The most famous river wave
The most famous river wave, as you probably already know, is located in the capital of river surfing, Munich. In the middle of Munich flows the Eisbach and is home to many landlocked surfers. A constant wave, about one meter high, forms right at the gates of the English Garden. This wave is not suitable for beginners and is not easy to surf even for experienced surfers. Directly behind the river wave, under the white water roller, there are 4 rows of 30x30cm concrete blocks, so called flow brakes. These are dangerous for inexperienced surfers in that if you fall off your surfboard the wrong way, you will be pushed against them by tons of water. If you are already good at river surfing, it can be good that they let you surf, however, Kelly Slater and various other professionals have also been turned away, so don't be sad if you don't get to surf. At this wave river surfing was popularized and spread all over Europe. However, river surfing was not first practiced or invented on the Eisbach wave, but on its little sister, the Flosslände wave. Here you will find a summary of the history of these 2 waves.
This smaller and gentler wave is located just a few kilometers above the Eisbach wave and is perfect for starting this sport. There was already surfing on this wave in the 70s and the today known and popular riversurfing, was invented there. Due to a strong commitment of various local surfers, you can still surf on this wave from 06am until 9pm. It is on your own responsibility, but there will certainly always be surfers on site who will help you with advice and support.
If you want to learn more about these two waves or the third one (yes right, there is a third wave in Munich), then visit: www.igsm.info
The best river wave
The best river wave is in Zambia, just below the Victoria Waterfall. By the way, this is the longest waterfall in the world and one of the 7 wonders of nature. And what makes this wave the best river wave? This wave, believe it or not, has a barrel. And this one is even overhead high and can be surfed practically like a real wave. As you can imagine, a river right below the longest waterfall in the world is not going to flow peacefully. And you are right. Protective vest and helmet are definitely mandatory here, so you won't get pulled down or hurt your head after a wipeout. Unfortunately, like practically every river wave, this one doesn't always work and it's rather rare that you have the chance to surf there. But yes, first you would have to go to Zambia. But if you want to get a little bit hyped already, you can here learn all about it.
The most impressive river wave
Probably the most impressive river wave is the beach wave in Hawaii. There is a freshwater lake that flows directly onto the beach and is a little higher than the ocean. Through this small elevation, a small river can be dug into the sand so that the fresh water can flow into the ocean. At first it is only a small river, not more than half a meter wide, but within minutes it becomes a 5-8 meter wide raging river, which also offers a wave for surfing. This can then be surfed for several minutes until the water subsides and you have to wait again until the lake has filled. But don't ask us how long this lasts. This wave is very difficult to surf, because the wave is not very constant and resembles an A-frame wave, but you have a soft sandy bottom for a wipeout. Here you can watch the wave grow.
The most secret river wave
The most secret river wave that we know of, at least the exact location is secret, is somewhere in North America. After heavy rains, somewhere, rumor has it, in Texas, a huge river wave starts to run. Due to its almost continuous length and size, this river wave is very impressive to watch. Similar to the wave in Bremgarten, only the side can be surfed really well, but this wave is much steeper and it can be surfed so much further into the wave. More we do not want to write, it should remain secret after all. Here you can still take a look.
We hope we could introduce you to some waves you didn't know about and wish you a lot of fun looking for a river wave yourself. And remember, these can be anywhere.
