13-02-2025
What can you do at OKANA when it opens? A look at attractions and amenities
A 300,000-square-foot indoor and outdoor waterpark is drawing excitement among future visitors to OKANA, but the resort offers an array of entertainment, dining and activities that won't require getting wet.
The indoor and outdoor waterpark is visible to thousands of Interstate 40 travelers who drive past the resort along the south shore of the Oklahoma River. The 100,000-square-foot indoor waterpark, with tubes winding in and out of the building, features 11 pools, 15 slides, an array of rides, a lazy river where visitors can float in innertubes, and an outdoor lagoon where people can relax on the beachfront.
For those just wanting to spend a day at the waterpark, passes will start at $49 with pricing varying based on the type of pass, season and demand. Special pass pricing will be provided to veterans, and children 2 and younger will be admitted for free.
More: From a tiny hotel to a $400M resort: OKANA was 50 years in the making for Chickasaw Nation
Hours at the indoor waterpark will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The outdoor waterpark will be open Memorial Day through Labor Day with peak outdoor hours of 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and non-peak outdoor hours of 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The 11-story hotel at the heart of the resort features 404 rooms, 100 of which come with patios or balconies. Room sizes range from 420 to 720 square feet with views of either the Oklahoma River, the outdoor adventure lagoon or the downtown Oklahoma City skyline.
Room prices start at $249 a night and include two waterpark passes.
The resort will open with 13 food and beverage options ranging from OKANA Candy Co., home to a mix of candy, confections and ice cream, to Curveball, a restaurant that will feature the state's first high-definition baseball simulators.
Curveball is one of four primary restaurants that also will include Jack Rabbit gastropub; Chido Tacos x Tequila, which will feature Mexican street food inspired cuisine; and Smokehouse Social, BBQ with golf simulators. All four restaurants can be patronized without a waterpark pass or a room at the hotel.
Resort concessions will include Frosty Flamingo, a Hawaiian-style shaved ice stand; Market 56, a grab-and-go spot for coffee, pastries, sandwiches and salads; Kaya, Asian-inspired traditional fare; Pie Lab, Neapolitan-style pizza; Waterbyrd Chicken Shack (seasonal); Sliders, a fast, casual smash slider bar; Okasis, (seasonal) a swim-up cocktail bar; and Dive Bar, featuring elevated tropical drinks.
Entertainment options will include OKANARAMA!, a family friendly video arcade that will include AR/VR games, laser tag, escape room, mirror maze and redemption games; and two landscaped amphitheaters featuring open air stages and seating for up to 2,500 guests.
Retail will include Dock Shop, a mix of gifts, apparel and souvenirs; and Exhibit C Gallery, a First American art gallery owned and operated by the Chickasaw Nation.
The resort includes 27,000 square feet of ballroom and conference space and the Spa at OKANA, a full-service spa with seven treatment rooms, manicure and pedicure stations, a specialty product line, a relaxation area, and men's and women's locker rooms with saunas.
The resort is designed to be walkable with surface parking located along the entry drive closest to free-standing restaurants and shops and a garage available for hotel guests. The resort also adjoins the First Americans Museum, which opened in 2021.
The museum features the 90-foot-tall glistening glass curved wall of the Hall of the People, the welcoming outdoor sculpture "Touch to Above," the circular Origins Theater and historic exhibits.
Designed and outfitted with input from all 39 tribes headquartered in Oklahoma, the $175 million, 175,000-square-foot museum opened in 2021, almost 40 years after it was initially envisioned. The museum is also host to crafts festivals and First American celebrations.
Construction, meanwhile, continues on a landing for the Oklahoma River Cruisers at OKANA, and a pedestrian bridge that will connect the resort to trails on both sides of the river, Riversport Adventures, an outdoor recreational park, and Bricktown, the state's premier urban entertainment district.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKANA resort OKC: What to know about restaurants, water park, hotel
