Birch Bay Waterslides will reopen this summer, according to the new management company that has taken the reins of the troubled water park.
The 40-year-old Blaine attraction has been closed since August 2023, after a customer was seriously injured on one of the slides. The victim, Larry Baker, a Burlington resident and Navy veteran, sued the park’s owner in May 2024 and the lawsuit is still ongoing.
Global Management Amusement Professionals, a California-based consulting firm, has taken over management of the park. GMAP President Ken Handler, who has visited Birch Bay to assess the facility, said the community on the bay is gorgeous, welcoming and “feels like a Hallmark movie.”
GMAP has experience with other distressed properties — around six years ago, the company refurbished and reopened Seven Peaks Water Park in Provo, UT, after a child was severely injured on a slide in 2015 and the park owner later filed for bankruptcy.
Handler said GMAP offers several approaches to owners: consulting and mentorship; management; or management and mentorship, in which the owner takes over operations after an agreed-upon time frame. GMAP is operating under a nondisclosure agreement so Handler was not able to share which strategy Birch Bay Waterslides will follow.
To get the park back in working order, GMAP has brought on StarGuard Elite, an aquatic safety firm, and Slide Guys Restoration, a fiberglass slide restoration company.
Sand-blasting and other construction projects have begun on the site. “We’ll give it a nice paint job — it needs it — and a few other fun items for the customer’s experience,” Handler said.
He acknowledged the park had some deferred maintenance to deal with, but declined to go into details about the more pressing slide restoration needs, such as the broken splash guard panel and structural flaws that Whatcom County health department officials found in the vicinity of where Baker was injured during an investigation in February 2024.
[ Read more: Whatcom investigators find missing, broken bolts near site of Birch Bay Waterslides injury ]
Baker, who suffered severe lacerations on his foot and leg, alleged in his lawsuit that the park neglected to maintain safe premises, supervise staff and contractors to ensure safe practices, inspect equipment adequately and comply with state law regarding water parks. In November 2024, Baker brought three more defendants into the lawsuit: Whatcom County Health and Community Services and two private companies responsible for inspecting the facility.
Birch Bay Waterslides’ newly active social media, which is being managed by a third-party agency, has been actively promoting its coming season but does not mention the lawsuit. In response to skeptical commenters on Facebook, the facility posted on its page that the park is “fully committed to making significant updates to the park, including addressing safety and overall improvements” and will be showcasing improvements on its overhauled website.
The website has FAQs and a page for progress updates, which does not yet include facility restoration specifics.
“There are always naysayers,” Handler said when asked about the social media comments.
After the 2023 incident, the business shut down, and Whatcom County Health and Community Services revoked the park’s operating permit because managers did not immediately provide inspection records. In April 2024, the county laid out strict criteria for the park to reopen.
In order to have its operating permit reinstated, Birch Bay Waterslides will need to have a licensed engineer evaluate all elements of the water park, including slide and splash guard panels, walkways, decks, and fasteners holding slides together; complete all repairs recommended by the engineer; provide a comprehensive self-inspection plan; and correct all violations laid out in the initial inspection report.
The health department confirmed in January that if and when the park finishes its checklist, management will request reinspection. Depending on county staff availability and workload, the reinspection could occur within days of the request, a health department spokesperson said.
Rather than discussing the needed repairs, Handler emphasized the park’s 40th anniversary coming up this year. The park is asking the community to send in photos of the park through the years to be featured online.
Handler said the team is aiming for an opening by the end of May or early June.
“We’re excited about celebrating the 40th,” he said. “We hope to have more announcements soon.”
Julia Tellman writes about civic issues and anything else that happens to cross her desk; contact her at juliatellman@cascadiadaily.com.