Cascadia Kids

Family travel in the Pacific Northwest and BC

Water Parks, Pools & Amusement Parks

18 Tips for Visiting Great Wolf Lodge

Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, Washington is undoubtedly one of the most well-known Washington Water Parks. Whether you’re going for a birthday party, with one of the new day passes, or for a warm, light-filled spring break from always-rainy skies, Great Wolf Lodge is definitely a family favorite.

But before heading to any big-ticket, big-adventure resort with kids, it’s always best to ask an expert for tips. So I asked three British Columbia and Washington State moms who are repeat guests of Great Wolf Lodge for their best tips, and added a few more tips from my own research.

Of course, these are just opinions and suggestions. You may have your own spin on a Great Wolf Lodge stay with kids.

New Post: Great Wolf Lodge Day Passes: Are They a Good Deal?

Great Wolf Lodge: Basic Tips

Tip 1. Save money on your room

If you think about it, you’re mostly going to Great Wolf Lodge for the water and family-friendly environment, not the room. So this is an area to save, unless you plan to spend a lot of downtime in the suite.

The themed suite rooms (Wolf Den, KidKamp and Kid Cabin) at Grand Mound Great Wolf Lodge are cute and fun, “but we have found that you are not in your room long enough to make them worth the cost, if you can fit in a smaller room,” says frequent Great Wolf Lodge visitor and Kelso mom Melissa Parcel.

If you’re going with another family, have a very large family, or are thinking about a birthday party at Great Wolf Lodge, consider one of the premium rooms, where you can squeeze more people into a suite—with water-park wrist bands for everyone, up to the room’s maximum capacity. 

As well, although I’ve stayed primarily in smaller rooms in the past, last year I got to experience the much larger Majestic Bear Suite while staying at Great Wolf Lodge Grand Mound with three kids. It was pretty amazing to have the mental and physical space.

A perfectly fine room at Great Wolf Lodge Grand Mound
A suite room at Great Wolf Lodge Grand Mound with fold-out couch bed

Check Great Wolf Lodge’s website with special deals and coupon codes when booking, or sign up for sales alerts by providing your e-mail and cell number.

Remember that the resort fee ($29.99) and taxes do add a hefty amount to the final price. You can also check for Great Wolf Lodge Groupon deals.

You can also now request late-check out at 2:00, for $54.99, which ends up being about $18/hour. Is it worth it? Hard to say.

Find more tips for saving money at Great Wolf Lodge at the site Thrifty NW Mom.

Tip 2.  Sleep soundly—even at a crazy-busy water park.

For a quieter room, request a room away from the stairwells and on the opposite side of the I-5 freeway. Ask when making the reservation and upon check in.

Although there’s a rule about “quiet time” in the evenings, guests do say that unaccompanied children playing MagiQuest down the hallways can be an earful. Pack earplugs.

Tip 3. Book Great Wolf Lodge meals and activities in advance to save money and hassle.

If you’re really sure you want the on-site breakfast buffet at The Loose Moose Cottage (Yes, that’s the real name, 2.5 stars on Yelp), you can add a “Wolf Wakeup” breakfast package for $57.36 for four people (age doesn’t matter), whereas in person, a buffet meal may cost up to $20/adult. The total is lower when  purchased in advance and includes drinks. If you buy buffet on-site, it’ll cost more, and does not include drinks.

Tip: Children 3 and under eat in The Loose Moose for free, when another meal is purchased.

If you’d like to pay one price for all activities, add a Pup Pass, Wolf Pass or Paw Pass package to your stay. The Paw Pass is $59.99, and includes a lot MagiQuest or ShadowQuest wand and game, 20 points to use at the arcade, a 12-ounce candy cup (THIS IS A LOT OF CANDY BRING TOOTHBRUSHES), a scoop of ice cream, a round of glow golf, and a bag of gems from the Oliver’s Mining Company experience.

