The WavePoolMag desert update focuses on developments in the evolving surf park oasis east of Los Angeles. After the pandemic, progress on the four surf parks planned for the Coachella Valley is moving ahead with one scheduled to open in a few months with the others to follow in 2023-2024. This current article is an update of the one we posted in 2021 which you can read here.

Palm Springs Surf Club 2022

Coral Mountain 2023

DSRT Surf 2023

Thermal 2024

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As late spring brings hotter temperatures to the desert so does anticipation and interest of the status of four planned wave basins in the Coachella Valley. Of the four projects, two are going to be open to the public and two are going into private communities.

The Thermal Beach Club is a residential development described as a “private paradise” featuring a beach for club members. The developer is planning to build 326 dwelling units including a 22-acre lagoon with wavemaking technology for surfing and water recreation and 34,400 square feet of clubhouse buildings that include a restaurant and bar. Developers have stated that they intend to allow local schools to utilize the wave pool in a way that gives back to the community. This project has been fully approved by Riverside County and is expected to start construction but no exact date has been announced.

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The Coral Mountain private development slated to be built in La Quinta is still in the process of final approval. If the proposed project receives final approval it will have the Kelly Slater wave technology similar to the existing pool in Lemoore, California which has helped fuel the development of wave basins throughout the world. There has been much opposition to this project and there were two hurdles that needed to be approved before the project could move forward. First is the certification of the environmental impact report and general plan amendment to add tourist commercial status to allow a hotel to be added to the resort along with private residences. As of this writing, the planning commission of La Quinta has approved these changes and the final approval from the city council will take place at the next council meeting. 

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Desert Wave Ventures received final approval for their DSRT Surf Resort in Palm Desert and will have a 5.5-acre lagoon and feature the Wave Garden technology, a 92-room luxury hotel and 83 residential villas. This public development will be built next to the city’s Desert Willow Golf Resort and will have a surf academy for lessons, rentals and all things surf related. DSRT has also addressed the issue of water usage. They are implementing a unique “Surf for Turf” to offset the surf lagoon water by converting 20 acres of turf on the golf courses to drought tolerant landscaping.  Construction is expected to begin this summer with an opening date of the end of 2023.

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The Palm Spring Surf Club got the jump on all the other projects when it purchased and took over the old Wet’N’Wild water park in Palm Springs.  They had the advantage of having an existing pool basin that made little waves for tourists to play in back when it was Wet’n’Wild. They were able to utilize the space to add new equipment and use the old pool to test the new equipment. There have been much-publicized videos, and many of the world’s top surfers have been out to the desert to test their new wave. The old pool footprint has now been removed and a new much larger wave basin is in the process of being built. No date has been given for an opening but it will for sure be the first working wave basin in the Coachella Valley open to the public.

Update provided by Coachella Valley Surf Club