Indoor water parks are the perfect getaway, especially for people who live in areas where they can swim outdoors only three or four months a year.
Going to indoor water parks can also be a fun family activity. Many have giant water slides and other fun water activities that can help people of all ages happily pass the day away in the pool.
The following are indoor water parks in the United States that families can visit for some water fun any time of the year.
1. Chula Vista Resort, Wisconsin Dells
The Chula Vista Resort is where water adventurers can find the Lost Rios indoor water park. Speed down the Matador Mat Racers, venture into Mount Montezuma’s giant rain forest and float along the Rio Rapids action river.
Toddlers and younger children can have fun in the Incantinka Kiddie play area in the wading pool and enjoy the park’s different-sized miniature slides.
2. Splash Lagoon, Erie Pennsylvania
Splash Lagoon has consistently made the list of the top ten indoor water park resorts by USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards.
Some of the latest additions to the water park include a brand new treehouse full of colorful water sprayers, mini dumping buckets, and new water slides called Typhoon Twister and Riptide Racers. A Giant Tipping Coconut full of water sits atop the treehouse.
Guests will feel comfortable and like they are in a tropical location with the temperature always set to 84 degrees. With three hot tubs, seven water slides, the Tiki Tree House, Monkey Shine Island children’s area, and more, there is plenty to do and explore at this water park.
3. Great Wolf Lodge, Poconos Mountains
With too many activities in this indoor water park attraction to name, here are just a few:
- Fort Mackenzie is a four-story water fort treehouse complete with slides and toys.
- Crooked Creek is an excellent way to relax on a tube and float down the lazy river.
- River Canyon Run is a fun group activity where everyone sits in a raft and glides through gentle curves and bends.
- Coyote Cannon is exciting as you drop four stories before spinning down a water jet-fueled vortex.
4. FlowRider at Massanutten, McGaheysville, Virginia
FlowRider Massanutten WaterPark has an indoor portion and an outdoor water park. Always heated to 84 degrees, you can have fun at the water fortress, body slides, pools, lazy river floats, and hot tubs. For a unique experience, try out the FlowRider Endless Wave, a surf simulator machine that makes you feel like you are surfing.
5. Avalanche Bay, Boyne Falls, Michigan
Avalanche Bay is Michigan’s largest water park, with seven waterslides and four pools. The Big Couloir – the ultimate thrill ride – claims to have the steepest drop in the industry.
With several other activities like the Downhill Mat Racer, Lazy River Adventure, and Super-G Slide, guests will have tons of fun at this water attraction.
6. Kahuna Laguna Indoor Water Park, Conway, New Hampshire
Voted one of the ten best indoor water parks by USA Today’s Readers’ Choice, Kahuna Laguna is New Hampshire’s largest water park. Enjoy the water slides, three-story tubes, pools, waves, buckets, tree houses, bridges, fountains, and more. There is also a kid’s play area and an interactive water play structure topped with a tipping 70-gallon water bucket.
7. Six Flags Great Escape Lodge & Indoor Water Park, Queensbury, New York
Six Flags is more widely known for its fantastic theme parks. Well, the indoor water park in the New York location is just as exciting. Enjoy the thrill of a white water rafting experience, bodyboard and surf simulator, ride the tube slides, and explore the tree house full of more slides and many other water features.
8. Kalahari Resort, Sandusky, Ohio
The Midwest’s largest indoor water park, Kalahari resort, is full of wet and wild fun. Shoot hoops in a large water basketball pool, ride the Tanzanian Twister at 40 mph as you free fall into another pool, ride the Zimbabwe Zipper at 40 mph, take a raft ride on the Swahili Swirl, and much more!
9. Castaway Bay, Sandusky Ohio
This lush indoor water park resort lets guests enjoy a tropical Caribbean theme at Castaway Bay.
The water park is a five-story structure with palm trees, huts, inland lagoons and pools, and water features. Thrill seekers can check out Rocket’s Canopy Coaster, an uphill water coaster, and Air Racer Rally for tube slide racing.
