After years of lawsuits, delays, and archeological surprises, Oceanside’s Ocean Kamp surf lagoon is finally under construction near real ocean waves.
By Dashel Pierson / SURFER / Apr 7, 2026
Key Points
- The $45 million Oceanside wave pool project is finally moving forward after years of delays.
- The 92-acre mixed-use development will include a 3.5-acre customizable surf lagoon as centerpiece.
- Developers aim to open before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics; no official date yet.
- News about Oceanside’s inbound wave pool is, well, nothing new.
The San Diego, CA project has been in the works for years, in fact, but there’s been a number of setbacks that have left the manmade surf park – located near the coast, and one of the Golden State’s popular, although sleepy, surf towns – in something like limbo.
But now, it appears the $45 million project is moving finally moving forward.
Previously, some four years ago, the Ocean Kamp project had been announced and everything seemed to be moving forward. But then, it stalled. The project got embroiled in a number of hurdles – including lawsuits, city approvals, and the discovery of Native American artifacts on the site. And so, the bureaucratic hoops, as they say, were set.
Construction on the project is currently underway, and according to the video above, the narrator describes: “A massive surf lagoon is coming to Oceanside, San Diego, and they’re targeting to have it finished by the [Los Angeles] 2028 Olympics…the centerpiece of this project is a $45 million surf lagoon. It’s going to have a 3.5-acre wave pool, which produces perfect, customizable waves all year round.”
The Ocean Kamp surf park in Oceanside, California has experienced some serious setbacks; but now, construction is slated for 2026.
One of the obvious qualms with all these wave pool projects, is that they’re popping up in places with real, ocean waves nearby. And Ocean Kamp is no different. It’s located at 3460 Mission Avenue, the former site of the drive-in theater and swap meet, a few clicks from the ocean. But with surfers already built into the area, there’s a market. Right?
As for the pool, here’s some specs on what to expect:
“The 92 acre project, that’s just 3 miles from the ocean on the north side of highway 76 just east of Foussat rd, aims to transform the former swap meet and drive-in movie theater site into a mixed-use development featuring residential, commercial, and recreational elements including a 3.5 acre wave pool as its main attraction. Key components of this project also include up to 667 (all electric, solar powered homes, a 300-room resort hotel, and 134,000 square feet of retail and office space.”
And while the specific technology of the pool has yet to be revealed, it’s said to use pneumatic wave-making machinery – the same stuff seen at the Palm Springs Surf Club, Waco Surf, 02 SurfTown Muc, and others…however not Kelly Slater Wave Co.
No official date has been given for the grand opening of Ocean Kamp, but like they said, they’re shooting for before the LA28 Olympics. Stay tuned.
They can hold contests and the winner will go to Hawaii, just like in Arizona:
https://www.eos.surf/videos/arizona-surf-classic-from-north-shore-1987
That got a laugh out of me because I have that silly VHS movie on the shelf between Big Wednesday and Blue Juice, which is also next to Local Boys, 5 Summer Stories+1 and Endless Summer 1 &2. Even have a copy of Gidget and Waterlogged in the surf movie collection. But I admit that North Shore was especially bad…
As one of the early modern pioneer river surfers (Hawai’ians were doing in hundreds of years ago before the plantation owners destroyed all the Island’s rivers), I still can’t help myself looking at it as surfing in a chemical-filled toilet bowl. For $90 a pop! But it’s all about the money, the continued commercialization of what used to be a socially unacceptable outlawed lifestyle.
Now you can learn to surf without learning anything about currents or riptides or jellyfish or what it’s like to do a rock dance on a reef trying to retrieve your board.
Oh, and you don’t even have to learn how to swim! Boggles the mind it does.
I also think the Wavegarden designs are pretty good.
sealintheSelkirks
Kelly Slater Surf Ranch in Lemoore is only 7000.00 per person per day. Not a bad deal for the average citizen in the central valley. The low ranking enlisted Navy Sailors stationed there get a 5 percent discount.
https://staging.kswaveco.com/
My dream for the City of San Diego is to use the Successor Agency ROPS to clean the toxic waste NTC Navy channel, then ask private companies to put in a Wave Pool in the north east side of the channel near the flight path and MCRD.
Great news that the City of San Diego has agreements for almost all the taxing agencies so they can keep public ownership of our public park land.
Linked below is the City of San Diego’s Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule (ROPS) for the Oversight Board (OB) for the Successor Agency (SA) to the former Redevelopment Agency (RDA).
The City of San Diego has put massive amount of new ROPS Line items to finish the promises of the former RDA Agency.
All that is required is 4 of 7 votes on the County’s Oversight Board (OB) to put anything on the ROPS Debt.
City has 2 votes.
County has 2 Votes.
Schools have 2 votes (current member Board of Education has 1 vote, and Community Colleges has 1 vote).
Special Districts has 1 vote,
https://tinyurl.com/20260115a
Ever since former Assembly Member Nathan Fletcher’s midnight deal in October 2010 to delete the Redevelopment Agency (RDA) cap for a new publicly subsidized Charger stadium in downtown. There is now an unlimited amount of debt that can be added to the Successor Agency Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule (ROPS) if it is legally a debt and someone fight for it. San Diego fought for Harbor Drive Improvements, I fought a won funding for 5 Affordable Housing projects that were deleting, East Village Green, the railroad crossing, etc.
My other dream is to add the missing 10,000 Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Affordable Housing Unit lost in downtown Centre City RDA Project Area to the SA ROPS.
Also the Oversight Board (OB) Successor Agency (SA) Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule (ROPS) documents 4 Line Items totaling almost $23 million in RPTTF hoarded funds for NTC Liberty Station projects that are on hold due to lawsuits by the shady lessee Seligman Properties. If the creepy Seligman Properties the NTC Liberty Station Lessee get the NTC Park and other public property in a new 99 year lease, they will have access and ownership to the $23 million siting in the bank. Super sneeky of them. Since no one understand the ROPS, Seligman Properties is trying to scam us. Richard Bailey is on board with gifting NTC Park to Seligman Properties in Instagram.
In fact, in theory we can add as much money as legally required to the ROPS to clean the toxic NTC Navy Channel, and the Shoreline Improvement on both the East and West Side. Probably including a new Aquatic Center and Recreation Center that burned down. And an Olympic size swimming pool for student can have water polo and diving teams.
Line Item 109 NTC Disposition and Development Agreement dated 6/26/00
$84,774 $70,558 (14,216) 14,216 14,112 (104) No
Line Item 562 NTC Eastside Shoreline Improvements
$5,000,000 $5,000,000 0 0 0 0 No
On Hold – Due to Litigation
Line Item 563 NTC Shoreline Design/Entitlements & Westside Improvements
$10,000,000 $10,000,000 0 0 0 0 No
On Hold – Due to Litigation.
Line Item 645 NTC Storm Drain Outfalls
$7,151,511 $7,151,511 0 0 0 0 No
On Hold – Due to Litigation