Ride the waves at Sun Splash: All about Cape Coral's new Paradise Coast Wave Pool
It’s a first-of-its-kind attraction for Sun Splash Family Waterpark: A 12,000-square-foot swimming pool that mimics the rolling, crashing waves of the ocean or The Gulf.
The new Paradise Cove Wave Pool opened July 3, and it’s been seeing packed crowds of swimmers riding the waves at the Cape Coral park.
Melissa Rose of Venice drove down recently to check out the pool, and she and her kids came away impressed.
“I love it…” she said. “And the best part about this is there's no sharks or fish or anything to worry about.”
Here’s everything you need to know about the new Paradise Coast Wave Pool:
A big investment for Sun Splash
The City of Cape Coral owns Sun Splash, but it’s operated and maintained by the Orlando-based ProParks Attractions Group. That national company has a 30-year lease on the park.
Sun Splash broke ground on the project in October 2024. Paradise Cove cost $4 million to build and was paid for by ProParks, says Ron McKenzie, chief marketing officer for the company. No tax money was used for the project, he added.
Visitors can find Paradise Cove at the back section of Sun Splash near the park’s three popular drop slides: Terror Tube, Thunder Bump and X-Cellerator.
All about the waves
Swimmers try out the new Paradise Cove Wave Pool at Sun Splash Family Waterpark in Cape Coral.
The 160,000-gallon pool offers seven different wave patterns and various levels of wave intensity, McKenzie said. “You'll see every level of intensity up to the level that we think our guests can handle.”
Each wave session lasts 15 minutes, followed by a 7-minute break for people to rest, he said. “Every 15-minute wave pattern will be different from the one that was before.”
The park also plans to host special events for more daring park visitors who want bigger waves.
“We don't have our most intense waves in these wave patterns,” McKenzie said about the park's everyday waves. “But we are thinking that, at some point in time … we'll have some boogie-board nights and things like that. We'll be able to ratchet up the intensity of the waves.”
More about the Sun Splash wave pool
John Paul Opteyndt and his daughter Wren, 3, from Bonita Springs, enjoy the new wave pool attraction at Sun Splash Family Waterpark in Cape Coral Tuesday, July 8, 2025. The park unveiled its new wave pool attraction, Paradise Cove, and held a media tour of the facility.
The wave pool — manufactured by New York company Aquatic Development Group — can comfortably fit about 200 people in the water, McKenzie said. It’s surrounded by more than 300 lounge chairs and eight nearby cabanas.
The wave pool has a maximum depth of 4 feet, 6 inches, McKenzie says.
Paradise Cove has what the pool industry calls a “zero-depth beach entry.” Instead of using stairs or ladders, people walk into the water like they do at the beach: Using a gradually sloping entrance that easily takes you into the water from the pool deck.
For that reason, zero entry pools are often called “beach pools” or “walk-in pools.”
Grand opening, ‘dive-in movies’ planned
An official grand opening for Paradise Cove Wave Pool will likely happen in the next few weeks, McKenzie said.
That will come after the last addition for the pool arrives: A jumbo-sized, 16-foot-wide movie screen for movies and other content.
Sun Splash plans to host “dive-in movies” where people can watch from the pool or lounge chairs, McKenzie said. “People can actually watch the movie while they're floating and lounging in the wave pool.”
Tickets, deals for Paradise Cove Wave Pool at Sun Splash
Sun Splash Family Waterpark in Cape Coral unveiled its new wave pool attraction, Paradise Cove, and held a media tour of the facility Tuesday, July 8, 2025.
Sun Splash is open daily during the summer. Admission starts at $23 for visitors under 48 inches tall or $33 for visitors more than 48 inches tall.
Various ticket deals are also available this summer, including a $50 “Splash Pass” that gives you unlimited visits through Labor Day and a “Family 4-Pack” that gives you four one-day-admission tickets for $80.
More about Cape Coral’s Sun Splash water park: Slides, 'lazy river' and free inner tubes
Sun Splash Family Waterpark in Cape Coral unveiled its new wave pool attraction, Paradise Cove, and held a media tour of the facility Tuesday, July 8, 2025.
Sun Splash bills itself as “Southwest Florida’s largest waterpark.”
In addition to the new wave pool, the 14-acre Sun Splash offers water slides, swimming pools, flumes and a quarter-mile Main Stream River Tube Ride (sometimes loosely called the “lazy river” ride) that lets people float gently through the park on inner tubes.
You can't bring your own inflatables or floating devices into the park, McKenzie says, but free inner tubes are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. The park also provides free life jackets, or you can bring your own as long as it's marked as approved by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Sun Splash Family Waterpark is at 500 W. Lake Kennedy Drive, Cape Coral. For tickets and more info, call 574-0557 or visit sunsplashwaterpark.com.
Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. To reach him, call 239-335-0368 or email [email protected]. Follow or message him on Facebook(@charles.runnells.7), Instagram (@crunnells1) and X (@CharlesRunnells).
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Ride the waves at Sun Splash: All about Cape Coral's new Paradise Coast Wave Pool
