I had the opportunity to visit NLand Surf Park today! It is North America's first inland surf park, located at 4836 E. Highway 71, Del Valle near Austin Bergstrom Airport. Hours of operation are Mondays from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. and the rest of the week from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. It officially opened to the public on October 7th after facing lawsuits over the park’s health and safety requirements. All that is water under the bridge now. ;) The park is being created in cooperation with Spanish engineering firm Wavegarden, which is considered a leader in wave technology. The lagoon has 11 surfing areas with four different surfing levels ranging from beginner to professional. It features 1-, 4- and 6-foot waves every 60 seconds with a long surfing experience of 35 seconds per wave. It should be noted that the project is a private investment that uses no taxpayers’ money, with many Austin-based companies being used for the design and construction of the park. Due to this innovative design project, it's not necessary to live on the beach in California to enjoy the pleasures of surfing. I missed my chance to surf multiple times while traveling in Costa Rica and this is a perfect opportunity to learn from world-class coaches! Who's ready to get out there and ride some killer waves?

Here's a few interesting statistics:

45 times larger than an Olympic-size swimming pool, or over 9 football fields put together!
The lagoon contains 11 million gallons of water, and each wave uses about 11,000 gallons!
The Waikiki wave technology took 10 years to develop and the estimated cost is $20 million!
The lagoon is 100% self-sustaining, using a system that captures water from the property.

Thanks for reading! You're welcome to click through the photo slideshow and watch the promo video below.

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