Dance party at Great Wolf Lodge Grand Mound

Tip 4. BYOB: Bring Your Own Breakfast

Or you could forgo resort breakfast altogether, as there’s a fridge and microwave in all Great Wolf Lodge Grand Mound rooms.

Korene Torney brought her own breakfast and snacks (cereal, yoghurt, fruit and vegetables) for the mini-fridge. Melissa Parcel brought along cereal and doughnuts for breakfast and sandwich making items for the next day’s lunch.

Don’t forget to bring camping-style dining equipment (i.e. paper or tin plates, cups, bowls) for your in-room service.

Korene Torney’s family also went to two Oregon-born restaurant chains in nearby Centralia: McMenamins Olympic Club and Burgerville (two thumbs up for both of those destinations from Lora!).

Tip 5. Go for a midweek Great Wolf Lodge resort stay.

To avoid crazy lines at these Washington water slides and to take advantage of great deals, head to GWL during the midweek, suggests Korene Torney, a Victoria, British Columbia mom to two girls.

But first ask if the hotel’s hosting a convention during your stay, she says. Conventions can stretch the hotel’s capacity.

Tip 6. Display your cell smarts.

When you check in, you’ll get an information packet that offers a cell phone number to register on your phone. “I did this, and coupons were texted to me, “ says Kirkland, Wash., mom Shannon Maher Longcore, a mom to three kids and frequent Great Wolf Lodge guest. “It saved us some money in their restaurants.”

Tip 7. Bring these items to Great Wolf Lodge.

Some items are very, very spendy to replace on-site, should you forget them at home. Pack swim goggles, earplugs, flip-flops, Aqua Socks (if your bare feet don’t like all that pebbly concrete) and a swimsuit cover-up. A plastic or reusable bag for wet swimsuits is also recommended.

Swimsuit cover-ups are particularly necessary, Torney says: “You want one because otherwise you’re forced to wear clothes over your suit to get between room and pool.” Men should bring t-shirts or a robe.

Pajamas or warm bedtime clothing are good to bring for storytime.

You can also reserve a pack ‘n’ play for babies, but they’re first-come, first-served.

However, you don’t need to pack a towel—towels are provided for free by Great Wolf Lodge. Life jackets also come in several sizes, notes Longcore, so there’s no need to bring one from home.

If you forget something and don’t mind going out, there’s an outlet mall nearby where you can resupply.

Tip 8. Avoid financing your GWL stay

The lodge, in partnership with Affirm, now offer loans for GWL stays. The rates, however, are quite high, and can run up to 30% APR, higher than many credit cards. As well, the estimated payment amounts don’t include taxes and other fees.

Great Wolf Lodge Activity Tips

Tip 9. Dive into a two-day Grand Mound resort stay

Your pass into the GWL starts at 1 p.m. (you can access your hotel room after 4 p.m.), as long as you stop by the front desk to pick up your waterpark wrist bands.

On the second day, check-out time is 11 a.m., and you can stay until closing (8 or 9 p.m.).

There are changing rooms and lockers for use before check-in and after check-out, but the lockers are fairly expensive.

“We just put our suitcases in the car, and had a small day pack with our necessities in it. That worked out great,” says Longcore.

Tip 10. MagiQuest Pros and Cons

A complete MagiQuest or ShadowQuest game will come to more than $30 total. That’s around $16-$22 for the wand, and about $15 per “game.”

If it’s your first visit, Melissa Parcel says you may want to wait to purchase the wands: “On our first trip, we caved and bought one for our son, but we spent all of our time in the water park and didn’t get any use out of the wand.”

Older kids seem to love the wand game, however, and repeat visitors seem to love playing MagiQuest.

If you leave near Great Wolf Lodge, you can visit at anytime just to play the MagiQuest game and run around the resort, which Melissa Parcel has done twice.

“It’s a pretty inexpensive day trip if you live a short distance away,” she says.

If you want to re-engage the wand, you’ll pay again, with each new visit. You can also use the wands at other properties (provided you pay the “re-up” fee).

Tip 11. Learn how to entertain teens at Great Wolf Lodge.

