River surfing

Despite being many hundreds of kilometres from the nearest ocean, Munich has a reputation as a surfing hotspot,[5] offering one of Europe's best waves.[2] The Bavarian capital is the birthplace of river surfing.[6] The city has been the center of surfboard riding on a stationary wave since the early-1970s.[2][3] Up to 100 surfers daily hit the waves in the city's Englischer Garten, the largest urban park in the world. There, in the river Eisbach, the world's best known river surf spot,[7] the Eisbach wave — literally “ice brook” — the flow velocity of the icy water is about 5 meters per second, at a flow rate of 20 m³/s (equivalent to a mass of 20 tons per second), and the temperature never gets above 15 degrees Celsius.[3] An annual surfing competition is held on the standing wave.[8] Additionally, there are further stationary waves that form on the river Isar just downstream of the Wittelsbacherbrücke bridge in Isarvorstadt, as well as on the canal that joins the Isar channel with the Floßlände.

Munich has produced the best river surfers and was the first location that created a true surfing community around an inland river wave. The scene has around 1,000 active surfers, while 10,000 in Munich will have tried it at some point.[9]

On Austria's river Mur in Graz (Styria), river surfing is a regular on two waves built for surfing in 2001 and rebuilt in 2004 by KanuClub Graz.[10][11] Near Salzburg in the Alm Canal there is a custom built surf wave, the Almwelle.[12]

Norway has several river waves, amongst the most famous are:

• Bulken Wave (Bulkenbølgen) at Voss.
• Sluppen Wave (Sluppenbølgen) in Trondheim.
• Sarp Wave (Sarpebølgen) in Sarpsborg.
• Rand Wave (Randsbølgen) in Hønefoss.

Several artificial river waves are either under planning or have been considered:

• In Oslo a potential, artificial river wave has been planned in their main city river Akerselva.[13]
• In Stavanger, an artificial river wave for surfboards and kayaks was planned in Figgjoelva,[14] but was opposed by the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate[15] and the Stavanger and Rogaland Hunting and Fishing Association.[16]
• In Evje a river wave project called the Evje Wave (Evjebølgen) is being planned at the river mouth of Otra, the largest river in the Southern Norway region. The Otra river is already popular for rafting and other extreme sports. Concept drawings have been published, and the project is advertised as having a low environmental impact.[17]

The Limmat in Zürich does not have any standing waves but is fast-flowing. Local surfers have developed a pulley system known as upstream surfing which allows surfers to surf the river.[18]

The Habitat 67 standing wave in the Lachine Rapids in Montreal, named for its location adjacent to the Habitat 67 housing complex, has become a popular destination for river surfing.[19][20] Corran Addison, an Olympic kayaker and three-time world freestyle kayak champion, was the first to surf the Habitat wave in 2002. His river-surfing school, Imagine Surfboards, has taught 3,500 students since 2005. A second Montreal river-surfing school, KSF, has hosted 1,500 students a year since 2003. From fewer than 10 original surfers, it is estimated that the current of participants numbers around 500.[21]

The Ottawa River in Ottawa has long been a river surfing destination for both locals and travellers.[22] Local surf shops specialize in river surfing gear and boards. Average wave height varies between one and two meters.[23] The waves are most accessible in the spring with some remaining rideable year-round.

In the 2000s, transplanted ocean surfers began riding standing waves in a number of rivers in Alberta, Canada. Several shops in Calgary now stock boards specifically designed for river surfing. The standing wave under the 10th Street bridge in Calgary, has been a popular place for river surfing since its formation after the 2013 Alberta floods [24]

Jackson Hole, Wyoming is known as the most famous river surfing community in the US. The first documented cases of surfing on the Snake River occurred in the late 1970s. The wave known as Lunch Counter is a standing wave that churns during times of snow runoff in the months between May and August each year. This wave is highly active during these months and the area continues to grow as a surf destination.[25]

Pueblo, Colorado has also become a river surfing city. A kayak park was in built 2005 near downtown Pueblo and locals have been surfing features 3,4, and 7 ever since.

Missoula, Montana has surfing on Brennan's Wave, a man made wave on the Clark Fork River.[26]

Boise, Idaho has surfing at the Boise Whitewater Park near downtown Boise. The Boise River Park features an adjustable man made wave on the Boise River.[27] Because the waveshaper is adjustable, river surfing is available virtually year around. Learn more about Boise's Whitewater Park in the Surfer's Journal article 'The Surf God's of Idaho' where they say surfing Boise's river is like 'pausing the ocean with a remote control and pressing rewind, but then surfing that backward-flowing wave in forward motion.[28]'

Bend, Oregon has an adjustable man made river wave in Bend White Water Rapid Park for all season surfing.

Surfers on the Severn bore

Surfing the Severn Bore has become a competitive sport with dozens of surfers vying to record the longest ride. The tidal surge also attracts canoeists and windsurfers. The present champion surfer is Dave Lawson from Hempsted, Gloucestershire, who has covered 5.7 miles on a surfboard. His record-breaking surf took more than 35 minutes and was logged by an official adjudicator from the British Surfing Association.[35]

The pororoca is a tidal bore, with waves up to 4 metres high that travel as much as 13 km inland upstream the Amazon River.

Tidal bores are backwards-moving waves that travel upstream over forward-moving downstream waves. They occur twice a day on the Petitcodiac River in the Bay of Fundy, driven up the river by the world's highest tides.

The North American record for surfing a single river wave was set by J.J. Wessels and Colin Whitbread of California, who rode the Petitcodiac River's tidal bore for 29 kilometres on 24 July 2013.