Artist’s rendering of Alchemy Surf Resort, Placer County, Calif. (Inland Surf Co. / AO Architects via Placer County Planning Commission)
An inland surf resort will be built on former agricultural fields near Sacramento under a plan approved by Placer County’s planning commission.
In addition to a five-acre surf lagoon with a wave generator, Alchemy will have a 100-room hotel, 22 bungalows and other sports facilities, according to the proposal presented by Inland Surf Co. and approved Thursday by the county’s planners.
The “experience-based resort” will be adjacent to Roseville and Rocklin in a development area known as Placer One. Also in the works for Placer One are a 5,600-home all-electric community and a satellite campus of Sacramento State.
Alchemy would be open year-round, with 2,000 visitors a day projected on the busiest summer weekends. At peak times, up to 90 surfers at a time would be on the lagoon, the proposal said. Surfers would purchase one-hour sessions; day passes will also be sold for the beach and other pools and facilities.
Groundbreaking is set for spring 2027.
The pioneering artificial surf pool at pro surfer Kelly Slater’s Kings County ranch has been in operation since 2015. Surf Ranch is used for training, competitions and camps and is not open to the public.
Palm Springs Surf Club opened last year, and other California wave pools are in development:
• DSRT Surf, in Palm Desert, is in its soft opening phase and expects full opening in November.
• Thermal Beach Club, in the Coachella Valley, plans a 2028 opening.
• Neptune Beach Surf Club, in Alameda, has been proposed for former Naval Air Station land at Alameda Point.