Big Surf

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1500 N. McClintock Drive Tempe, AZ 85281

480-947-2477

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Best Beach
Award Winner 2009

Hours: Call for Hours

Description

Big Surf

Daily

The Valley's very own waterworld, which features numerous waterslides and other aquatic fun, is open during the summer months only.

2009 | Best Beach

Long ago, Big Surf meant school was out and the beach -- such as it was -- was open. We wee Gidgets and mini Moondoggies pulled on our snorkels and grabbed our boogie boards and headed to Tempe to enjoy America's original water park, which was a fake "ocean" with a giant wave machine buried in its big, wet belly.Today, we take our kids there. Big Surf Tempe is 20 acres of body slides, tube slides, speed slides, water basketball and volleyball, and children's play area. That wave... More »
2008 | Best Waterpark

We don't admit to much these days (other than occasionally fudging on our taxes or taking an extra helping of chocolate cheesecake), but we'll gladly cop to the fact that we're totally reliving our childhood whenever we go to Big Surf. Many a hot afternoon was spent during our pre-pubescent days riding the waterslides or getting sunburned while swimming in the Tempe institution's gigantic artificial wave pool (the nation's first, by the way). A lot of things have changed since the park first... More »
2007 | BEST WAVES

In the ever-changing, nothing-is-sacred urban landscape that is the Valley, any spot that's been around as long as Big Surf deserves a special place in our hearts. Soon after it opened in 1969 as America's first artificial wave pool, it was pictured in National Geographic for an article on Phoenix. We'll never forget the early days of burning our feet on the sand that would heat up on the hottest summer days to temperatures found only on the surface of the sun. Well, the sand's been replaced... More »
2005 | BEST PLACE TO CATCH A WAVE

Of the Valley's three water parks, all owned by the Mesa-based Golfland Entertainment Centers, only Big Surf offers a wave pool where you can actually ride the waves -- and even then, the only spot the curls break strong enough to carry your rental raft all the way in to shore is at the three-foot depth marker, about two acres in from where the underwater gates release the rolling manmade pipelines. For FOGs (surfer slang for Frickin' Old Guys) who remember the lagoon when it first opened in... More »

Catch a Wave

By Benjamin Leatherman | Thu, October 13, 2011

Mother Nature must have a serious grudge against Steve LeVine. Especially considering that she brought a torrential thunderstorm that utterly drenched the local nightlife promoter’s big-time Sound Wave Festival last April, resulting in smaller-tha... More »
Summer Guide: Party

By C.M. Redding | Thu, June 02, 2011

It's heating up and I'm starting to freak out. I'm waking up in the middle of the night sweating, watching as the fan blades above my bed spin angrily, like the fan blades in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the original one). I am still, f... More »

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phoenixnewtimesbestof | Phoenix, AZ | 315 Reviews

| Wed, May 6, 2009

We don't admit to much these days (other than occasionally fudging on our taxes or taking an extra helping of chocolate cheesecake), but we'll gladly cop to the fact that we're totally reliving our childhood whenever we go to Big Surf. Many a hot afternoon was spent during our pre-pubescent days riding the waterslides or getting sunburned while swimming in the Tempe institution's gigantic artificial wave pool (the nation's first, by the way). A lot of things have changed since the park first opened in 1969 � slides have gotten bigger, teenage ride attendants have gotten snottier � but we still love the thrill of barreling down a watery tube at full bore. Our current favorites are the "Tornado Twisters," a pair of side-by-side slides where we can race some young punk down to the pool below, and "The Abyss," an enclosed slide that sends riders on a terrifying trip through the dark. If you've got young ones, get your significant other to take 'em to the park's kiddy-themed attractions like the "Otter Slides" and "Captain Cook's Landing" while you get in touch with your inner child.

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Big Surf

1500 N. McClintock Drive Tempe, AZ 85281

480-947-2477

Description

Daily

2009 | Best Beach

2008 | Best Waterpark

2007 | BEST WAVES

2005 | BEST PLACE TO CATCH A WAVE

By Benjamin Leatherman | Thu, October 13, 2011

By C.M. Redding | Thu, June 02, 2011

phoenixnewtimesbestof | Phoenix, AZ | 315 Reviews