Teens will probably enjoy Great Wolf Lodge’s wave pool best, but they’ll probably also enjoy the arcade and newer Howlers Peak Ropes Course (not open in winter) for the day, at $19.99. The putt-putt golf is fine, but very small.

Teen activity at Great Wolf Lodge: Howlers Peak Ropes Course

The best way to bring a teen to Great Wolf Lodge is by allowing them to bring a friend and eat a lot of candy, IMO. 

Tip 12. Host grandma or friends while staying at the resort.

Purchase additional water park wristbands (for $41.20 each) for people visiting you at the water park, even if they’re not staying overnight.

Tip 13. Freeze Great Wolf Lodge-related tantrums and meltdowns.

“I think limiting pool play to three hours at a time works well,” Korene Torney says. After three hours, Torney’s family lets the kids eat and relax in the room.

It can also help to construct a schedule. Torney’s family wakes, eats in the room (with Starbucks from the lobby, delivered by her husband), goes on the morning “Howl Walk” at 9 a.m. (which includes a free craft), then pool time from 10-1.

They rest, and eat in the room or drive to Burgerville for lunch. Then it’s back into the pool around 5-7 p.m.; out in time for evening stories.

Tip 14. Water, water everywhere…but bring a drop to drink.

“The pool room is very warm, so just remember to  drink some fresh water while there,” says Longcore.

Longcore saw some episodes of possible kid-dehydration, despite all that chlorinated water around, some children forget to sip their drinking water. A Hydroflask keeps water nice and cold.

Tip 15. Carefully select GWL activities while on site.

There are many activities on-site, and at times, Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound feels like Vegas for kids. There’s glow-in-the-dark putt-putt golf, an arcade with prizes, a ropes course, Build-a-Bear workshop, Moonstone mine…it’s a lot.

I would limit kids to one activity while there, or you could end up spending hundreds of dollars and endure endless whining. Tell the kids they’ll get to pick one activity to do on the second day. Visit each location when you first arrive, and let the children carefully consider and weigh their options.

Or do as Korene Torney does, by giving kids an allowance of $15-20 each. “With $15, the kids can enjoy a craft, buy snacks or candy, a cheap souvenir, or pool the money together for one wand.”

As is usually the case with an allowance, this provided the perfect opportunity to teach them about the value of money while eliminating the perpetual ‘I wants,’” Torney says. “It worked great for us this year. They both bought ridiculous souvenirs, but enjoyed every minute of it.”

Tip: Bring your own hands-on activities, Torney says, and avoid spending too much on all the extras that cost extra (stuffed animals, putt-putt golf, and so on). You can pick up an inexpensive craft kit at Marshall’s or another discount store. 

Tip 16. Keep an ear and eye out for GWL freebies.

At times, there may be special free servings of cupcakes or cookies, free yoga classes, free crafts, evening dance parties, or other options you’d like to try out. Check the daily activity board, and read up on activity options in advance. Kids under age 3 eat for free in the Loose Moose, too.

Oh, and a set of wolf ears are included with your resort fee.

Tip 17. Snag your Great Wolf Lodge poolside spot.

“Friends of ours get down to the water area early and camp out at a table,” Longcore says. “If your kids are much older, and don’t need parents hovering, a table would be great.”

You can find more answers on the Great Wolf Ask-A-Mom site (but these answers seem to be pre-vetted by a corporate PR firm). 

Tip 18. Try some grown-up Great Wolf Lodge fun

The best part about taking older kids to GWL is that adults enjoy a cocktail or beer in the Lodge Wood Fired Grill while the kids watch a movie in the room or play MagiQuest. Or so I’ve heard. Your howlage may vary, depending on your kid’s maturity levels and ability to not go running into traffic. Leave lone wolves at your own risk.

Lodge Wood Fired Grill

Do you have great tips (or a promo or coupon code!) for families headed to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, Washington State? Leave your tips in the comments.

Read more about British Columbia (BC) Water Parks and Water Slides.

