Pickleball communities are popping up and thriving across the Minot region as the interest continues to grow.

Surrey obtained a grant that enabled the park board to put in a pickleball court this past June in response to community demand. Burlington also is courting the idea of constructing a pickleball facility, including it as a possible project in DeSour Valley EDC’s 2026 budget.

The Bottineau area has had a thriving pickleball community for some time. The Turtle Mountain Pickleball Club started in about 2016 at Lake Metigoshe.

“Our club, through donations and grants, has built three pickleball courts, plus a bathroom, which was totaled to about $100,000,” said member Becky Kluth. Bottineau County donated the land and the Lake Metigoshe Improvement Association helped with costs.

In addition, the City of Bottineau agreed to put in four outdoor courts in town. Grace Lutheran Church in Bottineau erected The Connection, which has three indoor courts for winter play, Kluth said.

Turtle Mountain Pickleball Club has about 50-60 members since the Kramer club merged with it.

“We’re pretty active. We play in outside tournaments. We have a tournament every year, and we get people from Canada, from Florida, Minnesota, plus Minot. A lot of Minot people come,” Kluth said.

The effort to bring pickleball to the Bottineau area started in 2014 when snowbirds introduced it. They started playing on a basketball court with a portable net. Eventually, the armory allowed them to put in courts there.

“In the beginning, whenever it worked, people would call each other and say, ‘Hey, pickleball up at the lake.’ And so, a bunch of us would go up there, and it just continued to grow,” Kluth said. “Now, if you go by that pickleball court, there’s probably not a time when there isn’t other people playing.

“We really enjoy it,” she added. “It’s just something about pickleball. It’s something about the pickleball people too. It’s like there’s such a connection.”

Pickleball has been gaining popularity in Williston, particularly in the past few years, said Lyndsey Tolman with Williston’s recreation program, who has played for several years. There are various pickleball groups that have their schedules throughout the week, and a club was in the process of getting organized this summer.

The Williston Area Recreation Center (ARC) started a youth program, which has a waiting list, Tolmen said. A high school class organized a pickleball tournament as a fundraiser for one of its projects. Other groups also have organized tournaments as fundraisers.

Williston built new outdoor pickleball courts last summer and also has a park at which tennis courts can be converted for pickleball use.

The ARC has four tennis courts it can convert into six pickleball courts. Another tennis court could be painted to be put into dual use for pickleball as well, but so far, despite some busy days, the center hasn’t felt the need to take that step, Kluth said.

“It is a little bit intimidating, I think, for newer people to come, because some of us have been playing for a while, but we try to keep it open and welcome everyone, because the more that play, the better,” she said. “We’re trying to be very welcoming of anyone that wants to learn.”