A couple weeks ago we made the 7 hour drive over to OKC for the weekend. It was Amelia’s 7th birthday, and the kids really wanted to see her and celebrate with her. = ) My dad joined us too, so I ended up booking 2 suites at Lively Hotel on OAK. It was so perfect for a large family and group. The hotel was in such a great part of town. There was a huge green space out back to run around and play in and tons of shops and restaurants all within walking distance.
We only had one full day, but we ended up making the most of it and squeezed in as much fun as we could! Keep reading below for my itinerary for a weekend trip in Oklahoma City. There is still SO much more to do than this, but if you only have a couple days with family, I definitely recommend adding the below to your list!
Spend the day at Science Museum Oklahoma – This was our second time to visit this museum, and there was still so much this time that we didn’t see the last time we were there. We spent 5 hours here, and we definitely still left several parts of the museum untouched. You could easily spend a full day here and really get your money’s worth. After just 2 visits, you will have paid for a membership, so it’s worth it to purchase one up front. Out of all the science museums we have visited, this definitely ranks at the top of our list!
Go for a swim at Lively Hotel on OAK – This is the hotel we stayed at, and oh my goodness, they had such a great pool for young kids! It is the perfect size, and it’s only 3 ft. deep. Grayson could easily walk around in the pool and touch without me having to worry about him. It was great! The pool was outside on the 2nd floor and had plenty of outdoor seating. The water is headed to 82 degrees. It felt perfect!
Grab coffee and eat at Cloud Puncher – This hotel restaurant is anything but just another hotel restaurant. They had wonderful coffee and wonderful food. They had a nice and modern bar and comfortable seating with several roomy booths. We ate breakfast there twice and dinner there once. We had the steak and frites, and I highly recommend it! The fries had just a little heat to them, and they were so so good! Even the kids loved all their food. It was so convenient that we could get good food right at our hotel instead of having to load the kids up again to go eat. But if you’re looking for other places, there is no shortage, and several restaurants are within walking distance to the hotel.
Get night passes for Okana Waterpark – This new waterpark opened earlier this year, and we absolutely love it. We have been waiting for over 2 years for this amazing waterpark to open, and it’s even better than we imagined. This place is huge! It’s also a resort, so you can book a room and stay here too. We decided to just buy waterpark passes, and I love how many different options and pricing they have. They have day passes, night passes and weekend passes so you can find the right time and price to fit your schedule and budget. We arrived on Friday, so we bought Friday night passes which are from 5:00-9:00pm. Four hours was the perfect amount of time for the indoor waterpark, and we saved a lot of money by only buying 5 night passes.
Once their outdoor waterpark opens up this month though, you might want to get passes for all day long as you could definitely spend several days between the two. They also have several restaurants, an arcade and an ice cream/candy shop inside. There will be plenty to keep the entire family entertained!
Shop and explore OAK – Like I mentioned above, this area is so great! They have swings, chairs, picnic tables, tons of turf green space, restaurants and shops surrounding the hotel. You can walk everywhere. Perfect on a pretty day!
The hotel rooms were great for families. We booked 2 rooms that had a door you could close off to both rooms, so it was like a 2 bedroom hotel suite. We had a large living area, coffee area with a mini fridge and a tv. The bathroom had a sliding door with a shower. Attached was a bedroom with a king sized bed. The room was open to the living room, but it had another sliding door that attached to the other side of the bathroom. There was a tv in the bedroom, an armoire to hang clothing, and the entire suite had tons of large windows. We loved all the space; it was great with 3 kids!
If you’re looking for a little weekend getaway that is under 7 hours, you will definitely want to add OKC to your list. They are very kid friendly and have several great new additions they are working on. They have a great zoo too! Let me know your favorite spots here to take the kids!
