Floating pickleball is the next big thing at luxury resorts

Pickleball has conquered parking lots, community centers and resort tennis courts. Now it’s taking to the water. A small but growing number of waterfront properties, from a lake marina in Arizona to a luxury lagoon community in South Florida, are installing floating courts, and they’re not treating them as novelties, but as the next move in an amenity race that a court on dry land can no longer win.

A regulation pickleball court is now an expectation at luxury properties, not a differentiator. Sandals Resorts operates 64 dedicated courts across 14 Caribbean properties as the official all-inclusive partner of USA Pickleball, a scale that indicates just how saturated the on-land market has become. For waterfront resorts with lakes, lagoons and marina access, a court on dry land no longer sets a property apart. The floating court does something a paved surface never can: it puts the game somewhere a competitor without water simply cannot follow. About 24.3 million Americans played pickleball in 2025, the sport’s fifth consecutive year as the fastest-growing in the country.

Hyatt Regency Lake Washington

The Hyatt Regency Lake Washington at Seattle’s Southport became one of the first hotels in the country to bring the game to open water when it launched a seasonal floating pickleball court on Lake Washington in August 2025. The court joined the property’s existing lineup of on-water activities, including jet ski, paddleboard and kayak rentals through a partnership with Ohana Kai Watersports.

Both the floating court and the water experiences were open to the public, not just hotel guests, a move to position the property as a waterfront destination for the broader community. The setup drew players looking for something they couldn’t find at any other hotel in the Pacific Northwest.

Palm Beach International Boat Show

The 2026 Palm Beach International Boat Show brought floating pickleball into one of the country’s most high-profile waterfront settings. A dedicated floating court in the Palm Harbor Marina drew yacht crews into a tournament for a trophy prize, with open play available to attendees between matches.

The show ran March 25 through 29 along the downtown West Palm Beach waterfront, drawing more than 300 boats and 100-plus superyachts. Positioned among nine-figure yachts with a crowd that skews affluent and active, the court sent a clear message about where the floating format fits.

Pleasant Harbor at Lake Pleasant

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Just in time for Memorial Day, Pleasant Harbor at Lake Pleasant debuted Arizona’s first floating pickleball court this week, adding a regulation-length installation to the marina’s waterpark alongside its H2-Whoa slide and platform jump. The property, located 35 minutes north of Phoenix, positions the court as a bookable group experience, four paddles and balls included, with nonslip footwear provided. Players can extend the day on the broader waterpark, book pontoon rentals or pick up a paddleboard, making the court one piece of a full-on water afternoon.

SoLé Mia, North Miami

SoLé Mia, the 184-acre master-planned lagoon community in North Miami, installed a permanent floating pickleball court on its crystal-clear lagoon this month, the first permanent installation of its kind at a residential resort property. The court was custom-built to regulation dimensions by Inflatable Island, with SoLé Mia’s branding applied directly to the playing surface.

Unlike the seasonal or event-based deployments at other properties, SoLé Mia’s court isn’t going anywhere. For a luxury residential community where the lagoon is the central amenity, a floating court turns daily recreation into something no neighboring development can replicate on land.

Where this goes next

The supply side is already moving. Multiple manufacturers, among them Inflatable Island, FloatingPickle and YachtBeach, now offer commercial floating court product lines built for resort, marina and waterfront deployments. FloatingPickle was accepting summer 2026 delivery orders as recently as March.

The format also goes beyond resort properties: the Toronto International Boat Show added floating pickleball sessions to its indoor lake in January 2026, an indication that demand extends well past the luxury waterfront market. For resorts sitting on lakes, lagoons and coastlines, the window to be first in their market is open, but it won’t stay that way.

Jennifer Allen is a retired chef turned traveler, cookbook author and nationally syndicated journalist; she’s also a co-founder of Food Drink Life, where she shares expert travel tips, cruise insights and luxury destination guides. A recognized cruise expert with a deep passion for high-end experiences and off-the-beaten-path destinations, Jennifer explores the world with curiosity, depth and a storyteller’s perspective. Her articles are regularly featured on the Associated Press Wire, The Washington Post, Seattle Times, MSN and more.

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