New PerfectSwell Wavepool Announced Outside of Zion National Park, Utah

Just outside of Zion National Park in Utah lies the one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States.

Take it from a Mormon: Washington County is a perfect place for a wave pool…

The area is replete with young families moving in, freshly priced out of their parents’ coastal elite enclaves. The county is also home to world-class mountain biking, golf, and boating. Not to mention all of these freshly cropped-up neighborhoods lie within a 20-minute drive from a National Park whose beauty is only rivaled by a Yosemite or a Yellowstone.

Culturally, Utah is also remarkably surf-horny. The city of Provo, two hours from PerfectSwell Zion and nine hours from the ocean, has a clothing store named “Called To Surf” (a play off the Mormon hymn “Called To Serve”), a FlowRider called “Provo Beach Resort”, and a collegiate surf team (BYU Surf Team) that drives 650 miles to compete in the NSSA every month.

In the middle of America, no community may be more able and willing to fill a wave pool’s pre-sell list.

Enter PerfectSwell Zion. Located in St. George, Utah — a red rock’s throw away from St. George Regional Airport — PerfectSwell will be taking its “Gen 6” technology and plopping it into a luxury neighborhood called “Zion Shores”. It’s the same strategy that PerfectSwell has employed in Brazil with São Paulo Surf Club and Boa Vista Village — and the same exact capacity for waves like the 10-second tube, double air section, and the new “McFly” (the wave we’ve got for Stab High Japan).

That’s a very good thing, considering what we’ve seen from these pools recently:

In PerfectSwell’s own words in today’s announcement: “Capping four years of in-house R&D, PerfectSwell Zion will feature Generation 6 PerfectSwell surf technology bringing bigger, better waves, improved efficiency, cutting-edge sustainability features, and AWM’s most innovative wave package yet. Gen 6 features optimization diagnostics utilizing historic and real time data, innovative health monitoring, maintenance schedules, and a thermal design system for air and water temperature management.”

One problem that PerfectSwell has tackled is water. Utah’s population is projected to outpace its supply of water by 2060. In Southern Utah, the problem is especially pronounced with low amounts of snow run-off and the Virgin River rapidly drying up. “There’s good cause to be concerned about water,” said area Mayor Chris Hart. “We are running out. We’ve just about used up all of the Virgin River drainage and our only hope is that we can convince enough of us to conserve better.”

So, how did PerfectSwell and their partners — American Wave Machines and Zion Shores — get approval to build a 700,000 gallon+ wave pool in the desert?

Brackish water, they say. “Further improvements in pneumatics have resulted in measurable increases in wave generating efficiency,” PerfectSwell announced. “For the surf and aquatics recreation, the project will upcycle brackish water – unfit for drinking or farming – conserving fresh water and reducing waste.”

All of the lots facing the wave pool have been sold. But there are still properties available for $1.5 Million in Zion Shores, if you’re unusually breaded. We did a whole story breaking down investing in wave pool properties, if you’re curious.

PerfectSwell Zion is slated to open in Q1 of 2027. Prayers up.