Garland Is Getting a New and Improved Water Park in 2026

The Surf & Swim Regional Aquatics Facility will have a lazy river, a wave simulator and three new water slides.

July 19, 2024

The Surf & Swim Regional Aquatics Facility is one of two new water parks coming to Garland. City of Garland

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As if Universal Studios, Peppa Pig Theme Park and the longstanding Six Flags Over Texas weren’t enough, another new amusement park is about to splash down in North Texas. The Surf & Swim Regional Aquatics Facility is slated to begin construction later this summer in Garland and open in 2026.

Orlando must be shaking in its swampy little galoshes as the Dallas area’s amusement park star continues to rise.

The new park will replace the existing Surf & Swim facility, which opened in 1984 and has shown signs of deterioration in recent years. The park had been closed the past few summers due to the demands of maintenance and will be demolished ahead of the upcoming construction.

The new and improved Surf & Swim will include a winding lazy river, a wave simulator, three new water slides, a leisure pool and an aquatic playground, according to an announcement on the City of Garland’s LinkedIn account. There will also be a party room for special events like birthdays and a concession stand.

Though this facility will be smaller than the previous parks mentioned above, the concept art looks rather impressive. If real life matches the proposed design, we'll soon have a spacious and inviting facility with something for everyone. In our hearts and minds, we’ve already developed a wicked sunburn due to losing track of time while floating down the lazy river. We mean that in the best possible way, of course.

In addition to Holford Recreation Center, another water park that began construction last year, Garland is on the way to becoming a formidable summer family destination. We can’t think of another city north of Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels where you’ll have more opportunities to get soaked.

All we need now to fulfill our vacation destination destiny is for those wild Dallas Disneyland rumors to come true. Sure, there are no known plans on The Walt Disney Company’s end to expand here. We’re just putting it out there, just in case anyone’s listening, that we’re ready and willing to accept our mouse overlord and end the one-sided fight we just randomly decided to pick with Orlando once and for all.

The Surf & Swim Regional Aquatics Facility is slated to open in summer of 2026 next to Audubon Recreation Center at 342 W. Oates Road, Garland.

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Carly May Gravley has been the staff music, food and culture writer for the Dallas Observer since October 2023. Before joining the staff, she freelanced for the Observer since 2019 and also contributed to Consequence of Sound, the Texas Tribune and Central Track. In addition to writing and reporting, Carly is a concert and portrait photographer and an alumna of Collin College’s Commercial Photography program.

Contact: Carly May Gravley

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