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/