If your backyard sprinkler isn’t cutting it anymore and you’re looking for an epic waterpark to cool off this summer, there’s no shortage of options. Whether you’ve got a family full of daredevils looking for the biggest new thrill (Hello, Rise of Icarus!) or little swimmers who want to bob in a lazy river filled with floating Legos, there’s probably a waterpark out there that fits your agenda. Here’s our list of the Best Waterparks across the U.S.:
Universal Orlando Volcano Bay (Orlando, FL)
With a towering 200-foot volcano visible from miles away, Volcano Bay features 18 immersive attractions ranging from heart-thumping adventure slides to relaxing rambling rivers. Highlights include the Krakatau Aqua Coaster, which launches riders up, down and around the park’s iconic volcano; and the Puihi of the Maku Puihi Round Raft Rides, which drop riders down a “lava tube” into a massive funnel.
Bonus: The TapuTapu wearable, included with admission, lets you reserve a virtual place in line so you can come back when it’s your turn to ride. It also activates various effects, such as water cannons and water streams that can be directed at unsuspecting passersby. You can also use it to open lockers, snap photos (at designated photo spots), and make purchases throughout the park.
Online: Universalorlando.com
*Note: With so many waterparks in Orlando (namely, Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon & Blizzard Beach, Island H20, and SeaWorld’s Aquatica), it can be hard to choose! We chose Volcano Bay because of its immersive staging and convenient TapuTapu bands (bonus that they don’t cost extra!).
Great Wolf Lodge (Various Locations)
Since 1997, Great Wolf Lodge resorts have made the iconic summertime waterpark experience accessible year-round. Its indoor waterparks (there are now 20 across North America) feature thrill slides, wave pools and toddler-friendly areas, all included with a hotel stay. Hello, Staycation!
Online: Greatwolf.com
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Knott’s Soak City (Buena Park, CA)
The watery companion to Orange County’s hometown amusement park offers 23 waterslides, including Shore Break, a seven-story structure with six different slides, and The Wedge, an open-air family raft ride full of twists, turns, and drops. Adrenaline junkies will enjoy the Aqua Launch Chamber, which sends riders down a vertical drop after the floor falls away.
Online: Kotts.com/soak-city
Runnner-up is Raging Waters, SoCal’s biggest waterpark with more than 50 rides, slides and attractions. It’s located where the Inland Empire, Orange County, and LA Counties meet.
Dollywood Splash Country (Pigeon Forge, TN)
Nestled in the Smoky Mountains (the slides actually weave their way through the trees!), this forested oasis offers 23 slides for thrillseekers of all ages. Thrill rides include RiverRush, Tennesse’s first water coaster, and Fire Tower Falls, which plunges riders down a 70-foot freefall. There’s also a slew of little kid-friendly water features, including a 1,500-ft lazy river and Bear Mountain Fire Tower, a huge water playground.
Bonus: The TimeSaver H2O system ($55 a person) allows you to hold a place in line for popular attractions so you can spend your time exploring instead of waiting.
Online: Dollywood.com/waterpark
Water World (Federal Heights, CO)
Spread across 67 acres near Denver, this park boasts speedy water coasters, roaring wave pools, lazy rivers, and an across-the-park gondola that lets parkgoers check out the action from above. The park’s most popular ride, Voyage to the Center of the Earth, takes riders on a thrilling raft ride through a dark cave into prehistoric times.
Online: Waterworldcolorado.com
Wild Rivers (Irvine, Ca)
The newest water park in SoCal offers 17 water attractions across its 20-acre park, including body slides, family raft rides, mat races, bowls, and a water coaster. Since it opened in 2022, the park’s new-ish facilities and slides make things feel and look extra clean, a bonus for germ-phobic parents who might otherwise shy away from waterparks.
Bonus: Want to send your kids to the coolest camp ever? Wild Rivers has a Junior Lifeguard Camp where campers learn water safety skills while also enjoying the park.
Online: Wildrivers.com
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Mount Olympus Park (Wisconsin Dells, WI)
Want to brave America’s tallest waterslide? Climb the Rise of Icarus Tower, a mammoth structure that features five body slides, including the highest at 145 feet! Another highlight includes Medusa’s SlideWheel, “America’s First Rotating Waterslide,” which features a tube that rotates while you’re inside of it (You’ve got to see it to understand). Other notable features include the Icaria Splash and Slide, a new outdoor play area with 10 slides and enough water features to keep tiny tots endlessly entertained.
Bonus: Admission to the waterpark is included with a stay at the resort, which also features a full theme park.
Online: Mtolympuspark.com
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Cowabunga Bay Water Park – Henderson, NV
Forget the slot machines! This waterpark about 30 minutes from the Las Vegas Strip offers more than 20 slides, pools and splash areas. Its standout attraction drops four-person rafts 60 feet into the swell of a mammoth manmade wave. There’s also a slide that sends riders zipping down a tube in total darkness.
Online: Cowabungavegas.com
Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari (Santa Claus, In)
This award-winning park includes Wildebeest, named the Best Water Park Ride for 11 consecutive years by Amusement Today; and Cheetah Chase, the Best New Water Park Ride for 2020-2021. It also has a 6-person boat ride called “Mammoth” that calls itself the longest water coaster in the world.
Hint: Get a fast pass to avoid the waits.
Noah’s Ark Waterpark (Wisconsin Dells, Wi)
It’s only fitting that the largest waterpark in the country is located in the “Waterpark capital of the world.” This huge park offers 70 acres of rides, including a 4-D “Dive-In” movie theater and America’s first looping, near vertical waterslide.
Online: Noahsarkwaterpark.com
LEGOLAND California (Carlsbad, CA)
Little swimmers need a place to slip and slide, too! LEGOLAND’s waterpark offers fun galore for littles but enough big thrills that older sibs will be happy to tag along. Highlights include the Build-A-Raft River, where guests can design and float their LEGO rafts, and the Riptide Racers, a thrilling mat-racing slide. Younger kids can enjoy the DUPLO Splash Safari kids’ pool area as well as the Joker Soaker, a multi-level water playground with plenty of ways to get wet.
Online: Legoland.com/california/water-park
Schlitterbahn Waterpark & Resort (New Braunfels, Tx)
They say things are bigger in Texas, and this sprawling water park is no exception. Housing what it calls the largest collection of water rides in the world (there were 51 rides in total as of 2024), this sprawling water park was named the “Best Water Park in the World” 22 times by Amusement Today magazine. Among the smorgasbord of offerings is an uphill water coaster that zips riders up a flume of water as fast as they slide down it (the concept was invented by Schlitterbahn, according to USA Today) as well as a 3,600-foot whitewater raft ride (one of the longest in the world) that takes riders over gushing water, light rapids, and small waterfalls.
