
Love Wakesurfing, but Not In the Market To Buy a Boat? Try River Surfing
Surfing the wake thrown by a boat on a lake has been a staple of inland surfers for years.
Before specialty wake boats were developed, people would tow behind ski boats using a rope and a surfboard to smack the lip of the wake and simulate surfing in the ocean. In the mid-90s, boat manufacturers started to see the potential of a boat capable of producing a wake that could be surfed without the aid of the rope, and modern wakesurfing was born.

Miles Harvey wake surfing on a Badfish Wave Farmer river surfing board.
Wakesurfing has been the most mainstream inland surfing pursuit over the past ~25 years but — just like surfing in the ocean translates to surfing behind a wake boat — wakesurfing translates nicely to surfing standing waves in a river.
While river surfing and wakesurfing have a lot in common, there are also some major differentiators.
For one, rivers offer free public access. Wake boats cost tens of thousands — if not hundreds of thousands — of dollars.
In river surfing, gravity makes a wave that can be ridden 24 hours a day as long as there’s sufficient flow in the river. Wakesurfing requires a whole lot of gas to keep the wake surfable and a competent captain to keep the boat moving around the lake.
We aren’t here to bash wake surfing… we like it too. Lake life is pretty sweet. But if you live in a landlocked state and you’re interested in what other surfing opportunities are out there, it might be time to check out river surfing.
Surfing a Wakesurfing Wake VS Surfing River Waves
Wakesurfing and river surfing are two unique ways to experience inland surfing. When it comes to wakesurfing, wake boats are set up to throw a wave on either side of the stern of the boat, creating either a “left” or a “right”.
A left is a wave that breaks from the surfer’s right to left and is generally preferred by goofy foot (right foot forward) riders. A right is a wave that breaks from the surfer’s left to right and is generally preferred by regular foot (left foot forward) surfers. The boats are set up to throw the wave in either direction and can be switched based on the surfer's preference.
Wakesurfing boats set up a wave that simulates running down the line in the ocean. You’re essentially racing to stay ahead of the whitewater and making turns on the green face. The pocket of the wave is tight. You’re pumping down the line, making bottom turns, and then frontside turns in the pocket, falling back on the wave, and repeating the process.
Really good wake surfers use the speed generated to launch airs and spin. However, if you’ve spent time wakesurfing you probably know that once you fall too far back on the wave, it’s tough to pump back up into the pocket. Generally, the ride is over at that point.

In river surfing the waves are most often formed perpendicular to the flow of the river. Any wave can be ridden by both goofy footers and regular foot riders. Some waves will have a shape that favors one rider over the other. However, any surfer can make backside and frontside turns across the face of the wave on the best river waves — like our local Scout Wave in Salida.
A river wave is like a surfing treadmill. The water rushes under you and you surf back and forth across its face. River surfing waves unlock a variety of options for turns, spins, and airs, and the ability to have more variety in any one ride. More-so than a wake surfing wave, where the surfer can only surf toward the stern of the boat in the direction of the pocket.
There are a variety of waves in river surfing alone. For a more detailed description of the different types of river surfing waves check out this article here.
Wakesurfing Technique VS River Surfing Technique
Amongst the many sports where the rider stands sideways across a board, you’ll find plenty of similarities in technique. Carving a bowl on a skateboard, carving turns on a powder day, and pumping down the line on a wave in the ocean are all cousins.
In all board sports, many principles of good technique are the same. Nonetheless, there are a few distinct differences in the techniques used to surf a wake from a wakeboat versus a standing wave in a river.


