Family Vacation at Six Flags Great Escape Lodge & Indoor Water Park

When searching for a family-friendly hotel to split up our long drive from NYC to Montreal, I happened across Six Flags Great Escape Lodge and Indoor Waterpark. We are all familiar with Six Flags - we think roller coasters, theme park, fun summertime day trip for the family. But did you know they have an amazing lodge with a HUGE indoor water park just 3.5 hours north of NYC, in the heart of the Adirondacks and Lake George area!! Click below to watch our YouTube video for a tour of the facilities and to see our crazy kiddos having a blast!!

It's quite affordable, too, with room rates from just $199/night, including waterpark access (if not staying overnight, you can also purchase day passes for the waterpark for $44.95 per guest and under age 2 is free, and seasonally of course also tickets for the amusement park). They have lots of kid-friendly activities going on during the day, including a Kids Klub with arts and craft and story times, a huge arcade, and 2 full-service restaurants on site (including Johnny Rockets). Something we didn't do, and I regret (so there WILL BE a next time...) is their Adventure Trek - basically you rent a wand and venture around the hotel on a mission of unlocking games and adventures, and all your points accumulate and will be there when you come back for your next stay! Sounds super fun!!

They had the lodge beautifully decked out for the Holidays, and have an adorable set up for photos with Santa. While it's brutally cold outside, it's summer year round at Great Escape Lodge and the perfect time to schedule your getaway!

The lodge is great, in a beautiful area with lots going on, but the indoor waterpark is what really makes Great Escape Lodge stand out as a great family vacation destination in my opinion. There's a little toddler area with baby swings and slides, a kid's area where you must ben 36-54" to ride the slides, and several body and raft slides for taller kids and adults (most were 36 or 42" and taller), a group raft slide (2-4 people per raft), and even a wave machine where you can boogie board or surf!!! I was too scared to try it but deeply regret that, so yet another reason we'll have to go back soon!! (Be sure to watch our YouTube video to see my hubby giving boogie boarding a go!!)

​The lazy river was probably my favorite, a bit awkward to manage with toddlers but we figured out a way to kind of perch one on each of our tubes, and our 5 year old floated along alone with or without a tube - they have free life vests for the kids to borrow! There were showers and changing rooms down there, but the lockers cost $17, so my recommendation is to leave valuables up in your room and just bring the bare minimums down to the waterpark. Also, they said the room is 82 degrees, but the water was a tad chilly, so just keep that in mind, especially if anyone in your family is very temperature sensitive, you may need take quick breaks to dry off or warm up with a hot shower. Though, we were there during a record breaking cold spell, so I'm not sure if the water/air temperatures were typical or not. Despite the shivers, we had an absolute blast!!

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Looking for more family vacation and weekend getaway from NYC ideas?? Check out my massive list here!!