If you’re tired of the cold and dreaming of the beach, warm temperatures and the sound of splashing water, you don’t need to wait a few more weeks for spring to come. Pack your kids up and take them to one of these indoor water parks—all within a few hours drive of Lancaster County.
Here’s a roundup of indoor family-friendly water parks. So grab a swimsuit and goggles for you and your kiddos and consider an indoor water park—a budget friendly alternative to a warm-weather vacation getaway this winter.
1. DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Hotel
(Lancaster, PA). Kids love the indoor water playground — complete with slides, dump buckets, and water sprayers. A shallow wading area features our frog slide and rainbow sprinkler. Right next to this, a twisting tube slide dumps you into a 5 1/2-foot pool with an exciting splash. They do not allow admission unless you are a guest staying for the night.
2. Water Works at the Hershey Lodge
(Hershey, PA). In 2016, the Hershey Lodge opened this new indoor water park in Pennsylvania. While our kids have never visited, my husband and I took some photos of the water park when we stayed there a few months ago. It is a smaller indoor water park for sure, but it would certainly be a great place for kids of all ages to hang out for a day. You must be an overnight guest in order to use the water park, but you might be able to find a room for as cheap as $100.
Savings tip >> Save hundreds of dollars on Hershey’s Water Works and get FREE kids meals using these secret frugal tips!
3. Great Wolf Lodge
(Poconos, PA). This park has something fun for everyone featuring slideboarding, the double barrel drop, hydro plunge, coyote cannon, totem towers and north and south hot springs.
Savings tip >> Groupon is offering a great deal right now starting at $99/night!!
If you are heading to Great Wolf Lodge, be sure to read the comments in this Facebook post for some excellent tips from local readers on how to save while you are there! This is one of our favorite indoor water parks in PA!
4. Kalahari Resort
(PA). Features flowrider, sahara sidewinders, a lazy river, Tanzanian Twister, Victoria Falls, a wave pool and more. Not to mention, this indoor water park in PA has a game room, mini golf, mini bowling, escape rooms and virtual reality.
Savings Alert >> Get a great deal on your Kalahari Resort visit starting at just $149/night!!!!
5. Camelback Resort
(Tannersville, PA). Every pool, ride, slide, retail and concession area at this indoor water park in PA is crafted to spark your imagination, pulling you directly into the pages of my incredible tales. Construction of a giant sphere filled with water slides and wonders alike defies the weather gods, and allows you to bask in 84-degree Caribbean-like water play, year-round.
Savings tip >> Discounted Camelback Resort tickets starting at $139/night are available on Groupon.
6. H2Oooooh! Indoor Waterpark
(Lake Harmony, PA). In this indoor waterpark you’ll find 53,326 square feet of slides, pools, and play areas at perfect swimsuit weather year-round. The most thrilling attractions—which include the Viper, Piranha, and Amazon Blast water slides—twist and turn from four stories all the way down to ground level, where even more rides wait. An indoor surfing machine, wave pool, and hot tubs add even more to the beach-like atmosphere.
Savings tip >> Discounted H2Ooooh indoor water park passes are available on Groupon for as low as $23.
7. Splash Lagoon
(Erie, PA). This indoor water park in PA has nine water slides, pools, hot tubs, a 12-level interactive Tree House, a Tree Tops Ropes Course, 6,500 square foot Arcade with over 100 games, a state-of-the-art Laser Tag facility, an Aqua Tumbler and Wild Waters Wave Pool.
8. Sahara Sam’s
(West Berlin, NJ). Sahara Sam’s indoor water park features flowrider, new water slides, adventure water playlands, tube slides, an obstacle course, and toddler play areas.
9. CoCo Key Water Resort at Hotel ML
(Mt. Laurel, NJ). The Hotel ML and CoCo Key indoor water resort features three giant water slides, a lazy river, an interactive aquatic gym and a state of the art arcade.
10. Massanutten Indoor Waterpark
(Massanutten, VA). Children of all ages will delight in our water fortress, inflatable adventures, body slides, pools, lazy river floats, and hot tubs. If you want to take your aquatic experience to the next level, learn how to surf on our FlowRider® Endless Wave.
Savings tip >> You might be able to find a timeshare deal to get tickets to Massanutten for FREE. That basically means if you sit through a few hours of their presentation trying to convince you to buy a timeshare through them, you’ll get free admission to the park and a nights stay.
11. The Kartrite Resort and Indoor Water Park
(Monticello, NY) The Kartrite Resort is a 3.5 hour drive from Lancaster County. It’s actually the largest indoor water park in New York, just beyond the Catskill Mountains. The hotel is comprised of 324 suites that comfortably accommodate adventurous families, while the indoor waterpark is home to 11 different aquatic attractions that hold something for both kids and adults.
Savings tip >> Groupon offers a fabulous deal for the Kartrite Resort with rooms starting at $129/night.
12. Fallsview Indoor Water Park
(Niagra Falls). Just a two-minute walk from Niagara Falls, this park features 3 Acres of Indoor Family Fun, 16 Thrilling Waterslides, and a massive indoor wave pool, and hot springs.
Savings tip >> You can get DISCOUNTED tickets to the Fallsview Water Park with your stay at Skyline Hotel, using this Groupon deal.
This is a 5 hour drive from Lancaster, but I included it on the list because its a fun excursion getaway for parents too!
Perhaps you are a visual person like me, and you love to see all the indoor water parks on a map.
Indoor Water Parks are a great money-saver compared to a long-distance getaway, but they can still be pricey. Which is why I took the time to share some tips for a budget-friendly stay at an indoor water park—including coupons, discounts and deals!
Related: 5 Tips for Taking Kids to Indoor Water Parks
