The Alabama Gulf Coast’s Tropic Falls at OWA has been voted one of the top 10 indoor water parks in the country. 

Let that sink in. 

One of the nation’s best indoor water parks is in our backyard.

USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards recently announced the top 10 indoor water parks as voted by the public. The 10Best contest recognizes excellence across various categories including hotels, resorts, restaurants and attractions. 

This isn’t the first time local attractions have made a USA Today 10 Best list. This year alone, Gulf Shores was voted No. 4 on the 10 Best Coastal Small Towns Across the U.S. list, and the Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach was voted the No. 1 Best Recreational Trail in the U.S.

Nominees for the USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Award are submitted by a panel of experts selected by USA Today and narrowed to a short list of selections chosen by its 10Best editors. The competition is then opened to the public, with readers voting for four weeks to choose their favorite U.S. travel destinations and attractions.

“It is truly an honor to be recognized as one of the 10 Best Indoor Water Parks by our guests and readers,” Creek Indian Enterprises Development President/CEO Authority Cody Williams said in a press release. “We are committed to continually evolving and expanding the guest experience at OWA and are truly grateful to receive this national recognition and a sign of our guests’ appreciation.”

Tropic Falls at OWA completed its first phase in 2022 and the second phase in 2023. The indoor water park features a lazy river, Castaway Creek and 11 water slides set under a convertible glass roof. The second phase focused on the outdoor portion of the water park, which added a massive 30,000-square-foot wave pool, Big Water Bay and Coastal Curl surf simulator. 

True to what Williams said, OWA Parks & Resort and its owners, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, have continued to add to the guest experience since opening in 2017. Along with the addition of the indoor and outdoor water park to the 23-ride theme park, indoor pickleball facility, Tropic Hideaway RV Resort and is set to break ground on a $50 million resort hotel. OWA Parks & Resort is also home to the Gulf Coast Hot Air Balloon Festival, Mardi Gras celebrations, a Downtown OWA that features restaurants and shops and fun events throughout the year.

For more information on Tropic Falls at OWA, visit www.visitowa.com.