Tennessee
Beat the heat at a waterpark! 9 places in Tennessee to find cool summer fun
The Edge dueling watercoaster opens at Soaky Mountain Waterpark
Ride the all-new Edge watercoaster at Soaky Mountain Waterpark in Sevierville!
Calvin Mattheis, Knoxville News Sentinel
Temperatures are scorching this summer thanks heat waves, humidity and heat indexes. Splashing and relaxing at a water park is a fun way to beat the heat.
Luckily, Tennessee has several water parks around the state, including two that were named among the best in the country this year by USA TODAY’s 10Best awards. East Tennessee is home to Dollywood’s Splash Country and many other water parks, but some can be found in Middle Tennessee, too, such as Nashville Shores Lakeside Resort.
Here’s a roundup of nine popular water parks in Tennessee. Now imagine yourself enjoying the refreshing cool water as the sun continues to beam this summer.
- Boro Beach features two giant water slides, a splash pad, a climbing wall and a floating bridge.
- Admission: $5+
- Address: 2310 Memorial Blvd., Murfreesboro, Tennessee
- Splash Country landed at No. 10 on the 2024 10Best water parks list. It features 16 water rides, including Big Bear Plunge, Mountain Scream, Raging River Rapids and Fire Tower Falls.
- Admission: $54.95+
- Address: 2700 Dollywood Parks Blvd., Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
- This is “Nashville’s biggest water park,” with more than 1 million gallons of summer fun. Nashville Shores has 10 thrilling water slides, water treehouse and playground, and a lazy river and beach for summer leisure.
- Admission: $39.99+
- Address: 4001 Bell Road, Nashville, Tennessee
- The 50-acre water park was ranked No. 8 on the 2024 10Best water parks list. It has water coasters, including The Edge, a dueling coaster that opened in 2023, water slides, an adventure river and a wave pool.
- Admission: $41.99+
- Address: 175 Gists Creek Road, Sevierville
- SoundWaves is a four-acre, three-level upscale indoor/outdoor aquatic experience at Gaylord Opryland Resort, featuring thrilling water rides and relaxing water attractions for the entire family. The outdoor area has a 45-foot slide tower. There also is a wave pool, adults-only pool, bars, private cabanas and food trucks.
- Visit soundwavesgo.com for packages and day pass information.
- Address: 2800 Opryland Drive, Nashville, Tennessee
- Nashville’s Wave Country is an outdoor water park with three water flumes, two speed slides, and a kiddie pool with water-dropping features and a playground.
- Admission: $10+
- Address: 2320 Two Rivers Parkway, Nashville, Tennessee
- Wetlands has several water slides, including 80- to 200-foot flume slides. There also is a lazy river, zero-depth wading area and a children’s area.
- Admission: $10+
- Address: 1523 Persimmon Ridge Road, Jonesborough, Tennessee
- Wild Bear Falls is an indoor water park with a retractable roof. You can float along the lazy river, glide down a giant water slide or explore the interactive treehouse. The water park is accessible even without booking a room at the adjoining Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort.
- Tickets: $35 for ages 14 and older, $17.50 for ages 4-13 and free for children 3 and younger
- Hours: 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
- Location: 915 Westgate Resorts Road, Gatlinburg
- There are two outdoor water parks at Wilderness at the Smokies. Lake Wilderness has the new Treehouse Springs and tall thrill slides, The Wall, Wild Vortex and Cyclone Racer. And Salamander Springs features 150-foot-long body and tube slides and a multi-level play and spray structure.
- Wild WaterDome, the indoor water park at Wilderness, features Ridge Runner, a three-story water coaster.
- Check wildernessatthesmokies.com for day passes and booking options.
- Address: 1424 Old Knoxville Highway, Sevierville, Tennessee.
There are no major water parks in West Tennessee, but Shelby Farms Park, Kroc Center, Eiffel Tower Spray Park and Suggs Park, all near the Memphis area, have water attractions worth checking out according to tnvacation.com.
Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter. Email devarrick.turner@knoxnews.com. On X, formerly known as Twitter @dturner1208.
