Playing It Cool : Mountasia Family Fun Center’s rides and games offer amusing way to escape the heat.

If you’re looking to escape the Valley’s heat on an end-of-the-summer evening without having to drive to the mountains or visit the mall, check out Mountasia Family Fun Center in Santa Clarita.

With its bumper-boat rides, arcade games and miniature golf course, the center has a little something for everyone.

“It’s another way to stay cool,” said Michael Arguello, an Alemany High School senior from Mission Hills who recently visited the mini-amusement park, piloting a motorized bumper boat through the “Banana Boat Lagoon.”

“Right when you ‘bump,’ you get wet,” Arguello said. “After riding the boats, you can go to the Speedway and ride the go-carts to dry off.”

Mountasia also has a 10,000-square-foot air-conditioned arcade that features the usual games as well as a “motion ride simulator,” in which visitors “pilot” a jet plane at high speeds over mountains and canyons.

Those less interested in electronic action can check out the 13,000-square-foot air-conditioned roller rink. Skates are available for rent and there’s a disc jockey on duty offering skaters a choice of tunes, including Christian music on Monday nights.

For smaller children, there’s a three-dimensional maze-like attraction called “Moonbounce Playland and Giant Ball Pit” and an unusual device the center’s weekend manager, Charles Hernandez, has dubbed a “party machine.”

It’s a transparent phone-booth-type structure with an air blower underneath. A child climbs inside and a blower lofts a flurry of bank-note-size bits of paper into the air. Kids try to grab as many of these free ride coupons as they can in the short amount of time they’re inside.

Over at the miniature golf course, tiny overhead sprinklers spray a thin layer of mist over visitors, keeping them moist and cool. And don’t forget the batting cages and pizza restaurant on the premises.

BE THERE

Mountasia Family Fun Center, 21516 Golden Triangle Road, Santa Clarita. Weekend hours: Friday, 10 a.m.-midnight; Saturday, 11 a.m.-midnight; Sunday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Bumper boats and go-carts: three rides for $10; miniature golf: $6 for 18 holes; open skating: $4 day, $6 night; batting cages: 25 pitches for $1; arcade: four tokens for $1. Call (661) 253-4386.