Oregon Water Parks

Oregon’s water parks are few and far between — most people flock to the sunny Oregon Coast to fill up on watery good times. But as if to make up for the lack of water parks, Oregon offers wonderful municipal aquatic centers. Here are Oregon’s water parks, aquatic centers and water slides.

 

Oregon water parks
Oregon Water Parks: Wings and Waves Waterpark

Wings and Waves Waterpark at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum. McMinnville, Oregon.

It’s an air museum. No, it’s a water park. Well, it’s both. Although admission is pricey ($32 for an adult), you’ll get to enjoy a wave pool, a vortex pool, fountains, slides that take you right past an airplane (and nine more slides), along with an indoor playground. Located about an hour away from downtown Portland.

Splash! At Lively Park. Springfield, Oregon.

In a Eugene suburb, this indoor city water park is one of the best in Oregon. Ride inner tubes in the wave pool, slip down the 144-foot water slide and let babies and toddlers sit in the bathtub-warm infant pool.

Pendleton Aquatic Center. Pendleton, Oregon.

A fantastic outdoor, summer-only aquatic center in dry, hot Eastern Oregon. Fountains, a giant pool (with zero-depth entry), huge slides and baby slides, too.

North Clackamas Aquatic Park. Milwaukie, Oregon.

A suburban indoor water park with three brightly colored water slides, an 85-degree wave pool and free lifejacket rentals. Just south of downtown Portland.

City of Astoria Aquatic Center. Astoria, Oregon.

When the weather just won’t cooperate, this North Oregon city aquatic center offers two slides, a hot tub, lazy river and toddler pool, along with the usual lap pool.

Emigrant Lake. Ashland, Oregon.

Yes, this is a lake — but it’s a lake with a water slide. How cool is that? A 280-foot twin flume water slide splashes down into the lake, right next to the campground.

Jamison Square. Portland, Oregon.

Located in the Pearl District shopping area — just a few blocks from Powell’s Books — this is a low-stress water feature. Fountains of water create little water falls down steps, which pour into a shallow bowl below, filling it. The water drains, and the cycle repeats. Great for toddlers and preschoolers.

Washington Water Parks & Water Slides

Washington State Waterparks
Washington State Waterparks: Birch Bay Waterslides

Need a way to cool off the kids this summer? Try one of Washington’s waterparks, where children (and parents) can ride down giant water slides, splash in water sprayparks, dump buckets of water on friends, play in a wet-sand playground or just chill in the pool. If you’re within an hour or two of the Washington-BC border, you may want to read this piece on BC Water Parks.

Ready? Let’s splash.

Water Parks in Western Washington

Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, Washington.

Washington State’s mega-water park that draws visitors from BC and Oregon, this indoor water park offers year-round fun — as long as you spend the night. No day passes here, folks. So with your night’s stay, you’ll also get admission to the indoor water tree fort, a crazy funnel water slide, rafting slides and four story flumes, among other wet ‘n’ wild stuff. For younger kids, there are kiddie slides, water guns, a wave pool and water basketball. Overstimulating, expensive, and well, kids love it.

Wild Waves, Federal Way, Washington State.

Washington State’s other water park, in an infamously temperature-variable area. You could end up riding water slides in mid-summer rain, under overcast skies or in glorious sun — perhaps  all in the same day. That said, this water park’s prices are a good value for bigger kids who are tall enough to ride the park’s multiple giant water slides  (42″ or taller) like Zooma Falls or Konga River and Slides. For younger children there’s the pirate-themed “Pirate’s Cove” spray playground. Look for coupons and passes to cut costs.

Birch Bay Waterslides, Birch Bay, Washington.

This year is Birch Bay’s 30th year of running a low-key outdoor waterpark alternative to the Big Boys (see above). They’re adding a pizza restaurant this year, and are planning to run lots of giveaways and discounts this year to honor their anniversary. The half-dozen slides include curlicue, straight-shot and drop chute rides, along with a children’s slide and tube slide. Nothing too fancy, just a nice way to cool down in summer.