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Tennessee
Gov. Bill Lee signs Tennessee private school voucher program into law, expanding access
Bill Lee shouts out DOGE, Democrats leave State of the State address
Gov. Bill Lee gave his annual State of the State address, touting his policy innovations and praising DOGE.
- Gov. Bill Lee signed the school voucher program into law Wednesday after years of pushing for the program.
- Lee would not commit to a competitive contract bid process for the voucher vendor that stands to make millions from the program.
- Lee said the program would ‘change the future of Tennessee forever’.
Gov. Bill Lee signed his long-awaited private school voucher program into law on Wednesday but would not commit to using a competitive bidding process for the vendor company that stands to make millions on the new program.
The Tennessee Department of Education previously drew bipartisan criticism for awarding the state’s contract to a vendor without a competitive bid for Lee’s first voucher initiative.
“I’ll defer to the department on the procurement process, one that makes sure that we have transparency,” Lee said on Wednesday.
Lee hopes to launch the $477 million program by the start of the 2025-2026 school year.
The short runway gives the state just months to contract with the vendor, hire new staff and implement rules for the program in time for families to apply for around $7,300 to pay for private school tuition.
“I have every confidence that we’ll be able to do that,” Lee said when asked if he was committeed to rolling out the program this year. “There are a lot of details to work out, but you’ve got to remember we already have an education savings account plan in place in this state for our three largest school districts, so we have some expertise within the department in how to implement this plan.”
In the program, 10,000 vouchers will be open to anyone to apply for. The other 10,000 are reserved for families with incomes below 300% of the income limit to qualify for free or reduced price lunch, about $170,000 for a family of four.
Under the new law, Tennessee can block undocumented students who are otherwise eligible from the program if they “cannot establish the eligible student’s lawful presence in the United States.”
The small clause received little attention as the voucher bill quickly passed last month, and there are no details in the legislation on how the department should confirm lawful presence. The clause raises constitutional questions about the bill, given longstanding federal legal precedent that blocks school districts from requiring proof of citizenship or legal residency.
The Tennessean has requested further information from the Department of Education regarding its plans to determine “lawful presence.”
“I think what’s most important to know is that this language doesn’t change anything about the state’s obligation, as it currently stands, to educating children,” Lee said. “But for this scholarhsip, it’s only available to Tennessee citizens.”
On Wednesday, Lee signed the bill into law flanked by Republican lawmakers and dozens of students from local private schools at the Capitol building in Nashville.
“I learned a long time ago that education changes the trajectory of a child’s life forever,” Lee said. “Today we put in place a piece of legislation that will change the future of Tennessee forever, because it changes the trajectory of the next generation of Tennessee.”
Tennessee
Tennessee Titans 2025 NFL offseason preview: Will the Titans select a QB with the No. 1 pick?
2024 season: 3-14, fourth in AFC South, missed playoffs
Overview: The 2024 season was a disaster. The Will Levis era that never seemed like a good idea to begin with is in all likelihood over. In is new general manager Mike Borgonzi to replace Ran Carthon, who traded up to draft Levis and was fired after two seasons.
The good news in Tennessee is there are plenty of resources in terms of salary cap space and the No. 1 pick in the draft. It’s up to Borgonzi and crew to use those assets wisely.
Key free agents
WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine
QB Mason Rudolph
S Quandre Diggs
K Nick Folk
RG Dillon Radunz
OL Daniel Brunskill
CB Darrell Baker Jr. (restricted)
WR Tyler Boyd
Who’s in/out: The Titans are thin at receiver, and Westbrook-Ikhine has been a reliable if unspectacular presence in five seasons in Tennessee. He tallied 32 catches for 492 yards and nine touchdowns last season while playing on a one-year, $2 million deal. He’s worth bringing back if the price remains low, but he isn’t a true No. 2 behind Calvin Ridley.
The Titans’ path at quarterback remains one of the biggest mysteries of the offseason. With Levis under contract and the options of signing a free agent and drafting a quarterback at No. 1 on the table, Rudolph could be on the way out.
