A refreshing new waterpark with towering slides and a lazy river, an exhilerating whitewater park where kayaks playfully dart above and below the Clark Fork River's surface, a challenging and unique skatepark where skaters of all ages can come and enjoy the obstacles -- all three are new to Missoula, and all three promise to keep tourists and citizens in Missoula longer, if not create a new kind of tourism for the city.

Missoula's newest tourist attractions; Brennan's Wave (which was completed in March), Splash Montana (which opened last month) and the Missoula Skatepark (set for completion in August) are expected to draw a new tourist group into Missoula, one that differs from the usual hikers, bikers and Lewis-and-Clark-history-seekers.

Greg Balkcom is the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division waterfowl biologist.

Although no distinct shift in Missoula tourism has of yet been noticed, the numbers of people traveling to Missoula specifically for these attractions are expected to increase in the future as they become better known and have been established for a while, said Missoula Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Barbara Neilen. Even so, "they are wonderful additions which keep people in town longer," Neilen said.

"They are all family attractions, which when added to the wonderful venue of attractions that Missoula already has, create so much for people to see and do in Missoula," she said.

These new attractions all started as a vision of a small group of people who wished to see new types of activities brought to Missoula, Neilen said. For Splash Montana, it was to cater to the community and the surrounding communities' need for an outdoor waterpark, where families could go and relax and have fun in the sweltering summer heat... Read Full Article.

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