Sure, you can always go to the ocean or lake to beat the heat, but sometimes you’re just in the mood for a 50-foot plunge. Here are eight cool water parks in New England that’ll wet your whistle.

Water Wizz

Be chill at this Wareham water park. Kids younger than 7 can get silly at Little Neck Beach — only 18 inches deep with lots of splashing options. Daredevils will love the free-fall water slide that climbs 61 feet high. Rent a cabana and make it a daylong soak; a deluxe cabana accommodates up to eight people, with a picnic table. www.waterwizz.com

Splashtown

Expect corkscrew water slides at Splashtown, which shares the Saco, Maine, location with amusement park Funtown. Big kids get a splash out of Poseidon’s Plunge, a tornado tube ride, while the youngest visitors can cool off in the wading pool and the pirate-themed AquaPlay area. www.funtownusa.com

Lake Compounce & Crocodile Cove Water Park

Tucked in Litchfield Hills in Bristol, Conn., Lake Compounce is the country’s oldest continuously-operated amusement park. It’s also home to Crocodile Cove, a water park that’s all about wave pools and water slides. For older kids, Lights Out is a high-speed, in-the-dark slide, and Riptide Racer allows up to four riders to take the plunge in a competitive side by side race. Rent an Island Lounger cabana (for up to four people) or, if you brought the whole gang, rent the Crocodile Cove VIP Cabana, which accommodates up to 10 people — and includes sunscreen, beach towels, and more. www.lakecompounce.com

Splash Away Bay Water Park

Another popular Litchfield Hills attraction, this water park in Middlebury, Conn., shares space with the classic Quassy Amusement Park, which has been thrilling people for 108 years. Splash Away Bay just debuted Slide City, a five-slide complex for young children. For older kids and adults, the BulletBowl is a slide ride that travels through a dark tunnel. Families can also sun and swim at the park’s Quassy Beach, a sandy strand on Lake Quassapaug. www .quassy.com

Whale’s Tale Water Park

The ocean’s pretty far from this attraction in Lincoln, N.H., in the basecamp of the White Mountains, but thankfully Willie’s Wild Waves boasts waves “the size of ocean breakers.’’ Or, chill on Jonah’s Escape raft ride, which snakes through the water park for a quarter-mile. Small children, even toddlers, can splash at Whale Harbor activity pool (the depth is 16 inches). There are four water slides, a water seesaw, and fountains. You can also rent a private cabana for the day for use on “the beach’’ of the Wave Pool or at Castaway Cove — an 85-foot heated pool, shaped like a whale, with hot tubs. www.whalestale waterpark.net

Hurricane Harbor at Six Flags New England

Hurricane Harbor is the water park at the Six Flags theme park, located in Agawam. It’s New England’s largest water park with two 500,000-gallon wave pools, more than 30 water slides, including the popular Bonzai Pipelines (two side-by-side thrill slides), and a lazy river ride for slackers. Beach bums will want to hit the sandy beach area with VIP cabanas (with lounge chairs, and waitstaff for food orders) — or go for the Platinum Cabana and get a flat screen TV, too. www.sixflags.com/new england

Canobie Lake Park

At this amusement park with water rides in Salem, N.H., kids can get wet, and get a living history lesson, too. The Shoot the Chute water ride is designed to let guests “experience what it was like to be a crate during the Boston Tea Party.’’ The way it works: a 20-passenger boat makes its way up a hill, through a flume-like trough, and then there’s a 50-foot drop. And Castaway Island is an appropriate cool-off attraction for kids of all ages with slides, tipping buckets, and ropes. www .canobie.com

Water Country

Surf’s up at this Portsmouth, N.H., water park — where 700,000 gallons of water produces monster waves in the giant wave pool. The Tunnel of Terror is a scary splash — the two-person tube ride twists and turns down a 40-foot plunge in an enclosed dark tunnel (then there’s that tornado funnel you’ll need to deal with). Ollie Octopus is a water slide for small children. Also for the kiddies is Pirates Pool and Lagoon — a 40-foot pirate ship with slides, water cannons, and an area where families can relax. You can rent a cabana or a wave pool suite — both are equipped with lounge chairs and table and chairs. www .watercountry.com

Laurie Wilson can be reached at laurieheather@yahoo.com.