New 50-acre waterpark to break ground in Sevierville in August

Wilderness Resorts and Waterparks ownership group announced that they will be building a new attraction in the Smoky Mountains called Soaky Mountain Waterpark.

The 50-acre outdoor waterpark will be located across the street and up the hill from the Sevierville Convention Center and Wilderness at the Smokies Resort, according to a release.

An official groundbreaking is set for Tuesday, Aug. 6 at 10 a.m. We'll get our first look at park renderings at the groundbreaking.

"It'll be one of the newest attractions that has come to Sevierville in a very long time," Wilderness Director of Sales Nikki Harrel said.

Plans currently call for the waterpark to feature a massive, 35,000-square-foot wave pool capable of generating waves up to 6 feet high, a winding wave river spanning an area of 24,000 square feet, and a heavily-themed and exciting kids’ play-and-spray feature with multiple slides for both the tame and the daring, according to a release.

“We are excited to be bringing another quality attraction to the popular Smoky Mountain tourist region. Soaky Mountain Waterpark is going to be an amazing destination for families with children of all ages to enjoy. It will feature some of the most popular, thrilling and unique water attractions available, and it will all be outdoors in a beautiful mountain-modern park setting," Joe Eck, COO of Wilderness Resort and Waterparks, said.

There will also be a kid-friendly activity pool with smaller versions of the other towering slides found throughout the park. There will be an adventure pool with a WIBIT water obstacle course, a flat-water cabana pool for relaxing poolside, a double FlowRider for the surfer in all of us, and four large slide complexes.

The park plans to have a one-of-a-kind water coaster, a family ride tower with two five-person raft rides, a tubing tower with five flumes all featuring one or two-person tubing experiences, two high-intensity body slides, and a four-lane, head-first mat racing challenge, according to the release.

Eck anticipates that Soaky Mountain Waterpark will be open to the public daily mid-May through August, with additional select days through mid-September.

"It's a great new attraction. It's something the need. We have a lot of waterparks here at Wilderness at the Smokies but we cannot house everyone and Soaky Mountain Water Park will be open to the public," Harrel said.

Pricing for waterpark admission has not been determined yet, but the release said Wilderness at the Smokies guests will likely receive preferred pricing on admission.

Wilderness Resort and Waterparks currently owns and operates Wilderness at the Smokies in Sevierville, and Wilderness Resort, Glacier Canyon Lodge, and Wilderness on the Lake in Wisconsin Dells.

The City of Sevierville said that spot could even bring in more tax dollars.

"It's within our tourist development zone which will give us actually an added tax bonus for them being there so we couldn't be more excited," Sevierville Public Information Officer Bob Stahlke said.

The company has submitted a conceptual site plan to the planning commission and final plans will still need to be approved.

"So we still have some work to do. They have some work to do, but I think it's gonna have a decent impact," Stahlke said.

Source: WBIR, Author: Lauren Hoar, Katie Inman

The East Tennessee Economic Development Agency markets and recruits business for the 15 counties in the greater Knoxville-Oak Ridge region of East Tennessee. Visit www.eteda.org

Published July 12, 2019