Raging Waters Sacramento once packed 25 water attractions onto 20 acres of the Cal Expo fairgrounds, but the gates have been locked since November 2022 — and the plan to bring it back has now fallen apart too. If you’re trying to figure out whether the Sacramento water park at Cal Expo is open, what happened to the CaliBunga rebuild announced in 2023, or where else to swim this summer, here’s the full picture.
Below: the closure, the failed rebuild, the rides people still remember, and the real alternatives operating near Sacramento right now.
Quick Answer
Raging Waters Sacramento — the water park that operated on the Cal Expo fairgrounds — is permanently closed and has been since November 2022. A planned rebuild called CaliBunga Waterpark, announced in 2023 for a 2027 opening, collapsed on February 3, 2026, when Cal Expo terminated the developer’s lease over more than $200,000 in unpaid rent. As of late 2026, the 20-acre site at 1600 Exposition Blvd sits vacant while Cal Expo looks for a new operator or use for the land, and there is no operating water park anywhere on the fairgrounds.
Is Raging Waters Sacramento Open Right Now?
No. There’s no 2026 season, no ticket sales, and no reopening date for Raging Waters Sacramento. The park did not simply close for the winter — it has not operated at all since the 2022 season ended, and the slides themselves were demolished starting in 2025.
If you search “raging waters sac hours” or “raging waters sacramento tickets,” you won’t find current listings because none exist. Any site showing operating hours, a current admission price, or a 2026 schedule for Raging Waters Sacramento is outdated or mistaken — treat it as closed with no exceptions.
Is Raging Waters Still Located at Cal Expo?
Yes — Raging Waters Sacramento was never a separate property from Cal Expo. The water park sat on roughly 20 acres inside the Cal Expo fairgrounds at 1600 Exposition Blvd, the same state-owned complex that hosts the California State Fair every summer. Cal Expo, a state agency, owned the land and leased it to a private operator over the years: Premier Parks acquired the lease in 1996, followed by Six Flags, then Palace Entertainment, and most recently California Dreamin’ Entertainment.
That arrangement is why the water park’s fate has always been tied to Cal Expo’s decisions rather than to one company’s brand. When Palace Entertainment walked away in 2022, the rides and slides didn’t move anywhere — they sat idle inside the fairgrounds until demolition began in 2025. Today the fenced-off, partially cleared lot is still Cal Expo property, visible from the same parking areas used for the State Fair and other Cal Expo events, but there’s no operating water park on it, and none is scheduled to open there.
From WaterWorld USA to Raging Waters: A Four-Decade Timeline
The Cal Expo water park has carried several names since it opened in 1980 as WaterWorld USA on land leased from the state-owned fairgrounds. Premier Parks acquired that lease in 1996 and rebranded the site Six Flags Waterworld Sacramento ahead of the 2005 season, but that lease ended after the 2006 season when Six Flags pulled out.
Palace Entertainment picked up the lease in May 2007 and reopened the park as Raging Waters Sacramento, the name it kept for the next 15 seasons. Palace Entertainment terminated its lease on November 8, 2022, ending the water park’s run at Cal Expo after 42 years under one operator or another.
Why Did Raging Waters Sacramento Close?
Palace Entertainment closed the park in November 2022, pointing to a company-wide review of its business priorities. The closure came after the pandemic forced Raging Waters Sacramento to sit out the 2020 season entirely and reopen in 2021 under capacity limits and modified operations — losses the operator said the park never fully recovered from.
Unlike some seasonal closures that get reversed the following spring, this one stuck. Palace Entertainment did not reopen the park for 2023, and Cal Expo began fielding proposals for what to do with the vacant 20 acres.
What Happened to the CaliBunga Waterpark Rebuild?
In 2023, California Dreamin’ Entertainment — a brand operated by Silverwood Entertainment — signed a new lease with Cal Expo to demolish the old park and build a new one called CaliBunga Waterpark, with an accompanying restaurant concept, targeting a 2027 opening. This Sacramento project was a separate park from the similarly named CaliBunga that Silverwood opened in San Jose on July 4, 2024; the two are not the same facility, and the San Jose park’s opening has no bearing on Sacramento’s status.
Demolition of the old Raging Waters structures was underway by summer 2025, and the project appeared to be moving forward despite the opening date already sliding from earlier estimates. That changed on February 3, 2026, when Cal Expo’s board terminated California Dreamin’ Entertainment’s lease, citing breach of contract after the developer fell more than $200,000 behind on rent and missed several extensions to resolve the debt.
Silverwood Entertainment acknowledged the termination but disputed how the situation was characterized, stating it didn’t “believe it’s appropriate to litigate business disputes in the media” and that it was “focused on addressing matters through the appropriate channels.” With the lease terminated, the partially demolished site reverted to Cal Expo, and the CaliBunga Sacramento project is no longer active. No successor developer, lease, or construction timeline has been announced since.