Wake surfing is essentially the same technique repeated over and over during a ride. The wave is either a left or a right with whitewater behind you and a green face in front.
You’re always racing ahead of the whitewater by pumping the board down the line. Pumping can be thought of as a series of short, fast backside bottom turns. These help you generate speed to reach the pocket or green face on the wave and make a frontside turn off the lip.
This is a lot of fun — and a great workout! However, after some time it does tend to get a little repetitive.
River surfing waves are always a little different which adds to the fun. Each wave has particular features to figure out and each wave might be ridden slightly differently by different surfers.
The best green waves in a river are a canvas where the rider can go both right and left across the face of the wave. In other words, as the surfer rides across the wave, they alternate going left or right. Every rider is performing both frontside and backside turns.
Variations in the face of river waves occur based on flows rising and falling and imperfections in the bottom of the river. These variations make fun features that can be utilized as launch pads for aggressive turns and airs.
For a more detailed explanation of river surfing technique check out our post on everything you need to know to get started river surfing here.
The Difference Between Wakesurf Boards and River Surfboards
There’s a huge variety of surfboards out there. When surfing in the ocean, surfboards can vary from 10’ logs to 5’ potato chip shortboards and everything in between. One way to vary the experience of surfing is to change up your ride. Over decades shapers have come up with a variety of boards that do just that — make a wave feel different based on what’s under your feet.

What Makes Wakesurf Boards (AKA Wakesurfers) Unique
Wakesurfing has developed its own unique shapes for riding wakes. In general wakesurf boards are quite different from traditional surfboards and from boards used for river surfing.
While many surfboards will work to surf a wake behind a boat, wake surfers have settled on a few distinct characteristics unique to wakesurfing. Wakesurf boards tend to be quite thin and short. Since you’re pulled up on a plane from the force of the motor while holding a tow rope, even larger people can get to their feet on smaller boards.
These same boards would make it very difficult for anyone but the smallest and most athletic surfers to surf a wave in the ocean.
Wakesurf boards tend to be low rocker, meaning they’re flat along the longitudinal line of the board. Some wakesurf boards look more like skimboards than surfboards. They’re typically under 5’ long so they’ll fit in the tight pocket of the wave. While some wakesurf boards might work for some surfers on river waves, they are not the best choice for river surfing.
What Makes River Surfboards Different from Wakesurf Boards
River surfing is a newer sport. There are only a handful of shapers that make boards specifically for river surfing in the US.
Our shaper and Co-founder of Badfish, Zack Hughes, has been designing boards for river surfing longer than almost anyone in the sport. We have a large variety of shapes available based on the different kinds of standing waves out there.

Just like surfing in the ocean or surfing the wake behind a boat, different shapes and sizes of river surfboards shift the experience of riding the same river wave. However, much like the other varieties of surfing, river surfboards are uniquely designed and shaped for the sport.
River surfboards tend to have more rocker than wakesurf boards and tend to be a little longer and thicker. Depending on the wave you might need a board that has a little more volume or length, but on the best waves, you can ride a high-performance board under 5’ long.
Generally speaking, there’s more variety in the types of boards used in river surfing compared to wake surfing.
For a more detailed explanation of river surfing boards check our river surfing 101 blog.
River Surfing Is Making Waves Amongst Inland Surfers
River surfing is a new sport that is growing incredibly fast. Communities around the country are building public waves on rivers that are free to use and commercial river surfing wave parks are popping up in places like Dallas, TX and Phoenix, AZ.

Izzy Hughes at the river surfing wave pool at Lakeside Surf in Washington.
It’s the low barrier to entry that allows river surfing to grow so fast. It doesn’t require a huge financial investment to get started and, after a few sessions, most people start figuring out the technique.
Many of the factors that make wakesurfing so much fun, like hanging out together on the boat and cheering on your friends while they ride, are exactly the same in river surfing.
The community vibes of river surfing are a huge part of what makes it so much fun. Everyone is hanging out at the same spot, watching each surfer take their turn, and talking with friends while awaiting their own pass.
Wakesurfing has some large barriers to entry starting with the very expensive boat required to make the wave. More accessibility just means more time actually surfing. River surfing leads to a lot of time on the wave. In fact, of all the varieties of surfing out there nothing can compete with the sheer amount of wave time you get during a river surfing session.
Surfing is no longer confined to our coasts. Inland surfing is here to stay and river surfing is the fastest growing aspect of inland surfing.
We here at Badfish live and breathe river surfing. We have been at it for over 15 years and have a ton of resources to help you get into it. You can check out our lineup of river surfboards here and feel free to reach out to us if we can help you get started. See you on the river!