Make Your Summer Epic With A Visit To This Hidden North Carolina Water Park

Built in the 1970s, Green Springs has several graded tiers perfect for jumping off of, some even reaching four stories high. There's also ropes for climbing, dangling and exploring.

Teetering on, 'too dangerous to actually exist in real life,' Green Springs is an echo of the past and of course, unregulated summer fun. Wetherington's creation exists on his own property, therefore, the backlash between fun and safety has indeed come up more than once. While the wooden wonderland is a utopia in its own way, it's also been the site of two accidents. Two young adults have drowned in both 2010 and 2015 with another injured person getting airlifted out in 2014. As a pushback or possible truth (who knows) the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources issued a statement last year stating water 200 feet from Green Springs was filled with bacteria and would cause an upset stomach.

Sure, maybe a towering wooden structure isn't the safest place to take small children, but for adventurous teenagers and adults it's a one-of-a-kind summertime experience. Wetherington has experienced a lot of pressure to take down the structure, but for a man who fought in the Korean War and led Boy Scouts on wild adventures, to him, fun comes in all shapes and sizes, and without rules.