Myrtle Beach is one of the top beach destinations on the East Coast. Known for its incredible Calabash food and miles upon miles of coastline, Myrtle Beach has become one of the best places to visit in South Carolina. This post will take a look at the best indoor water parks in Myrtle Beach, and why you should check one out.
Myrtle Beach is popular with people of all ages, but it is particularly known as a great place to take the whole family. As a kid, my family vacationed in Myrtle Beach almost every year.
While the restaurants and beaches are all great, there was one thing I always looked forward to about visiting Myrtle Beach: waterparks. Myrtle Beach’s waterparks are truly spectacular! While Myrtle Beach’s outdoor waterparks are a blast, there are a few really great indoor waterparks, too.
Advantages of Visiting an Indoor Waterpark
Not every waterpark is created equally. Some waterparks are indoors, some are outdoors, and others offer a little bit of both. While outdoor waterparks are more popular with most people, they aren’t always the best option.
Indoor Waterparks Mean Less Time in the Sun
Everyone wants to soak up some sun while on a beach vacation, but too much sun is a bad thing. If you are spending hours on the beach or at an outdoor waterpark, there is a good chance that you (or your family) will get a sunburn. Sunburns are always bad, but they’re even worse on children.
Nobody wants to spend their whole vacation in a hotel room, but this is often what happens if you get burnt early on in the week. Indoor waterparks prevent you from getting a sunburn, and are also safe to visit if you already have one.
Indoor Waterparks Are Great for Rainy Days
An unfortunate reality is that coastal areas receive a lot of rain. This is especially true during the summer. If the forecast is looking dim on one of the days of your vacation, you can head to an indoor waterpark, rain or shine!
For this reason, I highly recommend checking the weather in advance so that you can strategically decide when to visit a waterpark. If you’d prefer to visit an outdoor waterpark anyway, you can at least save the indoor park as a backup.
There Might Be an Indoor Waterpark at Your Hotel
Most of the best indoor waterparks in the world are attached to hotels and resorts. This makes visiting them incredibly easy if you are a hotel guest!
Getting in the car can be a hassle, especially if you have a family. Staying at a hotel with its own indoor waterpark can relieve a lot of stress. If the hotel is located right on the beach, you have immediate access to both the beach and a waterpark without the need to drive anywhere.
Many Indoor Water Parks Are Open Year-Round
Whether you visit in summer, spring, winter, or fall, an indoor water park is likely going to be open. This is a huge advantage over outdoor water parks, as they usually close at the end of the busy season. Even if they stayed open, who wants to sit in an outdoor lazy river in the colder months of the year?
What Kinds of Attractions Are at Indoor Waterparks?
Don’t let yourself be fooled. An indoor water park is not a milder version of an outdoor water park! On the contrary, indoor water parks are packed with fun attractions, from tube slides to hot tubs.
At a major indoor water park, you can expect to see hot tubs, an indoor lazy river, a large indoor pool (or several), a wave pool, indoor water slides, and more. Every park is unique, but these things tend to show up at each one. Regardless of the indoor water features that a park has or doesn’t have, you’re bound to have a great time.
List of the Best Indoor Water Parks in Myrtle Beach
There are plenty of places in Myrtle Beach with nice indoor lazy rivers and pools, but the vast majority of “indoor water parks” you will find online are just that. They don’t have any waterslides! These three parks are all true, bonafide indoor waterparks that are sure to be a blast for the entire family.
Indoor Water Park at Dunes Village Resort
Dunes Village Resort has the largest indoor water park in Myrtle Beach, and the competition isn’t even close. This massive complex in North Myrtle Beach is easily one of the best hotels in the Grand Strand, and it even markets itself as the top waterpark resort in the Myrtle Beach area.
Complete with gorgeous bedroom suites, a fitness center, a business center, and on-site restaurants, Dunes Village has everything you need for a great stay in Myrtle Beach. This is even true during the colder months!
