Wild Rapids opened to the public in 1982, and it was Alberta's second-largest water park after the World Waterpark in West Edmonton Mall.

Wild Rapids Waterslide was founded in 1982 by Dave Dubeta and Garry Johnson, and opened just in time for its first full summer of operations.

[4] Wild Rapids Water Slide was built on the land previously owned by the Johnson Family, known as Sandy Cove Campsite, which was next to the public pier.

Thirty-four years later, it was announced that the park would close after the 2016 season, as it was being bought by the town of Sylvan Lake for redevelopment.

The president of Bear Development Corporation, Bert Messier, hoped that an entrepreneur would see the advertisement, buy the equipment, and build another waterpark in Alberta.