Palm Beach County adds indoor pickleball at three recreation centers

Palm Beach County moved pickleball indoors this summer, opening air-conditioned gym play at West Boynton, Westgate and West Jupiter as South Florida heat, humidity and rain made outdoor courts harder to use. The county’s recreation centers gave players a low-cost way to keep the game going without joining a private club.

At West Boynton Park and Recreation Center, the summer schedule ran Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through Aug. 1 at 6000 Northtree Blvd. in Lake Worth Beach. The fee was $5 per person, a small price for players looking for a break from weather that regularly shuts down court time across the region.

Westgate Park and Recreation Center built the clearest indoor structure. Its open gym pickleball program welcomed all ages and skill levels on three courts in the gymnasium, with players required to register and pay at the front desk before playing. When the courts filled, the county used a next-up paddle system, and games were limited to 30 minutes or to 11 points, win by 2, so rotations kept moving.

Westgate also added Thursday evening indoor pickleball beginning Feb. 19, expanding beyond the weekend format and signaling that demand for covered court time has stayed strong. Palm Beach County had already offered indoor pickleball at West Boynton, Westgate and West Jupiter in prior summers, including 2023 and 2025, making the program a recurring seasonal response rather than a one-off experiment.

That matters in a county where pickleball has spread into a broad mix of indoor, outdoor, dedicated and shared-gym spaces. USA Pickleball’s 2025 Annual Growth Report said the Pickleheads court database added more than 2,300 new locations in 2025, bringing the national total to 18,258 locations and 82,613 known courts. USA Pickleball also said more than 250 sanctioned events were held during National Pickleball Month across 40 states and Washington, D.C., a sign of how much organized play now reaches beyond the permanent club scene.

Palm Beach County’s summer indoor setup kept that momentum local. The county gave players a way to stay active through the hottest part of the year, but the $5 fee still drew a line between those who could pay to keep playing and those who could not.