Wilderness at the Smokies, Gatlinburg, TN Indoor Waterpark

In the middle of January, snow all around us, we took a ski trip to Gatlinburg, TN.   As a break from skiing, we booked one night at the Wilderness, which comes with free access to their indoor waterpark.  We were very excited about two days at the waterpark in the middle of such cold weather.  There was one part of the park that had a pool where we could swim into the great outdoors and sit in the heated jacuzzi.  Very nice.

The wave pool was a let-down because it was too crowded.  When the siren blasted to signify the waves cranking up, the crowd would run in a pack into the pool.  This frightened our 5-year olds.

The three waterslides are awesome, well worth the visit.  The slides are 350' and 450'.  You can ride one person or two person on one slide and the other slides can handle up to 4-5 person per raft.   The Storm Chaser was too scary for me, but the others loved it.  Four guests plummet 55 ft down a thrilling, dark tunnel ride before dropping through a zero gravity fall into a funnel where they experience several fast oscillations before splashing into a pool below.

I liked the Trail Twisters tube slides, they were a lot of fun and our 5 year olds loved them.  The Runaway Canyon was FUN for one 5-year old while the other 5-year old was afraid on it.

Our 20 year olds liked the Surf Rider.  It was very challenging and fun.

We had to wait in long, long lines for everything except the wave pool and the pre-school play area -- Washout Mountain -- pictured above, first photo.   

The Lodging is incredible, but pricey.  We got a room that slept 12, had a full kitchen, two bathrooms, couple of TVs, lots of closets and a fireplace.  It was perfect.



















The food at the resort is expensive.  Take your own food and use the room kitchen. 

Plan your trip around one of their many Special Deals and you can save a lot.
The park is excellent for kids around ages 7 - 14.  I think kids that age will stay at the park all day long.  My older kids weren't that impressed and preferred to ski.