Forget Malibu or the North Shore. Next summer, you can catch a wave in Palm Desert, 100 miles from the nearest ocean.
After years of delays, DSRT Surf, the Coachella Valley’s second surf destination, is expected to open to the public in the summer of 2026. The new complex will offer inland surfers a steady stream of machine-powered waves in a 5.5 acre surf pool embedded in the sprawling Desert Willow Golf Resort.
The complex, which will eventually include a 139-key hotel and 57 luxury villas, is the latest addition to a growing number of surf resorts opening across the country and the world that don’t require proximity to a coastline. Surf pools may not have the romance and drama of the open ocean, but fans say they can provide beginners and experienced surfers alike consistent waves for working on skills as well as introduce the sport to people who lack easy access to natural waves.
And at least in Palm Desert, it also helps that the weather is significantly more predictable than at a seaside resort where a surf trip might be ruined by a week of rain.
“We often say if you could pick a place in the world to do this, this is absolutely the best place in the world,” said Doug Sheres, a partner at Beach Street Development, the company behind DSRT Surf at a ground-breaking ceremony in 2024. “Literally right here in Desert Willow, surrounded by the greens, surrounded by the lake, surrounded by the mountains, and 350 days of sunshine a year.”
The project, which was delayed by COVID and a complex permitting process, has been in the works since 2018 and was approved by the Palm Desert City Council in 2019 despite some residents’ concerns about water usage and questions about the wisdom of building a surf park in the middle of the desert.
The wave pool holds 7 million gallons of water and, because of evaporation, filtration and maintenance, it is expected to go through roughly 25 million gallons of water a year. However, as part of its agreement with Palm Desert, Beach Street Development has committed to replacing 1 million square feet of existing turf in the Desert Willow Golf Resort with native plantings, a move that is projected to save 35 million gallons of water a year while not impacting game play on the courses.
“Through this initiative, our surf pool will not use any incremental water above or beyond what is currently already being used today at Desert Willow,” the developers wrote on DSRT Surf’s website.
In addition to the wave pool, DSRT Surf will also offer pickleball courts, a swimming pool, jacuzzi, yoga classes, a restaurant and a skate bowl.
The opening of DSRT Surf comes just two years after the reopening of Palm Springs Surf Club 10 miles down the road. That club is built on the site of a former water park and features a 1.5 acre wave pool, a lazy river and water slides. It hasn’t always been popular with guests and neighbors — its wave pool was plagued with mechanical issues in its early months, and its machines and events have generated dozens of noise complaints, though management has said noise-reducing solutions are in the works.
DSRT Surf’s massive surf lagoon will be larger than four football fields and will accommodate 70 surfers at once. Although prices for hour-long surf sessions have not yet been set, Sheres said they are committed to making surfing in the desert affordable for the local community.
“We consider this very much available to all income levels and demographics, ” he said in an interview. “It’s wide open to everyone.”
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