Wave Pools Bring Ocean to You!
Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel
The Beach Boys song “Surfin’ U.S.A.” says, “If everybody had an ocean across the U.S.A. then everybody’d be surfn’ like Californi-a.” Little did the singing surf bros. know that one day everybody would have the next best thing to an ocean – a wave pool.
Now, thanks to the entrepreneurial vision of surfers and scientists working together, surfers are hanging ten in places you would never expect – from Waco, Texas, to East Rutherford, New Jersey. In wave pools of all shapes, sizes, and skills levels.
The agricultural community of Lemoore, in Central California, far from the beach, has the Holy Grail of wave pools – the Surf Ranch, an invitation-only surf spot started in 2015 by legendary World Surfing Champion Kelly Slater.
Created by Slater and USC engineering professor Adam Finchem after ten years of planning, it offers state-of-the-art waves and is the only wave pool certified by the World Surf League. Though surfers have limited access to it now, Slater plans to expand the Ranch with extra pools and open it to the public.
Farther down the state in SoCal’s upscale desert playgrounds three wave pools are currently in various stages of development. The Palm Springs Surf Club, Coachella Valley’s Thermal Beach Club and Palm Desert’s DSRT Surf.
Waco Surf, in the heart of Texas, is a popular spot to chill out and experience surfing Texas-style. With RV hook-ups and pool-side cabanas, it’s a destination spot to kick off your boots, stop, and surf a while.
Skudin Surf, at New Jersey’s American Dream Mall, designed by big-wave surfer Will Skudin, is the world’s largest indoor wave surfing pool. Offering the comfort of surfing inside, it’s part of Dreamworks’ entertainment empire and the only surf spot where you’ll see Shrek sharing positive vibes.
Typhoon Lagoon, at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, offers a chance to surf at “The Happiest Place on Earth.” With an array of amenities and vacation options in the House of the Mouse, it has a variety of water features and inner-tubing over 61-acres.
Surfers are finding wave pools popping up in foreign locales, as well, including the U.K., Australia, Spain, and South Korea. And in the United Arab Emirates, Kelly Slater’s new Surf Abu Dhabi wave pool is bringing his surfing magic to the Middle East.
Now, with wave pools bringing you the ocean, everyone can “be surfin’ like Californi-a.”
Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.