Nashville Shores is a waterpark, adventure course, and campground located in Hermitage, Tennessee, along the shore of Percy Priest Lake. Nashville Shores is located adjacent to Interstate 40. The site was previously the location of Hermitage Landing, a marina, campground, and recreational complex that opened in 1971. Hermitage Landing closed in 1997, and the Nashville Shores waterpark opened on the property one year later. In 2009, Nashville Shores was sold to investors Kieran Burke and Gary Story, two former Six Flags executives. The resort is owned and operated by Premier Parks, LLC.
Nashville Shores' normal operating season runs from early May to early August. The waterpark then reopens only on weekends until late September.[1] The park features 8 water slides and 3 pools.[2]
History
Hermitage Landing
In the summer of 1971, C.E. Hooper and business partner Robert Baltz opened Hermitage Landing, a marina, campground, and recreational complex on the shores of Percy Priest Lake.[3] Hermitage Landing was built on land leased from the United States Army Corps of Engineers, who was responsible for the construction of Percy Priest Lake.[4] The Landing became a very popular destination for tourists and locals, Hermitage Landing also began to host the "One For the Sun" rock festival in 1984, which attracted 11,000 people and would return on a yearly basis.[5][6]
The first decade
The waterpark viewed from across the lake
The Hermitage Landing complex closed in 1997, and the Nashville Shores waterpark opened on the Landing's property the following year, with two waterslides.[7]
In December 2003, Nashville Shores announced plans to build an amusement park to complement their waterpark, they also mentioned that they were having trouble getting approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but they hoped to work something out.[8] Hermitage residents voiced skepticism and opposition about the planned construction of an amusement park, which led to the project being canceled.[9] The Nashville area had not had an amusement park since Opryland Themepark closed in 1997.[10] In 2008, the park opened Music City Racer, a six-lane, 350 foot long, racer slide, with a top speed of 35 mph.[11]
Premier Parks era
Nashville Shores' attendance declined in 2009, and owner Mike Williams began looking to sell the park.[12] In November, Nashville Shores Holdings, headed by former Six Flags CEO Kirean Burke and former Six Flags executive Gary Story, bought the waterpark.[13] In December, the new owners announced to new additions to Nashville Shores for 2010; Breaker Bay Wave Pool, a 25,000 square-foot wave pool capable of holding 400,000 gallons of water, and Castaway Creek, a 1,000 foot long lazy river.[14][15] In early May 2010, shortly before the beginning of the summer season, Nashville Shores was flooded during the 2010 Tennessee floods, however, the park was not seriously damaged and Nashville Shores opened as scheduled later that month.[16]
In December 2010, Nashville Shores announced that the park would open Kowabunga Beach in 2011, a four-story water treehouse with four waterslides, a bucket that spills hundreds of gallons of water every few minutes, and various water play elements.[17] Nashville Shores also renovated the campground and lakeside cabins in 2011. The new additions to campground were new hookups for water, sewer, and electricity, Wi-Fi, a playground, new RV sites, a refurbished bathhouse, a laundromat, a dog park, and other improvements.[18] In 2012, Nashville Shores opened Treetop Adventure Park, an adventure course separate from the waterpark, featuring suspended bridges, zip lines, and other obstacles.[19] Nashville Shores opened the Big Kahuna in 2015, a $2 million family raft ride that is 57 feet tall, and 530 feet long.[20]
In 2017, Barefootin' Bay, a children's water play structure with mini-slides and a tipping bucket, was added to the waterpark.[21] To celebrate the waterpark's 20th anniversary, Nashville Shores added the Aqua Park in 2018, an interactive playground on the lake with 40 water elements.[22] The park also improved the beach area, adding new cabanas, more shaded areas, a tiki bar, a beach volleyball court, and more sand.[23] On November 14, 2019, the Nashville Shores announced that they would be adding Mega Mayhem in 2020, the largest waterslide addition in the park's history.[24] Mega Mayhem is a six-story family raft ride from ProSlide Technologies, that features two distinct elements, a tornado funnel and a four-story wall.[25]
On March 24, 2020, Nashville Shores announced that they planned to open the waterpark on May 16 instead of May 2, as originally scheduled.[26] This change was made due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2020, the park said that they would not open on May 16 or give a specific opening date, but said that they hoped to open in early June. As a result, Nashville Shores also announced that they would be open for an additional week of operation in August and an additional weekend of operation in September.[27]On June 5th, 2020, Nashville Shores announced their reopening on June 10th, 2020.
