A real “beach day” in North Texas usually means a lake, a pool pass, or a road trip. Cannon Beach Surf and Adventure Park is aiming to change that with a large-scale surf-and-resort project planned for McKinney that’s built around a manmade surf lagoon, sand, and a full slate of entertainment.
Multiple reports describe Cannon Beach as a roughly $200 million development planned on about 35 acres at the northeast corner of Stacy Road and State Highway 121 (S.H. 121), with a surf lagoon as the centerpiece and a resort-style hotel anchoring the experience.
If you’ve seen wave-pool parks popping up around the country, this is that trend landing locally, just supersized and paired with hospitality. Cannon Beach has been described as opening in phases, with early timelines in reporting suggesting portions could open as soon as 2026, while more recent coverage around the groundbreaking points to a first-phase target closer to mid-2027.
Where It’s Planned and Why McKinney Makes Sense
Cannon Beach is planned for the northeast corner of Stacy Road and S.H. 121, a location that’s already one of the region’s busiest growth corridors. The site size (about 35 acres) is a key detail, because projects like this need a lot of room for the lagoon itself, the safety buffers around it, back-of-house operations, parking, and the add-on attractions that make the destination feel like more than a single amenity.
McKinney leaders have been publicly bullish on the idea of becoming a regional draw with family-friendly recreation and tourism potential. Earlier reporting tied to city materials estimated significant visitor numbers and job creation, with one local outlet summarizing city projections at around 300,000 visitors annually and 700+ jobs when fully operational (figures tied to city release coverage rather than independently verified results).
The Big Feature: A Surf Lagoon
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The surf lagoon is the headline, and it’s planned as a four-acre centerpiece designed to deliver destination-level wave sessions in North Texas. It’s the kind of scale that changes the whole feel of the project, because a lagoon this size isn’t just a pool—it’s a full-on surf environment built to support lessons, sessions, and all-day hang time around the water.
The project has been described as pairing the four-acre surf lagoon with sandy beaches, a cliff-diving pool, and other aquatic attractions that lean into a true resort-style “beach day” experience.
Beyond the surf zone, the broader water lineup mentioned in coverage includes add-ons like a lazy river and a mineral hot springs circuit, which signals that the concept isn’t only about surfing. It’s meant to hit multiple weekend moods in one place: surf session, float session, and recovery session—without leaving North Texas.
Beyond Surfing: What Else Is Planned On-Site
Cannon Beach isn’t being positioned as “just a wave pool.” It’s being positioned as a mixed-use leisure district, with the resort hotel and entertainment zones designed to keep the site active beyond daylight hours and beyond summer. The city’s announcement and multiple news reports describe a mix of dining, entertainment, and business space, with one WFAA report specifically noting 100,000 square feet of office space in the plan.
On the entertainment side, recent coverage has listed proposed features such as a skateboard park, movie theater, bowling alley, health club, and indoor recreation facilities, framing Cannon Beach as a place where not everyone has to be in the water for the day to work.
If those elements land as planned, it’s the kind of place where a family can split up (surf lesson, skating, lunch, then regroup), or a group can make it a full-day hang without needing a second destination.
Resort-Style Hotel: The Anchor That Changes the Whole Experience
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A surf lagoon is a fun day. A surf lagoon plus a hotel is a weekend. That’s why the hotel piece matters. Multiple sources describe a full-service resort-style hotel as central to Cannon Beach’s plan, with lounge areas and cabanas connecting back to the lagoon and beach zone.
Some reporting also references event and wedding spaces, which is a common play for “destination” developments that want consistent bookings outside peak leisure hours.
If North Texas weather behaves the way it usually does, the long-term win for a project like this is programming: camps, lessons, events, seasonal festivals, corporate outings, and shoulder-season weekends when people want something fun that isn’t dependent on perfect summer heat. The development has been framed publicly as “year-round” in ambition, even if the exact mix of year-round indoor offerings is still emerging through announcements.
Timeline: Groundbreaking and What “Opening in Phases” Usually Means
Cannon Beach has been discussed publicly since late 2024, and the project officially broke ground on December 15, 2025. The first phase could be ready by mid-2027.
In plain terms, “phased opening” typically means the lagoon and core hospitality arrive first (because they’re the draw), while secondary entertainment, retail, and office pieces follow as leases and construction schedules align. That also gives the operator time to build a local audience, train staff, and calibrate pricing and programming before everything ramps up.
What to Watch for Next
Because this is a large public-facing development, the details you’ll want to keep an eye on are the ones that shape the real experience: confirmed opening windows, pricing for surf sessions and day passes, age rules and safety requirements, how lessons and memberships work, and whether the non-water entertainment mix comes online early or later.
For now, the clear headline is simple: a $200 million, 35-acre surf-and-adventure resort is planned for McKinney, with a major surf lagoon, hotel, and a long list of add-ons that aim to make North Texas feel coastal for a day.