A splash pad is an area for water play that has no standing water. This is said to eliminate the need for lifeguards or other supervision, as there is no risk of drowning.

Typically there are ground nozzles that spray water upwards. There may also be other water features such as a rainbow (semicircular pipe shower), a mushroom shower, or a tree shower.

The showers and ground nozzles are often controlled by a hand activated-motion sensor, to run for limited time. Typically the water is either freshwater, or recycled and treated water, that is typically treated to at least the same level of quality as swimming pool water standards.

Public urbeaches

Urban beaches provide an urban oasis in the concrete jungle, and make great places to relax and contemplate, or to read the newspaper while taking a break from work. Ideally they are located within walking distance of the workplace, so that users can spend their lunch hour there to enjoy a break from the city. Typically water features also create white noise that masks the sounds of traffic, to transform the space into a virtual beach resort. Reading a novel, in an urbeach, one will quickly forget that one is in the city. The soothing combination of sun and water, punctuated by the shrieks and laughter of children playing in the water, transforms the mind into the same state it is in when one is on vacation at an expensive beach resort in the Bahamas.

An urban beach (urbeach), is an urban oasis designed so that waterplay is among one of its various usages. Although not limited to waterplay, an urbeach is multi-purpose.

Many splash pads have some features such as fine mist, that are designed to be moderate enough for children. Other splash fountains are designed for adults, e.g. for joggers or concert goers to cool off in. The splash fountain in Toronto's city center, Dundas Square, features 600 spray nozzles that shoot water straight up through stainless steel grilles set right in the middle of the main walkway. The nozzles rise and fall in unison, like the waves on a beach, so that there are times when the water level is low enough for children to also play in the water. The heights of all the fountains rise and fall in unison, in a sinusoidally time varying manner, to create the atmosphere of an urban beach.

The Dundas Square fountains are maintained to a high quality of cleanliness ("pool water or better" standards, according to the maintainers of the facility) because, unlike most city center fountains, these ones were designed for waterplay. Special nonslip granite slabs were installed to ensure the safety of children and adults alike. Although there are changerooms at level P1 (the parking garage directly under Dundas Square), many people splash spontaneously, without having planned a trip in advance, therefore not having brought a bathing suit. People simply take off their shirts and shoes, roll up their pant legs, and run through. Thus, as is typical of urbeach changing facilities, only one sixth of the washroom space is devoted to use for changing, and the men's and women's washrooms/changerooms in total only comprise six parking spaces worth of space in P1. The architects even had to go to great lengths to justify the use of six revenue-generating parking spots for a facility that does not, in itself, generate revenue.

Private urbeaches

List of urbeaches available for public use

• Jamison Square: On a busy summer day, Jamison Square in Portland's Pearl District draws people of all ages from all parts of the city.
• Dundas Square, located at Yonge and Dundas streets in the heart of downtown Toronto