Try an indoor water park for a warm winter treat

Posted by Bill on Monday, February 18, 2008   |   No Comments

About the only thing an indoor water park and a real beach have in common is water. At a beach, the temperature’s unpredictable. The same goes for the weather. But the indoor version of water fun is predictably pleasant, no matter what it may be doing outside.

The concept is pretty simple. Take lots of water, throw in water slides, tipping buckets, surf simulators and anything else you think people would need or want to enjoy the water. Enclose the whole thing in a temperature-controlled arena, add a Disney-like theme, music, etc., and you have an indoor water park. Many of them also throw in arcades, even indoor climbing walls.

The next step is to hook the whole thing to a full-service hotel, complete with restaurants, lounges and a big comfortable lobby. The result is why folks from the Midwest now have lots of alternatives to heading south for a mid-winter getaway.

Every state in the Midwest has indoor water parks, and a few have a surprising large number of them. This means getting to one, if you decide you want to give it a try, probably won’t require a marathon drive. Take a look at how they’re sprinkled across the Midwest.

Illinois 7
Indiana 3
Iowa 5
Kansas 3
Michigan 9
Minnesota 13
Missouri 2
Nebraska 2
North Dakota 2
Ohio 9
South Dakota 2
Wisconsin Dozens

Clearly, space doesn’t permit detailing each and every one of them, even the nine in Michigan. But here’s a start:

Avalanche Bay Indoor Waterpark
Boyne Falls
800/GO-BOYNE

Double JJ Resort Gold Rush Indoor Water Park
Rothbury (near Muskegon)
800/368-2535

Full Blast
Battle Creek
269/966-3667

Great Wolf Lodge
Traverse City
866/GR8-WOLF

Northpointe Inn Indoor Water Park Resort
Mackinaw City
800/576-2842

Splash Universe RiverRun Indoor Water Park
Dundee
877/752-7482

Sterling Inn
Sterling Heights
586/979-1400

Zehnder’s Splash Village
Frankenmuth
800/863-7999

Avalanche Bay is billed as Michigan’s largest indoor water park, and readers of the Detroit News voted it the state’s best. At 88,000 square feet, there’s plenty of room for a good time. Featured are rides, slides, pools especially for kids, a lazy river, a climbing wall and a surf simulator. And all of this is kept at a toasty 84 degrees.

Avalanche Bay is adjacent to the new Mountain Grand Lodge and Spa, Boyne Mountain’s newest hotel. Accommodations feature fireplaces, in-room whirlpools and kitchenettes. An 18,000-square-foot spa is also part of the complex. So if you’re looking for a site offering complete relaxation, this one would be good to check out.

And if you’d like to just poke around an indoor water park to get an idea of what you’re in for, there’s one a lot closer to home in Shipshewana, Indiana. The number for the Splash Universe WanaWaves Indoor Water Park is 877/752-7482. Enjoy.

Previous: Discovering surprising Lansing, part II

Next: Maple syrup festivals are a taste of spring