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Headed to Dollywood when it’s hot? Be sure to check out the best Dollywood water rides both in the park and at Splash Country!

It’s no secret that our family loves Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, TN and we go there several times a year. When it’s summer, you’ll find us both in the main theme park and at Dollywood’s Splash Country, their water park! I’ve been visiting Dollywood parks since I was a kid, back when it was Silver Dollar City, and we get season passes most years becasue we love it so much.

Our four boys absolutely love Dollywood and everything it has to offer, but it gets hot in the South in the summer! What better way to cool off than a nice water ride? Heck, we’ve even ridden the water rides in March when it’s colder! Our whole family loves going on these rides together, and Ihope you’ll give them a try soon – you just might find a new favorite ride!

So today we want to share with you our favorite Dollywood Water Rides. If you find yourself at Dollywood sometime soon, be sure to give these rides a try!

Dollywood Theme Park

This is where we spend the bulk of our time since this park is open from mid-March through the very first few days of January. We have gone at all times of year and love all of them.

Unfortunately we don’t have many pictures of us on these rides due to the wet nature of them, but I’ll try on my next visit to take some!

When it’s hot (or even decently warm), you can find us checking out the two main water rides at Dollywood. They used to have a couple more (including the River Battle), but these are the two that are still in the park as of 2022.

The Smoky Mountain River Rampage

I love this one so much! It reminds me of growing up in Nashville and going to Opyrland every year. They had the Grizzly River Rampage, and Dollywood has the Smoky River Mountain Rampage!

My family and I always make sure to go on this ride when we visit Dollywood when it’s open. It’s been a big hit for us since the minimum height for this ride is 36″, so pretty small kiddos can ride safely.

This is a water rafting adventure that is full of twists and turns, and it’s always fun to see who is going to get the wettest, because you never can tell as the raft spins slowly around!

This is the ride you see at the beginning of this post!

Insider Tip: Make sure to find some way of keeping your phone dry on this ride, as you really don’t know if you’ll be the one under a waterfall or get a huge splash on your side of the raft. We get the refillable popcorn bucket and stash them in there as you can keep it with you.

Daredevil Falls

This one is a log flume ride through an abandoned logging camp, and it’s so much fun! Each “log” can hold up to 8 people and the logs don’t stop so the line moves quickly.

It’s very pretty as you float around the park, but be warned- it does go up a hill and then down a 60 foot drop into the water at 50 mph!

The last time we went to Dollywood it was March and this ride was open. Our youngest had just reached the minimum height to ride (which is 42″) so we all decided to give it a try as a family. Turns out, it’s now one of his favorites!

Insider Tip: If you want to get the wettest, ride in the very front or back of the four row raft. With my youngest, I ride in the middle and we lean down and hardly get wet at all (when it was cold!). To really get wet, you don’t even have to ride – you can just stand on the bridge and get splashed as the rafts come down the hill!

Dollywood’s Splash Country

We haven’t been to Splash Country nearly as much as we have been to the main theme park, but that is because it is only open May-early September because of weather. We heat up in TN in early May and after Labor Day it cools down quickly.

If you want a fun-filled water adventure, you definitely should give Splash Country a try. It’s usually not as busy as the main park and it’s so much fun!

Here are the best rides in no particular order:

Big Bear Plunge

This family raft ride holds four riders and takes you on an “extreme” white water adventure through dark caverns, winding bends and steep drops. It’s supposed to mimic the thrills of white water rafting and it doesn’t disappoint!

You’ll need to be at least 36″ tall to ride, and if your child is under 48″ they will need to ride with someone 16 or older, but that shouldn’t be a problem because this ride is just so fun even the adults will love the daring drops of Big Bear Plunge.

Insider Tip: The minimum number of guests to ride is 3 so if you come with 2 people they will have you ride with someone else, which isn’t a big deal. We have 6 people in our family and ride 3 and 3.

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Fire Tower Falls

These speed slides are the tallest and fastest slides in the whole park! They are 70 feet tall and have over 280 feet of slide. The twin slides are “free fall” slides which send you almost down at 90 degrees for a super fast ride.

At the end of your free fall you will splash down into 140 feet of water-filled lane to end your ride with a huge splash. You do have to be at least 48″ tall to ride, so we still have one kiddo who can’t ride these.

Insider Tip: If you’re wearing a two piece swimsuit, I’d recommend holding onto your top! I’ve seen more than one person have their bathing suit come up (and you end up with your bottoms up your hiney from going down at high speeds, but that’s more easily fixable!)

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Mountain Scream

This ride is one you’ll have to do twice! One slide is a quadruple drop slide going down the side of a mountain, while the other slide is an enclosed tube slide that has you going in twists and turns. I dare you to try the twisting turns of the Mountain Scream body slide ride!

You do have to be at least 48″ tall to ride, so this is another one our youngest is out on for now, but the others love it!

Insider Tip: Make sure you ride all three slides as the drop slide and the two tunnels are different and equally fun!

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Mountain Twist

This ride has three different slides to choose from, and all of them are mat slides! The addition of a mat to slide down on is so much fun, and it makes these twists and turns truly thrilling.

The minimum height on this ride is only 36″, so it covers a wide range of ages!

Insider Tip: Be sure to try all three slides as they all offer a bit of a different ride!

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Raging River Rapids

This is another wonderful family ride. These rafts can hold up to 5 people and take you down 700 feet of fun!

This ride is for those 36″ and taller, and if your kiddo is under 48″ you will need someone over 16 to ride, which again shouldn’t be a problem as it’s so fun!

Insider Tip: Just like with the Big Bear Plunge, you will have to have more than 2 to ride or you will end up riding with someone else. We have to split up our family for this ride, too, but we get rafts right after each other and it’s fun to watch the other raft!

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River Rush

This raft ride has you single-file for this fun-filled adventure! This is Tennessee’s first and only water coaster!

On this ride, you race through the trees four stories high, experience four drops and take hairpin turns and go through tunnels!

Insider Tip: Guests have to be 42″ tall to ride. This coaster combines what you love about roller coasters with water fun!

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Wow, those are just some of the amazing rides at Splash Country!

Here are some other water slides we don’t have time to cover:

Wild River Falls

The Butterfly

Tailspin Racer

Swiftwater Run

Slick Rock Racer

And some fun water rides for the little kids:

The Cascades

Big Bear Mountain Fire Tower

Mountain Waves Wave Pool

Little Creek Falls Splash Pad

Downbound Float Trip (Lazy River)

If you’d like to learn more about all these amazing rides, visit the Splash Country website. Scroll down to see all the rides, including pictures, minimum height requirements and more.

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Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at the Dollywood water rides. Our next trip is in a couple of weeks and now I’m super pumped to get to ride all of these again!

I hope you’re entire family will give these rides a try on your next trip to the Great Smoky Mountains!

Want to see some of our in-action shots at the park? Check out Dollywood Toddler Rides and Dollywood Roller Coasters!

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