One of our favorite things to do out on the river is surf white water.
And people who haven’t had the chance to surf West Virginia don’t get it. That’s understandable. It’s not something most folks think about. 
Surf west virginia, y'all!
How in the hell do you surf a raft on a river, anyway?
Well, that’s what this post is all about, and it starts by understanding one basic principle:
- Waves in rivers are just like waves in the ocean, except they stay in the same place.
It makes sense if you think about it. Otherwise, the rapids would all float away downstream, right? We all know that an ocean wave rolls in to shore and, along the way, it breaks. That’s how it works.
But a river wave never rolls anywhere. It just sits there, breaking and breaking and breaking (most of them, anyway).
What we do is paddle into the breaking part of the wave. With some luck, some good paddling, and some super jedi skill from the guides, we can get the raft to catch the wave, just like a surfboard.
Once you’re in there, the river does the work. Water sprays up all around, the boats spin out and do 360’s, and a good time is had by all. Eventually, the river will spit you out so you can go back and do it again.
The type of wave we’re talking about here is shaped differently than an ocean wave. It’s called a hydraulic, or a hole, and actually looks like those breakers on their way in more than those glassy waves you tend to see a little farther from shore.
Hydraulics can be super powerful. If you’ve ever seen a river flood, it’s usually the hydraulics that are causing more problems than the currents.
But the ones we play in are just that- playful. They grab the boats and give us a ride. Most of the surf spots appear on the New River later in the summer. The Gauley river has great surfing year-round.
And who knows who the first person to paddle a raft back up into a rapid to go surfing? But God bless ‘em. Now it’s part of almost every trip we run, and it’s a guest highlight.
And that’s how we surf West Virginia
Tags: Gauley River Rafting, New River Gorge, Songer Whitewater, Surf West Virginia