Henry Moses Aquatic Center, Renton, Washington.

A great outdoor aquatic center with zero-depth entry (like a beach) suitable for toddlers, along with a toddler area; for bigger kids, a lazy river with tubes and a wave-machine enhanced pool, a spray area, an island lagoon, two big water slides, a water play structure. At just $14 per person over age 5 ( non-resident), not bad. Sells out fast though, so line up early.

Sprayparks and Wading Pools, Seattle, Washington.

Seattle’s communities are watered in summer by the City of Seattle’s wading pools and spray playgrounds (sprayparks). None of these are quite as wonderful as the ones in Vancouver BC,  but they’re not bad, if you’re in town. The lakes and shorelines of Seattle are also popular, and many have shallow depths suitable for toddlers/preschoolers, along with lifeguards.

 

Water Parks in Eastern and Central Washington

Blaster Ride: Slidewaters Waterpark in Central Washington
Blaster Ride: Slidewaters Waterpark in Central Washington

Splash Down Family Water Park, Spokane, Washington.

Six-story slides, body slides, tube slides, dark slides, four-story-tall bowl slides for big kids, teens and adults. For younger fry — a toddler/preschool-aged area with toddler slides, splashketball, a space where you can refill your water guns, and another area where you can launch water cannonballs at other people (who will hopefully remain your friends and family). For a less-expensive water experience, head upstream to the water jets and splashpads at Discovery Playground in Spokane Valley.

Surf ‘n’ Slide Water Park, Moses Lake, Washington.

Some municipal pools just do it right. This outdoor waterpark is like a mini-amusement park, with big (200 feet) and small slides, a lazy river, zero-depth entry points and a wet-sand playground for the littles and a surf simulator. Located off of I-90 between Spokane and the Cascades, this is a nice place to stop and cool off for a few hours. Admission $8-10 pp, so a pretty good deal.

Slidewaters, Lake Chelan, Washington.

The best  sunburn of my life came from this place, in eighth grade. I earned that burn. Slidewaters continues to thrill big kids and teens with the Downhill Racer and Purple Haze slides, and dependably sunny weather. In the past year, this small park recently added a long lazy river for summer tubin’. Wear your sunscreen.

Asotin County Family Aquatic Center, Clarkston, Washington.

Southeast Washingon’s place to slip down body slides, ride tubes down a slide or around a lazy river, a wave pool with kid-friendly zero-depth entry, and an adventure spraypark. There’s a giant indoor pool as well, with fountains, zero-depth entry and sprinklers, if you just need a break from the Eastern Washington sun.

BC Water Parks and Water Slides

Boomerang Ride at Cultus Lake Water Park, BC with kids
Boomerang Ride at Cultus Lake Water Park, BC

Cultus Lake Water Park, Fraser Valley, BC.

This waterpark offers a two new rides in 2013. The Boomerang takes up to four passengers in a raft  in a double-figure-eight slide, down 60 feet before diving to the ‘boomerang’ landing canal below. The Bazooka Bowls dares the daredevil — it takes riders through a black-hole flume, into a 30-foot bowl slide where they’ll rotate before dropping into a 9-foot bowl below. Too scary? There’s a spray “Pirate’s cove” that’s very cute and suited for younger children. OK to bring in your own food, and great discounts on the Cultus Water Park’s website.

Bridal Falls Waterpark, near Chilliwack, BC.

This BC water park is pretty straightforward — heated water (up to 80F) pours through four advanced slides, two intermediate, one tube and three kiddie slides under the shadow of looming mountains, along with a giant hot tub for the grownups. OK to bring in your own food. Near Harrison Hot Springs.

Harrison Water Park, Harrison Lake, BC

A summer water park actually located in a lake, Harrison Water Park functions like a freshwater playground. Scramble, bounce and slide on the inflatable equipment in the middle of Harrison Lake. It’s for ages 6 and up only; kids need to be at least 10 years old to be here unsupervised.

Splashdown Park, Tsawwassen, BC.