10. Wilderness at the Smokies, Sevierville, Tennessee
The Wild WaterDome is Tennessee’s largest indoor water park with a transparent roof that keeps guests weather-safe while having fun in its pools all year round.
The WaterDome also features a thrill ride known as the Storm Chaser. This water slide plummets guests 55 feet down a dark tunnel before dropping through a zero gravity fall into a funnel. This is where riders experience several fast-speed oscillations before splashing into a pool below.
The water park has several multi-level slides, pools, and water activities, including a 10,000-square-foot rolling wave pool.
11. Timber Ridge Lodge & Water Park, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
At a balmy 86 degrees, guests can enjoy the 35-foot high slides that take riders on twists and turns as long as 300 feet that lead to a heated pool. Guests can also relax in a 500-foot lazy river or take the little ones to Tiny Timbers, a play area with plenty of slides, spouts, and activities for infants and toddlers.
12. Wilderness Resort, Wisconsin Dells
The Wild WaterDome indoor water park is home to the Great Wave, America’s largest indoor wave pool. The see-through roof allows guests to sunbathe and allows the tropical plants to flourish.
Other fun rides include the Dueling Mammoths family raft ride and the Mini Mammoths Cove zero-depth area for the smaller kids.
13. WaTiki Waterpark Resort, Rapid City, South Dakota
With 30,000 square feet of slides, a lazy river, Koko’s Kingdom, an activity pool, an oasis hot tub, and plenty of adventure for the little ones, WaTiki has something for everyone.
14. CoCo Key Water Resort, Mount Laurel, New Jersey
This water park will surely be a blast with nearly 1,000 feet of water slide adventure.
Sharks Slam is four stories high and almost 300 feet long, Barracuda Blast is a dark, thrilling ride down a 350-foot tube, and Pelican Plunge is a raft slide taking riders around curves and bends for over 300 feet.
Other features include Parrot’s Perch, an interactive aquatic jungle gym for kids with zero depth entry, slides, water cannons, and a 300-gallon bucket ready for dumping.
15. Camelback Lodge, Poconos Mountains, Pennsylvania
Aquatopia Indoor Water Park at Camelback Lodge has 13 different water slides, including tube, body, mat, and bowl slides, all under a skylit roof. Mountain Mayhem is the latest addition to the water park and is a giant 54-inch fully enclosed aqua tube slide that is 403 feet long, complete with flashing lights.
16. Big Kahuna’s Water Park, New Jersey
Formerly known as Sahara Sam’s Oasis, Big Kahuna is an island-themed water park featuring 60,000 square feet of indoor water park attractions under a state-of-the-art retractable roof for weather-proof fun.
Race down Raging Rivers mat racing slides, experience New Jersey’s only Flow Rider body surf simulator, slide down Mount Kilimanjaro on a full raft, and much more.
17. Epic Waters Indoor Water Park, Grand Prairie, Texas
Epic Water is home to eleven water slides like the Texas Twist, Yellowjacket Drop, and Lasso Loop, the tallest indoor Aqualoop ride in the country. With a lazy river and several other water play areas and activities, Epic waters is a fun-filled adventure.
Guests can also soak up the sun from the inside, thanks to a retractable roof.
18. The Kartrite, New York
This indoor water park has everything adults and kids enjoy under an impressive transparent roof. The park is consistently at 84 degrees, with 13 rides and attractions, including a lazy river and toddler area.
The Kartrite also has plenty of onsite dining options and accommodations, making it an incredibly enticing option for a family waterpark vacation.
Final Thoughts
Some of the best indoor water parks are in the northern United States, where the outdoor swimming season only lasts a few months during summer. Whether going on a road trip or having a staycation, visiting an indoor water park is an excellent option for families and people of all ages to have fun all year round.
This post originally appeared on Savoteur.
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About the author
Nadia Tahir
Nadia is co-creator and author of the blogThis Mom is On Fire, a place where busy moms can find ideas for family meals, kids activities and tips for saving time and money, as well as relate to common experiences in motherhood. She is also a freelance writer, primarily in the areas of lifestyle and personal finance.