Westlake opened its very own waterpark on Friday. The 4.5-acre park has been a dream in the making since 2019 for the city’s residents.

“We had a great Police Jury that supported this and the people of Westlake wanted this waterpark, that’s why this is happening today, it’s been a long journey to get here and what you see here is a combination of the city working with the parish and the parish working with the city to make this what it can be, it’s all about quality of life in Westlake,” Mayor Hal McMillin said.

The idea for a waterpark in Westlake started around 10 years ago.

“It starts with a dream, one time we had a police juror that said ‘I want a waterpark, I want a waterpark,’ and that guy is the mayor of Westlake today, Mr. Hal McMillin,” Robert “Bobby” LeTard, former recreation district president said.

“A lot of people had been asking for one, it was a concept idea in the beginning. Sulphur had one and Westlake wanted one in our district here; it was a team effort, wasn’t an individual effort, through a lot of hard work by a lot of people, it’s all about quality of life, how to make the quality of life and a really good hometown better and to have this really improves what we’re trying to do in Westlake and that’s to make it the best it can be,” McMillin said.

“The bottom line is without you, the people supporting it through taxes, it would have never happened, it starts with a dream and ends with a bit of money, and here we are today, dreams are being made so welcome and enjoy the fun,” LeTard said.

Randy Burleigh, District 14 Police Juror said a few words at the grand opening, as well.

“This couldn’t have happened without all the staff at the recreation center, with all the work they’ve put into this, it’s unbelievable to see what all went into making this, I want to thank everybody here, today’s the day, let’s enjoy and have fun,” Burleigh said.

Wayne Smith was the project manager of the Lazy Gator Waterpark. He is a lifelong resident of Westlake and retired from at Sasol Lake Charles Chemical Complex and Research Developmental Laboratory.

“Once I retired Chad (Evans) called and asked if I would be the project manager here and I had to contemplate that for a while. I had just retired about six months before the call, I thought about it for a minute and then I said, ‘Let’s do it,’ ” Smith said.

For Smith, this has been a fun project. He said it’s different than working out of the plants, because in the plants it’s high pressure. This was more of a community feel and a lot less pressure and more fun.

According to Smith, it took probably a year and a half before you could see anything going up at the waterpark because everything was underground that had been being worked on.

“Nobody knew what was going on, it was underground mud work in the beginning, but as things started popping up things started peaking people’s interest. What’s really amazing is how people would drive by, but you can’t really see it until you walk through the doors and once they walk through the doors people are amazed,” Smith said.

The original opening date for the Lazy Gator Waterpark was April 2025, but as things were being added on it was pushed to December 2025. Miller and Associates finished the project earlier than expected, letting the waterpark open up six months prior to its planned date.

“The contractor worked really hard to get this ready for this summer, they’ve been out here everyday and it’s been a real blessing,” Smith said.

Smith and Evans both agree the lazy river is their favorite part of the park. The lazy river runs at 1,000 feet long making it the longest lazy river in Southwest Louisiana.

“I think it’s an age thing, they both said laughing, but when you get kids in here, like during our soft opening they loved the basketball and the volleyball pool,” Evans said.

The Lazy Gator Waterpark has two slides at the moment, two pools and a lazy river.

“We have a 25-meter activity pool, so they can do competition swimming, but the activity pool also has two volleyball courts and two basketball goals inside the pool,” Evans said.

The Gator Tail Grill will be serving plenty of yummy items and there is a huge pavilion with picnic tables for everyone to have a seat and enjoy in the shade. Items on the menu include boneless wings, pizza, hamburgers, ice cream sandwiches, drinks and more.

The park has 60 lifeguards for your safety, six showers, six bathrooms and free lockers for your convenience. The park also provides floaties for the little ones with admission into the park.

Lazy Gator Waterpark is located at 2901 Westwood Road in Westlake. At this time the park is accepting cash only, with a card machine coming soon. The park is open Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. and Sunday 1-7 p.m. The pools and splash pad are also handicap accessible for all to enjoy the fun.

Entry costs $5 for Westlake residents with a Westlake Recreation Department card and $15 for non-residents.