The 13 Coolest Indoor Water Parks for Year-Round Fun

Great Wolf Lodge has had a big year on the East Coast! Its Poconos location, which has been our family’s favorite for years now, recently wrapped up major renovations, and it recently opened its 20th lodge in Perryville, Maryland. At the Maryland location, you can enjoy more than 20 slides and attractions in the 128,000-square-foot Great Geyser Water Park, including tandem racing and family rafting. When you need a break, kids can mini golf, bowl, brave a sky-high ropes course and run around the entire first floor while trying to defeat the dragon in MagiQuest, a live-action adventure game that uses interactive wands to uncover relics, runes, treasure and more. (Your kids will be obsessed—trust me.) Nighttime also brings a dance party and story time in the lobby before you head up to themed suites, some of which come with their own log-cabin sleeping areas.

Working up an appetite just thinking about all of that? Aside from an extensive buffet, grab-and-go options and even a Dunkin’, this Great Wolf boasts the lodges’ first upscale dining experience, Barnwood, which a Reader’s Digest editor who recently visited raved about. Let’s put it this way: You’ll feel like you’re at a proper restaurant, not a kiddie-centric hotel.

Pros:

• Brand-new facilities, with a 128,000-square-foot water park and themed suites
• Water-park passes are included with your stay
• Three grab-and-go options and four eateries, including an upscale (yet still kid-friendly) restaurant
• Works with IBCCES, the global leader in autism and neurodiversity certification, to train employees and provide an inclusive experience

Con:

• Cashless

Little ones will have a blast at Rocking Horse Ranch—and so will you! This all-inclusive dude ranch in Upstate New York features both indoor and outdoor pools and water parks. Full disclosure: Rocking Horse’s indoor water park is the smallest my family and I have ever been to. However, as a mom of multiple children, that’s what I love about it! It’s easy to keep eyes on the young ones while they splash and slide, while bigger kids can enjoy the indoor pool and hot tub.

In addition to the water park, the resort offers family-friendly activities all day long. From morning bingo and trivia in the lobby to nightly entertainment, there are plenty of activities to stave off boredom. Another perk? Of all the indoor water parks I’ve visited, Rocking Horse Ranch has the best food. All meals are included with your stay and prepared by a Culinary Institute of America–trained team using fresh ingredients and locally sourced produce whenever possible.

Pros:

• Small indoor water park, which makes it easy to keep eyes on small children at all times
• All-inclusive
• Delicious food prepared by chefs trained at the Culinary Institute of America

Cons:

• Pricey
• Rooms are on the small side

Embark on a wet-and-wild safari at the Africa-themed Kalahari Resorts & Conventions. Once you arrive at this 220,000-square-foot indoor water park, be sure to check out the new VR waterslide—there are multiple experiences, so no two rides will be the same! Then, grab a mat and race your pals in the Cheetah Race, test your surfing skills on the FlowRider or ride the Kenya Corkscrew tandem tube slide with your kids.

There’s also plenty to do that doesn’t involve water, including hang at an arcade and chow down at a selection of eateries ranging from grab-and-go delis to a sit-down steakhouse. And if you can sneak away from the kids for a bit, make sure to treat yourself to a massage, pedicure or other pampering service at the on-site spa. Hey, you deserve it!

Pros:

• Five high-thrill waterslides that bigger kids will love
• 10 moderate waterslides that everyone can enjoy
• On-site spa

Con:

• Additional cost for the VR waterslide and all activities outside the water park

To see the largest indoor water park in North America, check out New Jersey’s DreamWorks Water Park—all 375,260 square feet of it! This massive indoor water park is home to the largest wave pool in the country, and it also boasts more than 40 slides, rides and attractions, including an extreme 142-foot speed slide that rockets you down 14 stories via trap-door capsules. Thrill-seekers won’t be disappointed.

Less than an hour from Manhattan and just a few minutes from MetLife Stadium, DreamWorks is located in a massive shopping and entertainment complex at the Meadowlands. And while it isn’t attached to a hotel, that doesn’t mean you can’t chill out in style while you’re there. For some serious VIP treatment on your day trip, book a luxury suite at the park, which comes complete with complimentary drinks, beach towels, comfy couches, cable TV, hot-tub access and more. You can even book a private in-suite massage!

Pros:

• Less than an hour from New York City
• Largest indoor water park in the country, with one of the tallest waterslides in the world
• Kids can meet their favorite DreamWorks characters, including Poppy (Trolls), King Julien (Madagascar) and Puss in Boots
• Luxury suites available for rent

Con:

• Not part of a themed resort or hotel

America’s largest water-park resort is comprised of four indoor and four outdoor water parks, each of them connected via enclosed skywalks. The water parks, which range in size from 65,000 square feet to 70,000 square feet, are home to a number of thrilling slides, rafts and tube rides, including two brand-new two-lane dueling rides designed to be enjoyed with friends. There’s even a new swim-up bar for the adults. The fun continues indoors with black-light 3D mini golf, a ropes course and more. With so many parks and activities to choose from, this Midwest vacation spot definitely calls for a multiday visit.