Its waterpark is second to none in the area. You could spend days enjoying its 30,000 square feet of indoor water fun. At the Dunes Village waterpark, you can find a teen pool, an indoor kiddie pool, tall 20-foot body slides, a lap pool, a spacious indoor pool, and other indoor water amenities like a splash pad.
While the resort’s main attraction is its waterpark, you can also find several outdoor pools, a good spa, and outdoor cabanas onsite. The Dunes Village Resort doesn’t have any golf courses of its own, but several can be reached in just a few minutes by car.
Indoor Waterpark at Crown Reef Beach Resort
Crown Reef Beach Resort runs an indoor waterpark with “300 feet of slides and 365 days of fun.” The Crown Reef Resort Waterpark reaches almost 40 feet above the ground and features a 278-foot long two-person tube waterslide, a single-person 302-foot long waterslide, and an 8-foot tall, 20-foot long slide for small children.
On top of these slides, you can look forward to checking out Salty’s Splash House, which features water buckets that dump all over the surrounding play areas, kid-friendly waterslides, and more. This area is open-air during the warmer months, and closes its retractable roof for the winter months.
Crown Reef Beach Resort is a Myrtle Beach favorite, and it is a very nice place to take a family, both during the summer and the cooler months. Its location in South Myrtle Beach makes it very accessible from many oceanfront hotels in the heart of Myrtle Beach. This is crucial when traffic really picks up in the summer!
Indoor Waterpark at Ocean Reef Resort
Of the hotels on this list, Ocean Reef Resort has the smallest indoor waterpark. In fact, it is a stretch to even call it a waterpark. The resort has an indoor pool, indoor kiddie pool, and indoor lazy river. In addition to these, it has a very nice outdoor waterpark area.
Compared to the other two hotels on this list, Ocean Reef’s waterpark is very underwhelming. However, it does still offer a nice place with a blend of indoor and outdoor water fun for families. Personally, I recommend either going to one of the first two places on this list, or biting the bullet and going to a large, outdoor waterpark.
Hotels in Myrtle Beach with an Indoor Lazy River or Outdoor Waterpark
There are a lot of hotels in Myrtle Beach that have some indoor water features and outdoor waterparks. I wouldn’t go as far as calling any of these places an “indoor water park,” though. The hotels on this list all have wonderful combinations of indoor and outdoor water features, including a range of indoor pools and lazy rivers to outdoor water slides and splash zones. One even has its own Silly Submarine!
Should You Make a Reservation at a Hotel with an Indoor Water Park?
Whether or not to make a reservation directly at a hotel with an indoor water park is a valid question to ask. The answer really boils down to personal preference, hotel policies, and budget.
Some hotels with indoor water parks only grant access to guests. Others grant access to anyone who pays an admission price. If you’re considering staying somewhere other than the hotel with an indoor water park, you will want to make sure that they allow outsiders.
These hotels also tend to be a bit more expensive because of all the amenities that they provide. If you want to visit the indoor water parks but don’t want to pay the elevated nightly rate, you might consider staying elsewhere!
Finally, not everyone wants to stay at a large resort! If you have a reason to stay elsewhere, stay elsewhere. This may a timeshare, a location preference, a budget, or something else.
At the end of the day, there is no right or wrong answer. There are advantages to staying directly at the hotel with the indoor water park, but there are also advantages to staying elsewhere!
Other Things to Know About Visiting Myrtle Beach
As Myrtle Beach has exploded in popularity over the years, it has become increasingly amenable to tourists. For example, the area didn’t used to have its own airport, and now it has one that services direct flights all around the country! Myrtle Beach is one of the fastest-growing beach cities on the East Coast, and there are a lot of reasons to visit.
If you are planning a trip to Myrtle Beach, I highly recommend checking out my detailed Myrtle Beach Travel Guide. It lays out everything to know about the best things to do in Myrtle Beach, how to get there, how to get around, safety, and more. If you are planning a trip to Myrtle Beach, you’ll be happy that you read it…I promise!
If you’re planning a trip to Myrtle Beach, comment below!
We’d love to chat ahead of time and answer any questions you have.