Just a short drive from metro Vancouver (and near the ferry to Vancouver Island), this park serves up a ramp slide, river run, body slide, five children’s slides and a big outdoor pool to splash in — a nice collection of water slides for the BC summer.  Look for the $8 off coupon on the park’s website.

Variety Kids Water Park,  Vancouver BC.

This free Stanley Park water playground or “sprayground” brings on the sprinklers, cannons and streams to create Vancouver’s largest outdoor spray park. On Granville Island, kids can play in the Granville Island WaterPark, which offers one slide along with a “spray park” area for toddlers and big kids. There’s also an outdoor spray park at Vancouver Aquatic Centre.

Atlantis Waterslides, Vernon BC.

In the hot, sunny BC interior, this water park keeps kids cool with 10 water slides, including the bumpy “River Riot,” three fast flumes and two gentle slides suited for preschoolers or toddlers. About 45 minutes away, young kids will like the colorful municipal Kelowna waterparks. (Check out this photo of Ben Lee Waterpark).

Harrison Hot Springs with Kids: Where to Eat, Sleep & Splash

My kids and I recently went on two trips to Harrison Hot Springs, which is about 90 minutes east of Vancouver, and two hours north of Seattle. And we loved it.

Harrison Hot Springs Resort outdoor pool.
Harrison Hot Springs Resort outdoor pool.

The hot springs of the town’s name are located inside Harrison Hot Springs Resort. While there are little restaurants and hotels in the town of Harrison Hot Springs, this is a town that takes up all of about four blocks, and in order to use the hot springs, you must stay at the resort. So for that reason, check out the family deals and specials offered through the hotel’s website.

The hotel itself, although called a “resort,” is a straightforward middle-class retreat. You won’t find a lot of fancy touches (although there is free wifi) or luxe trappings. The property almost feels like it’s from the 1980s, and I mean that in a good way. The resort attracts people of all income levels, nationalities and languages. No one is here to put on airs — you’re walking around in a bathrobe, for goodness sake.

The pools at Harrison Hot Springs:

Natural hot springs come out of the ground at 150-degrees Fahrenheit; cool water is added, then the mix is fed into the resort’s five pools (which are also chlorinated for hygiene). Outside, plunge into one of three pools: the rectangular lap 87F/30C pool or the asymmetrical curved lines of the 95F/35C larger family pool or adults-only 105F/40C-degree pool. The water is warm enough to sit around in, whether it’s summer or winter, night or day. After sunset, we saw kids bringing glowsticks into the pool — and at night, you can look up and name constellations overhead without city light pollution.

Outdoor pools at Harrison Hot Springs
Rainy day at Harrison Hot Springs Resort

In summer, a spray park sits beneath surrounding towering mountain range –great for toddlers and preschoolers.

Indoors, you’ll find two more pools — another large, rectangular warm pool, and a very hot circular tub (38C/100F) below a dramatic ceiling and skylight. You can go from warm to cool to hot in a matter of steps.

Rooms at Harrison Hot Springs
Inside Harrison Hot Springs Pools

No poolside towel service exists here; you receive towels in your room, and you might not have enough of them during your stay. It seemed like our towels were constantly wet. You might bring some super-absorbent pool towels from home.

Poolside deck chairs are available, but you won’t find much shade. Pack sunscreen. Also, if you’d like a deck chair on a sold-out weekend, you may need to send a member of your party down to scout out chairs early (7 or 8 a.m., perhaps).

Rooms at Harrison Hot Springs:

Family-friendly rooms at Harrison Hot Springs
East Tower rooms at Harrison Hot Springs

Rooms come in more than 25 configurations in four different buildings: each were developed during different time periods. Choose from the East Tower, Main Hotel, West Tower and West Wing. The East Tower offers the most modern, with larger rooms. The family rooms — in the Main Hotel — are historic (so historic, they don’t have air conditioning in summer…). The East Tower and West Tower have balconies, and most rooms have two Queen beds. Views are categorized as garden, pools, lake, mountain and village.

