It’s okay to confess you have been flawed about pickleball. Positive, you dismissed it just some years in the past as a foolish pastime meant just for retirees and out-of-shape adults. After which, just like the 19.8 million different People who performed in 2024, you picked up a pickleball behavior.
Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport within the U.S. for the fourth consecutive yr, says the Sport and Health Trade Affiliation (SFIA) in its 2025 Topline Participation Report: Participation has greater than tripled since 2022.
And it’s now not only for retirees—pickleball can also be catching on with youthful gamers, in line with the SFIA’s 2024 report. The game’s largest demographic contains 2.3 million paddle wizards aged 25–34, and a million kids have additionally joined in on the enjoyable.
Extra in style even than soccer and baseball, the game can also be breeding a wholly new model of journey: pickleball holidays.
Smash, serve, repeat!
Let’s again up a second: What’s pickleball within the first place?
Created in 1965, pickleball combines components of tennis and ping-pong utilizing stable paddles to hit perforated balls over a web. Located on a standard-sized badminton doubles court docket (20 toes by 44 toes), gamers rating factors in line with particular guidelines and limits, amongst them the “non-volley zone” (recognized famously as “the kitchen”).
The game’s reputation swelled through the COVID-19 pandemic, in line with the SFIA, alongside different out of doors sports activities like tennis and golf. Nonetheless, pickleball requires solely open area, a web and cheap gear.
“At first, tennis gamers scoffed on the title ‘pickleball’ and [the] concept of enjoying a recreation with a wiffle ball,” says Karen Schott, director of racquet sports activities on the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. “That was, till these scoffers tried it.”
Pickleball hits the “candy spot” within the resort‘s surroundings as a result of it’s straightforward to be taught, she provides. A number of generations can play on one court docket and have a blast—plus it’s extra of a social sport than tennis.
“Simply hearken to a mean doubles recreation of tennis in comparison with pickleball,” Schott says. “The laughter alone is telling.”
Pack your paddle
What precisely is a pickleball trip?
Some gamers plan their very own trip by exploring new-to-them pickleball courts an hour or extra away. Others craft total U.S. highway journeys round exploring new courts or fly to far-flung spots to play worldwide. And in case you search the Web for “pickleball holidays,” you’ll discover a cornucopia of companies, organizations and gamers providing journey recommendation to pickleball devotees.
You may even rent pickleball journey specialists—like Gary Zins, a former school tennis participant and psychological well being skilled turned licensed pickleball coach. After he began a web based journey company in 2021, buddies and teammates started asking him the place to go to distinctive courts, each home and worldwide. So in 2022, he launched his new company, Pickleball Journey.
“After I journey, I additionally prefer to play pickleball, and so I figured others would too,” he says.
In keeping with Julie Ostergren, who booked a visit by way of Zins’ company, one of the best half is that she and her 30-woman group cannot solely socialize on and off the court docket, however they’ll additionally journey collectively every January. They simply decide the date and property and Zins books their journey and schedules courts and instruction.
“We just like the all-inclusive [trips] as a result of… folks know the way a lot it [costs],” she says. “And we’ve had a lot enjoyable.”
Dinks and drinks
Companies all through the nation are clamoring to construct courts, in line with Pickleheads—the official court docket and recreation finder of USA Pickleball—and the World Pickleball Federation. Whereas there have been greater than 38,140 accessible courts listed on Pickleheads in 2021, that quantity grew in 2024 to 68,458 (a roughly 80% enhance).
Elevated demand has even impressed pickleball-themed “eatertainment” eating places, which mix foods and drinks with pickleball in a social setting. Franchise locations like Camp Pickle and Hen N Pickle are popping up all through the U.S., alongside unbiased institutions like Moodswing, a 43,000 square-foot area slated to open close to downtown Denver in July 2025.
After a 2022 pickleball recreation, Colorado restaurateurs Justin Riley and Giovanni Leone observed fellow gamers chatting and bonding over beers whereas ready for his or her activate the court docket. The duo, together with Colton Cartwright, then developed an idea to draw visitors all day and evening lengthy: Moodswing.
Throughout daylight, Moodswing is a haven for distant employees and low fans. However by evening, it transforms right into a social hub with a full kitchen and bar program, the town’s largest out of doors patio (33,000 sq. toes)—and, in fact, pickleball.
Spots like this will draw vacationers to giant cities as a result of they’re extra more likely to be seated sooner than at a smaller boutique bar or restaurant. Clients additionally don’t must be pickleball gamers earlier than visiting—but it surely is perhaps powerful to withstand the game’s attraction.
“You’re capable of exit on a Saturday with one other couple… hit the ball round, sweat just a little bit, be out within the solar and nonetheless have type of full conversations,” Giovanni says. “So I feel it simply checks loads of packing containers in that regard.”
Serving up courts from coast to coast
Pickleball fanatics who wish to play away from dwelling have an array of journey choices, even within the nice outdoor.
The game has develop into a core recreation selection for vacationers at Kampgrounds of America (KOA), says Stacey Campbell, KOA’s director of campground design companies. Such facilities are key to the tenting expertise—and in line with KOA’s 2025 Tenting and Out of doors Hospitality Report knowledge, 20% of Gen Z and Millennial vacationers say that entry to out of doors sports activities (golf, basketball, tennis, pickleball, frisbee or disc golf) boosts their well-being.
“As curiosity in pickleball continues to surge and drive client demand, we’re actively including courts to our campgrounds to reinforce the tenting expertise,” Campbell says. “The response has been overwhelmingly optimistic.”
A bit nearer to dwelling, long-standing tour operators are additionally coming into the fray—like Zephyr Adventures, which added its first Arizona Pickleball Journey to its suite of excursions final October.
“Our complete theme is that, as an energetic tour operator, we’re not simply working pickleball excursions,” says Allan Wright, who based the corporate in 1997. “We’re working pickleball adventures that embrace different actions.”
That includes a four-night keep in Prescott, Arizona, this journey contains each day pickleball play with an teacher for all participant ranges, plus time for mountain climbing, biking or soaking within the Southwestern tradition.
Luxurious is served
If all-inclusive choices are extra your fashion, there are infinite alternatives to play pickleball in paradise.
You may e book an journey with Holland America, the official cruise line of the Skilled Pickleball Affiliation, or AmaWaterways, the primary river-cruise firm to characteristic a full-size pickleball court docket. Corporations like Pickle Escapes additionally provide unique pickleball excursions, from oceanfront courts in Spain to an African safari.
Or in case you’d desire to take a “dink by the seashore,” you’ll be able to strive an all-inclusive resort like Membership Med Ixtapa or Membership Med Turkoise, which characteristic 11 and 10 pickleball courts, respectively.
Pushed by pickleball’s widespread reputation and broadening attraction throughout generations, Membership Med has added greater than 40 courts throughout 5 North America resorts, says Carolyne Doyon, CEO and president of Membership Med North America and the Caribbean.
Properties like Membership Med Cancún have additionally upgraded and expanded their courts to optimize movement for each informal and aggressive play, says Damien Sejourne, Membership Med’s AVP of product and companies and asset administration. “The response has been unimaginable, with an 11% enhance within the variety of hosted pickleball teams thus far in 2025, in comparison with the overall quantity hosted in 2024,” he provides.
In keeping with Doyon, “pickleball has shortly develop into a cornerstone of the Membership Med expertise and a mirrored image of how we keep intently attuned to our visitors’ preferences.”
Picture courtesy of Membership Med
