Franklin Park is a vital part of the Purcellville community. It houses athletic fields for youth sports, a disc golf course, a bridal trail, the Franklin Park Arts Center, and the extremely popular Franklin Park Pool.

Franklin Park Pool has been a public pool in Loudoun County for decades, every once in a while getting updated to please the public. There have been minor changes in pool features, including painting or putting in a new slide. None have been quite as large as this year’s change. This year, an additional pool feature was added to the left of the old facility. This new feature referred to as the “Splash Pad,” a kid friendly area with fountains and a small slide. The area is so large that another water filtration system had to be constructed to facilitate it.

This project has been in planning for two years and this year it has finally come to life. The project itself began at the end of the summer of 2018 and construction led right up to opening Memorial Day weekend.

Parents bringing children to the pool on Memorial Day Weekend were lined up outside the front doors of Franklin Park Pool waiting to get in. The new attraction gained the attention of the surrounding community and brought in a substantial amount of newcomers to the pool. It was extremely popular during “Adult Swim” at the pool as it provided an area for younger kids to remain cool.

The Splash Pad brought change to the pool according to lifeguard, Carly Parkinson. “The addition caused changes in the lifeguard rotation and the lifeguards had to learn new rules to enforce.” While it wasn’t a lot of change, Parkinson states, “It did take a little getting used to.”

While the Splash Pad did bring somewhat significant change to Franklin Park Pool, overall it has been a positive addition. Parents and children are pleased with yet another feature at the pool to occupy their time. “I would recommend parents with younger kids to come check out the Splash pad,” Parkinson said, “Now there’s more for them to do.”