Groups set up base in cabanas and bungalows and only attempt to experience all of the 50-plus attractions here. That includes several plunges, “toilet bowls,” waving pools, tubing waterways and interactive worlds called Lost River of the Pharaohs and Voyage to the Center of the Earth.

Pirates Cove Water Park

Pirates Cove claims the tower atop its three slides is the highest point in Englewood. It might represent the park’s high importance to the Denver suburb. Local kids learn to swim here, the first of many more memories to come. They slide, float the lazy river and eagerly await the dump from the 750-gallon bucket.

Gaylord of the Rockies

Make it a staycation at the resort close to Denver International Airport. Or start the vacation early for a night or two before you fly out. The kids will keep busy with the pools, slides and lazy river making up Arapahoe Springs Water Park, while the adults can kick back in a shaded, pool-side cabana, complete with bar service and views of the mountains.

The Splash at Fossil Terrace

The Golden complex promises “features and attractions for all ages, from 1-100 years old.” The little ones might go for the sandbox, billed the biggest in Jefferson County. Adults might prefer the fitness from the eight-lane lap pool. Both kids and kids-at-heart will appreciate the two slides, the highest at 180 feet, and also the dive board.

Oasis Family Aquatic Park

It lives up to its name — a fun-filled oasis breaking the plains northeast of Denver. This the gathering place for Brighton families, where the kids hopefully walk rather than run to the twisting, turning slides, splash pads and pools with play sets and basketball hoops. There’s special time for grown-ups, too: They come for 21-and-up nights of live music, food and booze.