Is there anything more summer than a slip and slide?! I definitely slid down my fair share of slip and slides as a kid.

A few summers ago, my husband and I decided to take advantage of our sloped backyard and gathered the supplies for a giant 100-foot slip and slide. This DIY is perfect for the whole family!

It’s pretty quick to set up, and while a sloped yard is super helpful, you can also do this on a flat surface.

The other great thing is that you can reuse the main items year after year, and even use them for other things as well! We brought ours with us in our move from Nashville and set it up again in our front yard here in Pittsburgh.

And just a very clear safety warning, you can totally injure yourself on a slip and slide when being too energetic or reckless, so please go easy and be careful!

Slip and slides can be a family-friendly afternoon of fun for everyone when enjoyed safely at appropriate speeds, but I think everyone has also heard a slide-related injury story, so be smart and use good judgment—especially when kids are present. One person at a time is the safest way to slide.

OK, here’s how we made our own giant slip and slide!

Supplies:
-box of pool noodles (you’ll want about 30-35 noodles)
–100 feet of plastic sheeting (6 mil thick)
-additional 6 ml of sheeting for splash zone (optional)
–6″ lawn stakes
-4-6 hay bales
-hose or sprinkler for water source (at the top)
-liquid soap (optional) *something natural like this is a good idea so it won’t hurt your lawn

First, lay out your 100-foot plastic sheet on the yard. Lay out your pool noodles on each side of the sheet, saving one or two for the very top of the slide.

Ideally, you want your noodles to lay end-to-end down the sides, but if there’s a little space between them, it’s fine.

With one person working each side of the slide, roll your pool noodles into the plastic sheet so the noodles are a little more than fully wrapped inside it.

Use your 6″ lawn stakes to keep your noodles in place (you’ll want at least two per noodle). You might want to use a rubber mallet to fully hit them into the ground.

Move onto the next noodle and work your way down the slide as someone rolls and stakes the opposite side as you go. Once all your noodles are in, roll a noodle into the top of the plastic and stake it in place so the top is secured.

We found that hay bales are a great way to make a little stopping point at the end of your slide since they are solid (but forgiving) if you hit into them at the end. They also make a little splash zone at the end, which is kind of fun!

Set your hay bales up in a semi-circle at the end of your slide and pull the bottom of your long plastic sheet up and over the bales and secure with stakes on the other side. You can go into the bottom back of the hay bales or the ground.

Or you can use a separate piece of plastic sheet if you have another one and cover over the whole thing first, tucking all the extra under the bales. Then, pull the bottom of your long plastic sheet up and over.

The extra sheets tend to keep the bales in place and cover over all the hay, which can be a little scratchy to hit into with your bare skin.

Once your slip and slide is in place, it’s time to add water and start sliding! We set up our hose nozzle on the shower setting and laid it at the top of our slide for our water source. You really don’t need a lot of water to get going on the slide, so find the lowest setting that still allows you to have enough to slide on.

Should I use soap on the slip and slide?

Putting down a little soap on your body, a raft, or the slide can also help, but don’t go crazy—you just need a little bit! Make sure to turn off the water if no one is sliding or if you take a snack break to conserve use.

Blowing up some pool rafts is also a fun way to go down the slide, and they give a little more cushion. Kids love them, too!

I strongly suggest using the 6″ long stakes since they are much less likely to come out or be a safety hazard. I went around with a rubber mallet halfway through the party and hit back down any stakes that were trying to come up, just to be safe.

How do you remove and dry the slip and slide?

When it’s time to tear down the slide, pull out all the stakes and unwrap the pool noodles. Let the noodles fully air dry before putting them away back in their box. The hardest part of the slip and slide process is drying out your long slide before putting it away.

You’ll want to get it up off the ground so both sides are dry before you put it away—that way, you don’t pull out a gross moldy tarp the next time you go to use it.

You can hang the slide over porch railings, outdoor chairs, or a fence, but you really want it to be pretty dry before putting it away (you can towel off areas as needed).

The hay bales can be used in the yard for landscaping purposes (we’ve been growing grass and reseeding patches constantly) or you can use them for bonfire seating or fall decor as it gets later in the season!

This was such a fun summer afternoon for us and our friends! And I’m so happy we blew up our rainbow arch sprinkler for the top as the entry point. We used it more for looks that day—a sprinkler can also be a great water source for the top of your slide!

I hope you enjoyed seeing one of our favorite summer traditions! xo. Laura

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