Will Cal Expo Ever Get a New Water Park?
Nothing has been announced. Cal Expo has said it’s evaluating a new operator or an entirely different use for the 20-acre water park footprint, but as of late 2026 there’s no signed lease, no construction timeline, and no named company. Given how long the CaliBunga process took to simply collapse, any new water park proposal would likely need years for permitting and construction before it could open — this isn’t a site that could reopen for next summer.
It’s worth noting Cal Expo is reshaping other parts of the fairgrounds at the same time: a separate push to relocate Sacramento State’s football program to a different section of the grounds (the horse-racing grandstand area, not the old water park plot) has also stalled on cost and timing. Both situations point to the same thing — Cal Expo’s broader redevelopment plans are moving slowly, and the old Raging Waters site specifically has no active project attached to it.
The Rides and Attractions That Made the Park Famous
At its peak, Raging Waters Sacramento offered 25 water attractions. The signature thrill ride was the Cliffhanger, a pair of 60-foot dual-racing free-fall body slides that dropped riders side by side into a splashdown pool. Splashdown added a trapdoor-style drop slide that ejected riders straight into a plunge pool, while the Shark Attack Slide Complex, Dragon’s Den, and the Honolulu Half Pipe rounded out the high-speed slide lineup.
Families spent most of their time at Treehouse Reef, a multi-level interactive water playground with slides and spray features, and at Hook’s Lagoon, a gentler area built for younger kids. The 800-foot Calypso Cooler lazy river offered a slow-paced float, and Breaker Beach — billed as Northern California’s original wave pool — and Hurricane Bay delivered ocean-style surf to a landlocked city. None of these attractions survived demolition; the rides were removed rather than relocated or sold to another park.
Where to Swim Near Sacramento Instead
With Raging Waters gone and no replacement date in sight, most Sacramento-area families have shifted to a handful of parks within about 20-35 minutes of downtown. Golfland Sunsplash in Roseville is the closest traditional slide-and-wave-pool experience, pairing a water park with mini golf and an arcade — a good match for anyone who misses the classic Raging Waters format of slides, a wave pool, and a kids’ play structure.
For something different, Velocity Island Park in Woodland is a lakefront aqua park with a floating obstacle course, cable wakeboarding, and a sandy swim beach rather than concrete slides, and Wake Island Waterpark in Pleasant Grove is a larger version of that same lake-based concept, with inflatable obstacle courses, ziplines, and wakeboarding across an 80-acre property. Both run on timed-session booking rather than all-day admission, so check their sites before driving out.
If you just need somewhere free or low-cost to cool off, the City of Sacramento and surrounding suburbs operate public pools and seasonal splash pads at several community parks — a reasonable option for younger kids on a day when a full water park trip isn’t practical.
Soak, snap and drape. A cooling towel takes the edge off a 45-minute midday queue in July.
Park apps, mobile ordering and photos kill a battery by 3 p.m. This one snaps on magnetically, so there's no cable to snag on a restraint.
Ride with your glasses on and keep them. Many parks allow glasses on rides if they're strapped, so check the ride rules first.
Raging Waters Sacramento FAQs
Is Raging Waters Sacramento open in 2026?
No. Raging Waters Sacramento has been closed since November 2022 and has not reopened for any season since, including 2026. There is no current ticketing, no operating hours, and the original rides have been demolished.
Where was Raging Waters Sacramento located?
It sat on about 20 acres inside the Cal Expo fairgrounds at 1600 Exposition Blvd in Sacramento — the same complex that hosts the California State Fair. It was never a stand-alone property; Cal Expo owned the land and leased it to a series of operators.
Why did Raging Waters Sacramento close?
Operator Palace Entertainment closed the park in November 2022 citing a company-wide review of its business priorities, following pandemic-era losses from the park’s canceled 2020 season and reduced-capacity 2021 season that it said it never fully recovered from.
Is CaliBunga Waterpark still being built at Cal Expo?
No. The CaliBunga Waterpark project, announced in 2023 for a 2027 opening, ended when Cal Expo terminated developer California Dreamin’ Entertainment’s lease on February 3, 2026 over more than $200,000 in unpaid rent. No new developer or timeline has been announced.
What is the closest water park to Sacramento now that Raging Waters is closed?
Golfland Sunsplash in Roseville is generally the closest traditional slide-and-wave-pool water park to downtown Sacramento, roughly 20-30 minutes away. Velocity Island Park (Woodland) and Wake Island Waterpark (Pleasant Grove) are similarly close lake-based alternatives.
Will a new water park ever open at the old Raging Waters site?
Possibly, but nothing is currently planned. Cal Expo has said it is looking for a new operator or alternative use for the land, but as of late 2026 there’s no signed lease or construction timeline, so any reopening is likely years away at the earliest.
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