Traveling with the whole crew? No problem. The resort offers accommodations for families of all sizes. From a standard room that sleeps four to a 3,910-square-foot, five-bedroom treehouse cabin that sleeps 22, Wilderness Resort will ensure the entire gang are sure to fit comfortably in the room of your choosing.

Pros:

• Four different indoor water parks in one resort
• Brand-new slides at the newly renovated Wild West Water Park
• Skywalks allow you to avoid hotel hallways and move between parks quickly

Con:

• Some families might feel overwhelmed by its size

Aquatopia sits next to Pennsylvania’s largest outdoor water park, providing a one-two punch that makes access to water play a cinch—no matter what the weather is like. Spread out across a whopping 125,000 square feet, this amusement park is a maze of 13 slides and seven pools. Its must-try attractions include the new Mountain Mayhem, a fully immersive multisensory waterslide; Storm Chaser, North America’s longest uphill water coaster; and Venus SlydeTrap, a very cool family rafting experience in which you’re enclosed in a sphere.

Planning a long getaway with friends and family? In addition to an array of spacious suites, the resort offers condos that have full kitchens and sleep up to 14 people. And yep—entrance to Aquatopia is included for each overnight guest.

Pros:

• 453 guest suites, condos and lofts that can accommodate up to 14 people
• Water-park admission included with your overnight stay
• 30,000-square-foot arcade with more than 100 video and interactive games
• More than a dozen dining options

Con:

• Daily parking fee

The Bavarian-themed town of Frankenmuth has been luring loyal visitors since 1856, in part because of Zehnder’s, the beloved family-owned indoor water park that’s also Michigan’s largest. Made up of two distinct water parks—one with a retractable roof for maximum enjoyment of those precious summer months—Zehnder’s features a six-story family raft ride, four-story tube slides and the Whimsical Whirl Hot Tub, to name a few standouts.

The adjacent Spanish-themed hotel makes planning an overnight trip easy, but the best part about this destination is the price. A two-night, three-day weekend stay for our family of six—which includes admission to the water park and an optional package that comes with a family-style chicken dinner and an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet—would cost us $553 per night. To break that down for you further, that works out to $92 per person or, without the meal package, $70 per person. Most other parks would likely ring in at between $100 to $160 per person, not including meals, so this is a serious deal! The resort also offers complimentary shuttles to get you around all of its properties, and those mystery resort fees won’t be added to your bill.

Pros:

• Reasonably priced packages that include water-park admission and meals
• No resort fees
• Complimentary shuttles between properties

Con:

• Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the fall and winter months, which is problematic if you prefer to visit midweek, when crowds might be smaller

Nestled in the Catskills, less than two hours from Manhattan, is New York’s largest indoor water park. High-speed waterslides like the Krakken, Nor’Easter family raft ride and Jiggerty-Jaggerty tandem-racing slides will delight thrill-seekers of all ages. And if you’re traveling with younger children, they can splash around in the Puddle Ducks Lagoon, wait under a massive water-dump bucket at Kartrite Island or try crossing the Later Gator Crossing rope bridge.

The resort has 324 suites that can accommodate anywhere from four to 12 guests. However, it’s worth noting that each room comes with only four water-park passes. That may sound like a lot, but most indoor water parks include passes for each registered guest. Kartrite gives only four, so families with more than two children will pay extra per child, per night. Larger families can add additional water-park passes to their room reservation to reach the maximum capacity per room for a fee of $75 per person, per night.

Pros:

• A quick trip from New York City
• Almost all rides are suitable for two passengers, making them a fun family affair
• The resort also has a ropes course, laser tag, climbing walls, virtual reality, escape cube and mini bowling

Con:

• Only four water-park passes included with each room

Just two hours north of the Windy City, you’ll find Timber Ridge Lodge and Waterpark in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. This family-friendly getaway features 50,000 square feet of fun, including 35-foot-high slides and a 500-foot lazy river. The youngest guests will love splashing around the Tiny Timbers section, which has plenty of swings, slides, spouts and a water table. And the fun doesn’t end there: Check out Crazy Coyotes Arcade for dozens of arcade games, or enjoy daily activities like family movies, arts and crafts, scavenger hunts, trivia and bingo.

After a day full of swimming and splashing, families of all sizes will feel right at home in one of the resort’s 225 hotel suites. Two-bedroom suites accommodate up to seven people and feature a living room with a fireplace, master bathroom, flat-screen televisions and a full kitchen in case the kids are completely tuckered out or you just want to save a few dollars.

Pros:

• Lodge suites with full kitchens, whirlpool baths and complimentary housekeeping
• Plenty of daily activities
• The water park isn’t open to the general public, only hotel guests