Giant Slide at Mammoth Park set to reopen

The new Giant Slide at Mammoth Park in Mt. Pleasant Township is expected to reopen in late spring.

The complex featuring two 100-foot slides was shut down a month after it was unveiled last July when reports of injured children and adults surfaced. Westmoreland County officials said is targeted to reopen June 1 after additional safety precautions are installed.

“I’m looking forward to it. The Mammoth Park slide has been there for decades, and I’m hoping that, for decades to come, these new slides are still there,” said county Commissioner Sean Kertes.

The Giant Slide has been a fixture at Mammoth Park since the mid-1970s. The original 96-foot slide saw its last rider in November 2018 when officials announced it would be replaced with a new, larger structure built in Germany as part of a $1.1 million park renovation project that was completed last summer.

The new slide opened with anticipation but was closed quickly after county officials received reports that riders had injuries they attributed to the slide. Multiple safety inspections were conducted since August that ultimately found the slide to be safe, according to Brandon Simpson, the county’s Parks and Recreation Department director.

“We brought in outside safety inspectors to make sure it was built up to standards,” Simpson said.

Simpson said up to $30,000 will be spent to upgrade the slide’s safety prior to its reopening, including installation of a rubberized surface, new cargo netting for climbing, handrails that lead up to the top of the slide and barriers that separate the equipment from nearby rocks.

Security cameras will be installed before the slide reopens, and new signs are to be posted with instructions about how to safely ride. Simpson said most of the reported injuries were related to improper use. Using wax paper, pans or other objects to sit on while using the slides are prohibited.

“We had a lot of brush burns. Adults with small children in their lap slid, and that’s unsafe. A lot of people were laying down like it’s a water slide,” Simpson said.

Five injuries officially were reported to the county during the slide’s one month of use last summer. Simpson said most those injured were adults.