We track 11 splash pads in Memphis — the best-served city in Tennessee. 8 of them are free.
Peak summer highs in Memphis average 91°F. Mornings and late afternoons are far more comfortable than the middle of the day, and shade is worth planning around.
| Month | Average high |
|---|---|
| June | 88°F |
| July | 91°F |
| August | 91°F |
The typical Memphis pad runs about 15 weeks a year. Municipal pads often close early for maintenance, so the last few weeks of the season are the least reliable.
The things that decide a trip with small children — a toilet, some shade, somewhere to sit — are exactly what listings usually leave out. Across the 11 pads in Memphis:
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The Children's Museum's 7,000-square-foot splash park packs in more than 40 sprayers, misters, geysers, and water tunnels within the museum's gated campus. Admission runs about $27 total ($20 museum entry plus a $7 splash add-on), so it works best paired with a full museum day.
✓ Last confirmed for the 2025 season
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This nine-acre Whitehaven park was rebuilt as the first Healthy Place project funded by the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Foundation, so the splash pad sits alongside two playgrounds, a challenge course, and a half-mile walking trail. A community pavilion with grills makes it easy to spend a whole afternoon here.
✓ Last confirmed for the 2026 season
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The zoo's zero-depth splash park layers slides, dump buckets, and interactive water toys with a dedicated toddler zone, all inside the zoo gates. Splash access costs roughly $8-10 on top of zoo admission, with a discount for zoo members.
✓ Last confirmed for the 2025 season
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Orange Mound Park's splash pad serves one of the country's most historic Black neighborhoods, and the nearby community center adds a heated indoor pool for year-round swimming. It's a free way for families to beat the heat just off Park Avenue.
✓ Last confirmed for the 2026 season
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Midtown's go-to free splash spot combines fountains and sprayers with a playground, a paved half-mile walking loop, and two shaded rental pavilions. Restrooms and a heated indoor pool are next door at the Raymond Skinner Center.
✓ Last confirmed for the 2026 season
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One of the city's newer splash pads, this North Memphis spot features play areas and water dumpers next to a playground, ball field, and picnic pavilion. Restrooms and parking are available at the on-site Hollywood Community Center.
✓ Last confirmed for the 2026 season
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Shelby Farms sells four-hour session tickets to its sprayground of water tunnels, spray jets, hand pumps, and geyser boulders near the Heart of the Park playground. Budget tip: free one-hour water play sessions run every Tuesday from noon to 5 p.m., first come, first served.
✓ Last confirmed for the 2025 season
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Set on 11 acres in southeast Memphis, McFarland Park puts its splash pad right beside a playground and ball field. The attached McFarland Community Center offers restrooms, indoor basketball courts, and a game room for cooling off indoors.
✓ Last confirmed for the 2026 season
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Kids can splash in the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Pontchartrain pools at the end of Mud Island's scale model of the Mississippi River, which is open for wading but not swimming. The downtown riverside setting adds skyline views and the giant MEMPHIS sign for photos.
✓ Last confirmed for the 2025 season
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Just blocks from Graceland, this Whitehaven splash pad mixes ground sprayers and fountains next to the community center's playground. It's one of the free city-run pads that stays open into the early evening all summer.
✓ Last confirmed for the 2026 season
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The fountain plaza outside Crosstown Concourse doubles as a free splash spot, with picnic tables and shaded seating steps away from the building's restaurants and free parking. It's an easy add-on to a lunch or coffee run in Midtown.
✓ Last confirmed for the 2025 season
Know a splash pad we're missing in Memphis?Add it to the guide.