It’s pretty easy to keep kids busy when the sun is shining. In Clark County, though, expect 150 days of rain a year. Better have a list of activities for those showery days when kids will go nuts cooped up in the house.
Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation: http://ci.vancouver.wa.us/ parks-recreation.
Kids Club: http://kidsclubfunandfitness.com.
Big Al’s: http://www.ilovebigals.com.
Mountain View Ice Arena: http://mtviewice.com.
Cafe Sip-n-Play: http://cafesipnplay.com.
JJ Jump: http://jjjump.com.
A good place to start is Kids Club. The 28,000-square-foot facility in Salmon Creek is aimed at entertaining infants to tweens. The club, 13914 N.W. Third Court, offers classes and has three gymnasiums, but the main draw is the massive three-tiered jungle playland. It also has a nearly 2,000-square-foot pool, heated to 90 degrees, with two slides.
For more information, call 360-546-5437 (546-KIDS) or visit http://www.kidsclubfunandfitness.com.
Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation: <a href="http://ci.vancouver.wa.us/">http://ci.vancouver.wa.us/</a> parks-recreation.
Kids Club: <a href="http://kidsclubfunandfitness.com.">http://kidsclubfunandfitness.com.</a>
Big Al's: <a href="http://www.ilovebigals.com.">http://www.ilovebigals.com.</a>
Mountain View Ice Arena: <a href="http://mtviewice.com.">http://mtviewice.com.</a>
Cafe Sip-n-Play: <a href="http://cafesipnplay.com.">http://cafesipnplay.com.</a>
JJ Jump: <a href="http://jjjump.com.">http://jjjump.com.</a>
Public facilities
Public areas of the city also offer many playgrounds and pools.
Vancouver has its centerpiece aquatic attraction: The Jim Parsley Community Center pool, which features a beach-like entrance and water buckets that dump down on swimmers, a series of sprinklers and two slides, plus a water temperature of about 87 degrees; 360-313-1060.
The city also has Marshall Pool, 1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd., Vancouver, 360-696-8239; and Propstra Aquatic Center, 605 N. Devine Road, Vancouver, 360-313-3625. Hough Pool was scheduled to close this spring.
Another family entertainment hub is Big Al’s in east Vancouver, 16615 S.E. 18th St. Big Al’s has plenty of bowling lanes, with 30 set up as “traditional” and another dozen presented “lounge style.” It also offers a 4,000-square-foot arcade and a party area with a 1,300-person capacity.
Television screens are everywhere, including 76 high-definition plasmas, 17 projection models and one gigantic wall screen that’s 36 feet wide and 8 feet tall. For more information, call 360-944-6118 or visit http://www.ilovebigals.com.
For a nostalgic family hangout, Golden Skate Family Fun Center, 4915 E. Fourth Plain Blvd., Vancouver, has been a center for fun and physical fitness since it opened as Holcomb’s Recreation Hall in 1944. For information about roller skating and lazer tag schedules, call 360-696-0368 or visit http://www.goldenskateandlazer.com.
For skating on blades instead of wheels, head to the 16,000-square-foot ice rink in east Vancouver. Mountain View Ice Arena, 14313 S.E. Mill Plain Blvd., hosts hockey tournaments and figure skating competitions, but it also puts on numerous public sessions weekly for kids and adults. For more information, call 360-896-8700 or visit http://mtviewice.com.
When kids are bouncing off the walls at home, take that energy to the inflatable playground at JJ Jump at 7500 N.E. 16th Ave. No. 2-D, in Vancouver. For information, call 360-213-2524 or visit http://jjjump.com.
For a more laid-back outing, Cafe Sip-n-Play, 3000 S.E. 164th Ave., lets grown-ups relax with a cup of java while kids 1 to 5 can frolic in an enclosed play area, http://cafesipnplay.com.
