There are more wave pools being built right now than existed in total five years ago. Our directory currently tracks 23 parks that are announced, in development, or actively under construction, spread across four continents.
It is also true that surf park opening dates slip constantly. Projects get re-teched, re-timed, re-financed, and occasionally abandoned. So this tracker does two things: it lists every project with its stated target, and it tells you which targets we would actually plan a trip around. Sorted by the year the developers are aiming at.
Targeting 2026
DSRT Surf (Palm Desert, California, Wavegarden Cove). Effectively here. Wavegarden celebrated the opening in July 2026 and invited pros ran a super session that produced the best footage of the year, but a public booking portal had not gone live as of this writing, with late summer the stated window for general access. Sessions are expected to start as low as $60 an hour. This is the closest thing to a sure bet on the list. Read our full DSRT opening breakdown.
The Point Surf Park (Fellsmere, Florida, Endless Surf). Substantially built, welcome center finished, targeting early September. It will be the first Endless Surf lagoon operating in the United States. The risk is the calendar rather than the construction: early September is the statistical peak of Florida hurricane season. More in our opening preview.
Surfers Cove (Óbidos, Portugal, Wavegarden Cove). December 2026, and credible. Early Bird surf-and-stay packages went on sale in July 2026, which is a meaningful signal that a park is real. Expect a soft-opening winter.
Gemswell Surf Madrid (Madrid, Spain, Wavegarden Cove). Summer 2026 target that has already slipped from earlier announcements. A giant Cove next to a metro stop in Wavegarden's home country is about as safe a market bet as this industry offers. The only real question is when.
Bahrain Surf Park (Bilaj Al Jazayer, Bahrain, Wavegarden Cove). Stated 2026, hold it loosely. It is one piece of a much larger masterplan, and masterplan phasing moves dates. Gulf summer surface temperatures will also test any outdoor lagoon.
Brasil Surfe Clube (Búzios, Brazil, Endless Surf ES48). A July 2026 opening was the target and there has been no opening announcement, so the date is clearly moving. Members-only, and Brazil's other club-model pools never opened to the public, which is the risk profile here too.
Cabo Real Surf Club (Los Cabos, Mexico, Endless Surf). Late 2026, private. Unless you are in the market for a Cabo villa, this is a spectator story.
El Nido (Punta del Este, Uruguay, Wavegarden Cove). 2026 target, members-only, and Uruguay's winter makes it seasonal in practice. Another residents-first Latin American pool.
East Point Reef Club (Popkum, British Columbia, Ka'ana Wave Co). Spring 2026 was the target for the surf pool and spa. The Ka'ana CM7 technology has minimal public track record, and North American timelines have a history of slipping. Worth monitoring before booking travel.
Targeting 2027
Perth Surf Park (Jandakot, Western Australia, Wavegarden Cove). The most credible large project on this list. Ground is broken, the money is institutional, and at 62 modules it ties for the largest Cove ever built. First waves expected spring 2027, meaning roughly September to November in Australian terms. Our full construction story has the details.
Cannon Beach (McKinney, Texas, SwellMFG). A $200 million project from the team behind Arizona's Revel Surf, broke ground December 2025. Projections have already moved from 2026 to mid-2027 to late 2027, and a project this amenity-heavy phases in over years.
Zion Shores (Washington, Utah, PerfectSwell + UNIT). Mid-2027 at the earliest. Primarily a luxury residential development rather than a walk-up public park. Non-resident access has not been confirmed and no session pricing is published.
The Break Surf & Stay (Aldinga, South Australia, Endless Surf). Mid-2027, already slipped once from a mid-2026 target. Confirmation that ground has actually broken is thin.
HTX Surf (Houston, Texas, Wavegarden Cove). Late 2027, aspirational. The project has been announced, re-teched from Endless Surf to Wavegarden, and re-timed since 2022, and we found no confirmation that major construction is underway. Until cranes appear, treat the date as a wish.
Jacksonville Surf Park (Jacksonville, Florida, Wavegarden Cove). Q4 2027 target. Construction had not started at our last check, and Aventuur's Perth and Auckland projects sit ahead of it in the queue.
Auckland Surf Park (Auckland, New Zealand, Wavegarden Cove). Late 2027 with real slip risk, since construction has not visibly started and Perth is clearly the priority. The concept is the interesting part: the lagoon is meant to be heated with waste heat from an on-site data centre running off a solar farm.
Shell Point Beach & Surf Club (Panama City Beach, Florida, Endless Surf). 2027 stated, but we could not confirm construction has started. Beach-town projects slip seasons routinely.
Crest Surf Clubs (Shirley, New York, Premier Surf Systems). The cautionary tale of the list. Groundbreaking happened in May 2023 with a 2024 target. As of our last check the basin, wave system, and clubhouse were all still unfinished, against the backdrop of a $45 million raise. Treat 2027 with heavy skepticism.
Targeting 2028
Ocean Kamp (Oceanside, California). Construction is genuinely underway on the 92-acre resort after years of land-use fights, tribal artifact discoveries, and restarts. The catch is unusual: the wave vendor has not been announced. Pre-2028-Olympics timing is a marketing goal, not a schedule.
Draper Surf Park (Draper, Utah, Endless Surf). The USA Surfing Olympic training partnership gives this a real deadline, which helps. But fall groundbreakings become spring groundbreakings all the time. Our Draper breakdown covers what the Olympic tie-in actually means.
Alchemy Surf Resort (Placer County, California, Wavegarden Cove plus a Citywave standing wave). It has not cleared entitlements, which in California is the hardest wave to catch. Every date downstream of approval is best-case.
No credible date
Austin Surf Club (Del Valle, Texas, Kelly Slater Wave Co). Construction paused in April 2026 after at least seven subcontractors filed liens totaling more than $4.6 million, according to The Real Deal. The 2027 date was already listed as unconfirmed before the pause. Members-only. Do not plan around this one.
Wisemans Surf Lodge (Wisemans Ferry, New South Wales, Endless Surf). Announced, members-only, and quiet since a technology switch, with no construction confirmed. With URBNSURF Sydney already open and serving that market, this sits firmly in the announced-but-unproven column.
What this list actually tells you
Three patterns are worth naming. First, Wavegarden is winning the volume game: the Cove appears more than any other technology on this list, and its projects are also the ones furthest along. Second, an increasing share of new pools are members-only or residential amenities rather than public parks, especially in Latin America and at the luxury end in the US. If you are a normal surfer wanting to book a session, the pipeline is smaller than the headline count of 23 suggests. Third, the projects that hold their dates are the ones with institutional money and visible dirt moving. Perth and Surfers Cove look real. HTX and Crest have been "coming soon" for years.
We update this tracker as projects move. For everything currently open and bookable, browse the full directory, or start with our regional guides to Europe, California, and Texas.
Rendering of Surfers Cove, Óbidos, courtesy of Wavegarden.
