River Surfing - North America

North America

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. 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.

Pueblo, Colorado has also became 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.

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.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming is known as the most famous river surfing community in the US. The wave known as Lunch Counter has been surfed every summer by a small core group for more than 20 years.