I don’t like a lot of commotion, and rooms facing the inner pools get noisy, so I ask for a lake view room. Many young professionals and groups of friends come here to enjoy the adult-only pool late into the night (the pools are open past midnight), so you might want to figure that into your room choice considerations.

Because the rooms are smaller, you may want to pack some board games and books for the common areas, which are spacious. Lots of little nooks, two-person chairs, couches in front of the fireplace and table-side seats.

Awesome stuff: Arrive by 4 p.m. to take advantage of the daily tea service, so you can get a cuppa and a cookie. On very busy weekends, you may not be able to check in right away at 4 p.m., if your room isn’t ready, so be prepared to walk along Harrison’s lovely beachside path or go play at the town’s playground for a few minutes.

Eating at Harrison Hot Springs:

Most rooms come with a mini-fridge, which is great if you’d like to bring snacks or your own breakfast. We enjoyed the hot breakfast buffet in the resort’s Lakeside Cafe once, and it was okay (great views if you’re lucky enough to score a window). But the buffet is not something I would make a habit of, due to the price (unless you get a Harrison resort package or deal). So you might bring cereal and milk for the fridge.

Lakeside cafe kid-friendly restaurant in Harrison Hot Springs
Getting served at the Lakeside Cafe

The resort’s “Miss Margaret” cafe serves quite good (and shareable) wraps and salads, perfect for a poolside lunch. The hotel’s Copper Room is renowned for its live music, fine dining and light-up dance floor. There’s even a children’s dance floor. However, it is very expensive — sort of a special night out. I’ve never eaten there.

Dining in town is also sort of 1980s  — at 2025 prices. Harrison Pizza is decent, has great service, and offers good deals.  The Yukiya Sushi spot is also fine (despite what the Yelp reviews say), but expensive. In the sushi restaurant, there’s a cute little table-booth that feels a bit more private — as a family, I’d go for that booth. 

Muddy Waters Espresso Bar serves up gourmet sandwiches featuring local ingredients (until 2 p.m.). But mostly, this is a town with $11-12 children’s meals (yes, you read that right), so you may well want to plan for PB&Js or sandwich wraps in the room. There’s no grocery store in town, so stop at the Costco in Abbotsford, at the Abbotsford Farm & Country Market or a grocery in Chilliwack, 25 minutes away to the west.

Kids at Harrison Hot Springs:

The hotel supplies you with two adult robes, but no robes for children. Bring robes for the kids from home, and do bring them — walking between the rooms and the pools can get very chilly, especially at night. During peak travel seasons, the hotel plays kids’ movies.

Be aware that because of the high mineral content in the water, your muscles get tired (aka “relaxed”) very easily, so don’t let the kids wear themselves out on the first day. There’s a zero-entry point (like a beach) for the outdoor pool, perfect for babies and toddlers visiting Harrison Hot Springs Resort.

Bring flip-flops to make an easier (and cleaner) transition between hotel room and outdoors, and between the indoor and outdoor pools.

Kids can wear floatation devices, bring toys into the pool with them, and so on — so don’t forget those toys, either.

There are no lifeguards at these pools. You are 100% responsible for your own kids.

In the main building, kids might like the game room with some old-school arcade games. The resort’s gift shop is definitely the best one in town for families, with board games, activity books, t-shirts, and water toys. Outside, on the resort’s grounds, there’s a small garden suitable for hide-and-seek.

Family Activities in Harrison Hot Springs:

Okay, the truth is that my kids and I mostly like sitting around and playing in the hot springs. If you’d like more though, there’s a nice playground and beach (bring sand toys) lakeside, a water park (like a water playground), surrey bikes for rent and bumper boats for rent. Nearby, you can hike at Sasquatch Provincial Park, which offers picnic tables and Bigfoot (or so I hope, although I didn’t see him when I was there). A public swimming pool sits right in the town center, but it’s not really worth a visit.

***

Later this week, I’ll talk about what else your family can do around Harrison Hot Springs, if you’d like to make it a multi-day stay.