Key free-agent needs
Quarterback
Wide receiver
Right tackle
Why the holes? The need at quarterback is obvious. Whether the Titans address that need in free agency (Sam Darnold, Russell Wilson?) or in the draft — or both — is the question here.
Regardless of whether Westbrook-Ikhine stays or goes, the Titans need to upgrade their receiver room. No Titan other than Ridley tallied more than 500 receiving yards last season.
The Titans selected their left tackle of the future, JC Latham, in the first round of last year’s draft. Right tackle remains unsettled after multiple players failed to establish themselves as the full-time starter in 2024. The Titans won’t be selecting a tackle in the first round this spring, so free agency could be the route.
Do they have the money?
Per Spotrac, the Titans have about $50 million in cap space available, the 10th-most in the NFL.
Notable potential cuts
There are no obvious candidates here.
The Titans have cap space to work with, and releasing productive higher-priced defenders like safety Amani Hooker (five interceptions, two forced fumbles; $8.6M in potential cap savings) or edge rusher Harold Landry (team-best nine sacks, 15 QB hits, 72 tackles; $17.5M in potential cap savings) doesn’t make sense. Both players are in their primes, and the Titans would have to replace them.
Draft picks
Round 1: No. 1
Round 2: No. 35
Round 4
Round 4 (from Seahawks)
Round 5
Round 5 (from Chiefs)
Round 6
Round 7 (from Packers)
Good draft fit
Cam Ward, QB, Miami
Why him? If you need a quarterback and you have the No. 1 pick, the pressure is high to select one, even in a quarterback class perceived as weak. Don’t expect the Titans to buck that pressure. The choice will be between Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders, either of whom the Titans could end up selecting. Ward is generally assessed as the top option and the favorite to go first.
If the Titans go off script, Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter and two-way Colorado star Travis Hunter would be non-quarterback options as the top talents in the draft.
Get serious at quarterback
The Titans are in a tough spot with the first overall pick in a class that lacks a consensus top passer. However, they can’t run into next season with a pairing in the same ballpark as the Will Levis and Mason Rudolph tandem. With a new GM in place and head coach Brian Callahan presumably more empowered to pick his guy at the position, expect the Titans to add multiple quarterbacks. Whether those additions rise to the level of “serious” remains to be seen. —Matt Harmon
Tennessee
Titans Could Sign Chiefs OL After Super Bowl
![Titans Could Sign Chiefs OL After Super Bowl Titans Could Sign Chiefs OL After Super Bowl](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_6000,h_3375,x_0,y_367/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/all_titans/01jkrx4bzx8r83wbs0rd.jpg)
It’s no secret that the Tennessee Titans need some help on the offensive line.
This offseason, the Titans should aggressively pursue offensive linemen, and they may have a chance to acquire one of the best players in the trenches in the NFL.
Kansas City Chiefs guard Trey Smith was named the best offensive lineman entering free agency this spring.
“Trey Smith has been one of the league’s better guards since he was drafted in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, though he just made his first Pro Bowl in 2024. This season, he ranked sixth among interior linemen in run block win rate, per ESPN, and had a career-best 2.3 percent blown block rate, according to Sports Info Solutions. He’ll only turn 26 years old in June,” The 33rd Team’s Dan Pizzuta writes.
Smith, 25, started in all but one of the Chiefs’ games since entering the league in 2021, and he has two Super Bowl rings to show for it. While he tried his best at acquiring a third, the Chiefs fell to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX.
With Smith no longer under contract by the Chiefs, he could be looking for a new home this offseason, and Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi has a connection with the fourth-year pro from their time spent together in Kansas City.
Borgonzi saw Smith get drafted by the Chiefs and has witnessed him emerge into one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL. Therefore, he may be a natural fit for the Titans, who have a need at both right tackle and guard.
Dillon Radunz, the team’s primary right guard in 2024, is a free agent, and the right tackle position needs a lot of help. Smith can fill in at either spot, so he may be worth it even if he costs a fortune.
Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!
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