--- --- Mar 12, 2026 # Okana Resort & Indoor Waterpark Oklahoma City by Matt Kirouac  Courtesy OKANA Resort & Indoor Waterpark In the Chickasaw language, the words for water (“oka”) and friend (“inkana”) merge to form [Okana](https://www.okanaresort.com/)—a $400 million resort and waterpark from the Chickasaw Nation that’s making waves, both literally and culturally, on the Oklahoma River. Opened in February 2025, the 404-room resort is a water wonderland: a 100,000-sq.-ft. indoor waterpark with 15 waterslides, a wave pool, and splash pads, plus a 4.5-acre outdoor lagoon—one of the largest in the country—where kids tackle a floating obstacle course while parents sip frozen piña coladas on a sandy beach beneath artificial palms. Between foam parties, sandcastle competitions, and an adults-only warming pool, Okana has fun for every age. An on-site entertainment center ups the ante with a neon mirror maze and two-story laser tag, while a baseball-themed restaurant pairs gourmet hot dogs with sports simulators. Family-friendly suites feature bunk beds and balconies, and a retro candy shop tops ice cream with white-fudge corn twists from Chickasaw-owned Bedré Fine Chocolate. In fact, much of the resort is outfitted by Indigenous makers. Cherokee brothers Bryan and Jake Waytula made the murals. Tribally-owned Mahota Textiles made the upholstered headboards. Together with the neighboring [First Americans Museum](https://famok.org/)—the largest single-building tribal cultural center in the U.S.—Okana is establishing Oklahoma City as a capital for Indigenous art, culture, and entertainment. Okana Resort & Indoor Waterpark: World’s Greatest Places 2026 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places/2026/okana-resort-indoor-waterpark/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places/2026/okana-resort-indoor-waterpark/"},"headline":"Okana Resort & Indoor Waterpark","datePublished":"2026-03-12T10:56:37.067Z","dateModified":"2026-03-12T10:56:37.528Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places/2026/okana-resort-indoor-waterpark/","keywords":["World's Greatest Places","United States","list","franchise"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfbf03bb03f00eda7/69ae888d63356212d9bae24b/OkanaResortIndoor-Waterpark_WGP_2026.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675%2Coffset-x0.00%2Coffset-y80.24&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Matt Kirouac"}],"creator":"Matt Kirouac","articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfbf03bb03f00eda7/69ae888d63356212d9bae24b/OkanaResortIndoor-Waterpark_WGP_2026.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675%2Coffset-x0.00%2Coffset-y80.24&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/worlds-greatest-places/","name":"World's Greatest Places"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places/2026/okana-resort-indoor-waterpark/","name":"Okana Resort & Indoor Waterpark"}}]}] ```