Which Wave Rich Southern California Town Is Getting A Wavepool?

Every boy and girl dreams of having a wavepool in their backyard.  

A place where they can air, tube, wiggle, and glide on-demand and without respect to tide, swell, or weather. At this moment, in the US, only the children of Waco, Texas can claim this as their reality.

BSR is the only quality wavepark around the world that is open to the public seven days a week. The Surf Ranch in Lemoore is technically available to the public, but the place is booked half a year in advance and costs more than Tesla’s new pick-up truck to rent for the day. 

We know that pools will be popping up in Melbourne and Yeppoon, Australia and that New Jersey’s Meadowlands is getting a wavemaker this autumn, along with other pools popping up across the entire globe. But as of now, it’s just Waco. 

As a result, there are many sad boys and girls. 

However, a new report out of Oceanside, CA has bent their tiny ears, as rumors of a surf park at the old swap meet run rampant in the northern San Diego region.

Oside has its moments. Photo: Tanner Olthoff

More, from the San Diego Reader:

The 90-acre Oceanside Swap Meet site was once hyped as a perfect home for a new Chargers stadium. That ten-year-old rumor was just idle folklore.

But get ready for an attraction that may be just as sexy: A wave park similar to Kelly Slater’s Wave Pool near Fresno.

That rumored plan was confirmed by Mayor Peter Weiss who said he had just learned from discussions with Zephyr Partners that the Encinitas-based developer will be presenting preliminary plans to the city on June 13 to devote 35 acres of the property to a wave park.

The primary draw would be a wave-making machine that generates “perfect waves” every time. The format has been successful that been successful at wave parks in Waco and Austin Texas and at Lemoore, California near Fresno, home of Kelly Slater’s park.

While Mayor Weiss says he has heard that Zephyr is speaking with two different wave generating companies, Macks [a local surfboard distributor] says the word on the street is that the Wave Garden company, bolstered by its new “Cove” technology, will be the company that will be selected for the new Oceanside projects.

Ain’t nobody paying for the pool when the ocean looks like this. Photo: Tanner Olthoff

Wavepools have been wildly popular in non-surfing destinations like Lemoore, CA and Waco, TX, but we’ve yet to see one pop up in a wave-rich zone. Which begs the question: will building a wavepool in Oceanside, which boasts 3.5 miles of average to occasionally good surfing coastline, be like bringing bread to a bakery? Or will the wavepool serve as a valuable alternative to the ocean, allowing folks to surf when it suits them rather than being tied to natural, immutable forces?

Also, will it be completely empty when the ocean is pumping?

So many questions, but even more excited kiddies!