Jay Peak Water Park & more indoor winter fun

(I updated this Jay Peak Water Park post on Jan. 14, 2025.)

It wouldn’t have been the first time we arrived at a ski resort to find conditions less than ideal. But Jay Peak Resort in Northern Vermont — a mere six minutes from the Canadian border — has thought of everything for times the weather refuses to co-operate.

I’ve heard of other ski writers slamming resorts for imperfect snow, icy runs and bare glades. But I just won’t do it. It isn’t fair. Every tourist destination is at the mercy of Mother Nature, year-round.

While I couldn’t tell you much about the skiing at Jay Peak after our first visit in 2019, we did make it back in early 2025 and drove right into the renowned “Jay Cloud.” I wrote all about skiing at Jay Peak VT in a new post, so check that out after you read this one. (Hint: the new post also explains how Canadians can get half of their vacation at par!)

This post, on the other hand, is all about weatherproofing your ski vacation in Vermont. It’s dedicated to all of the fun you and your kiddos will have if you arrive ready to ski like we did only to find crazy winds and icy conditions mean you barely make it onto a single lift during your visit.

Because this is really where this family-friendly ski resort shines: the Jay Peak Water Park. There’s more, of course, and I’ll get to it all, but we have to start with the hero product — and that’s the water park. There aren’t very many ski resorts that can cope with the masses looking for indoor play options all at once. But at Jay? It’s no problem, mon.

My biggest message: book the full package that includes accommodations, lift tickets and water park passes. Just in case. You’ll find a frequently-updated list of deals and discounts for Jay Peak here. Canadians — keep in mind that you can pay for 50 per cent of your package with Canadian dollars!

Jay Peak Water Park & other indoor fun

Strap in…there’s a lot to do that isn’t just skiing at Jay Peak Resort. And we’re kicking it all off with the main event, the big kahuna, the grand dame of indoor winter fun: the Jay Peak Water Park.

Jay Peak Water Park

Jay Peak’s water park — the Pump House — will not disappoint. I can’t say that I expected to find such a mammoth waterpark, complete with lazy river and a Flowrider, tucked into a ski resort. I thought we’d roll up to a glorified splash pad.

Boy, was I wrong.

The Pump House is next-level water-parking. If you’ve ever been to Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls, it’s nearly on par with that kind of wet-ertainment. The only thing missing is a wave pool. In fact, we all agreed that The PumpHouse’s lazy river eclipsed almost every other lazy river we’ve tried — and that includes Great Wolf Lodge. It is only outdone by the lazy river at the American Dream Mall in New Jersey.

Big waterslides; basketball hoops in water shallow enough that our then-eight and 10 year olds could shoot a few balls with ease but not so shallow that I didn’t want to be in there with them; an in-water climbing wall that gets deep enough at one end that my 6’6” husband was able to take a crack at it; and that lazy river — which has a wavy section built in around one turn, moves at a great clip and is warm enough for wimps like me who like pools heated to warm-bath temperature.

There’s even a little splash park for wee ones…

And don’t go thinking this is just a daytime activity. Heck, no! The Pump House is JAMMIN’ at night. Wow. We went to hit up the arcade one night and couldn’t believe the waterpark — think big tunes, bright lights and even a place upstairs to grab a drink and people-watch below.

A quick note: lockers come in two sizes but are generally small and expensive ($14/day for the small and $31/day for the large, though you do get $5-20 back if you return the key before closing time). Wear your least-bulky coats and be ready to store boots at a table — if you can find one that hasn’t already been claimed.

More indoor winter fun at Jay Peak Resort

Bring on even more vacation weatherproofing…

Arcades — yes, plural

Not one but two arcades await at Jay Peak Resort. The on-demand, free resort shuttle will even get you from one to the other in the same afternoon, if you like.

Typical of most arcades, prepare to come ready to spend. We loaded game cards for each kid with $10 apiece and that lasted for about half an hour — and that was back in 2019, so I expect it’s pricier now. They each came away with about a dollar’s worth of candy at the end, and they were thrilled.

Ice skating

I really wish we’d thought to bring our skates (oh, sure, you can rent them for only $6 but we’re all rather particular about the way our own skates fit). There’s an indoor arena at Jay Peak, so big they host hockey tournaments, with plenty of public skating hours every day of the week. It’s $6 to get in for those age 4+.

Climbing gym

The Clips & Reels climbing gym is seriously awesome. For just $10 (after using the $5 off coupon provided in the coupon booklet we received at check-in) plus another $10 to rent some kids’ climbing shoes because we only brought winter boots with us — runners are A-OK if you have them — Miss Q scored a full hour in the climbing gym.

If you or your kids have your heart set on this activity, I strongly suggest booking ahead of time. We had to return three hours later for a spot. But it was totally worth it.

There are a dozen or so different climbing walls plus a full aerial ropes course, all of which can easily be done during your one-hour time slot. It’s extremely well-organized and well-staffed so there’s little downtime once you get into the climbing zone.

Miss Q has tried a few climbing walls before and never made it to the top. For whatever reason, having options other than the standard wall agreed with her, and she made it to the top of a few of them. It was an outstanding experience for her!

We even saw plenty of adults trying to navigate some of the tougher walls and challenges, so don’t go thinking this one is just for the kids.

Movie theatre

In the same building as the climbing gym, there’s the Clips & Reels Movie Theater. For $5 per adult and $3 for youth 14 and under, the theatre offers a variety of films — both newer and older runs.

There are usually a couple of showtimes each day; unfortunately, the only day we could make it, it was closed for a private event so I can’t tell you what the sound quality or comfort is like. However, just knowing there was another option for us to keep the kids entertained if they lost interest in the Jay Peak Water Park was enough (spoiler alert: they never tired of the water park!).

An honourable mention…

There’s also the aerial tram. Yeah, yeah — it’s outdoors so maybe it doesn’t entirely belong in this post, but it was great and I’d be remiss if I didn’t include it.

Even if skiing or boarding ain’t your thang, if the aerial tram is running during your stay at Jay Peak Resort, you’ve gotta take a ride to the summit. It’s stunning and this tram is unlike any gondola we’ve been on elsewhere.

Get out, take in the views, and hop right back on the next tram heading back down to base camp. It’s Vermont’s only aerial tram ride and it’s pretty spectacular. And you can walk up to it with your winter boots on and ride round-trip!

Although we loved being able to dig in to most of Jay Peak’s indoor activities and love that we could weatherproof (and salvage) our ski weekend, I’m not gonna lie, I spent years trying to go back and dive into some of the white stuff. I’m thrilled to report it was worth the wait and you can read all about it in my Jay Peak VT post.

 

DISCLAIMER: Jay Peak Resort provided a Stay, Ski & Splash stay for us to facilitate this post. We assumed all other costs and opinions are solely my own.