Office Wave II-Salida Colorado Whitewater Park

Back in 2010 we completed 2 new whitewater features in the Salida Whitewater park that at the time were experimental for whitewater parks in the United States. We tried to build waves for surfing boards as well as kayaks, which was the first time anyone had ever considered river surfing in whitewater park design. 

The Scout Wave and Office Wave worked quite well and have added a lot fun to the park over the past 9 years. However the Office Wave (top most feature in the park) has never worked as well as we had hoped and the technology for creating fun waves has improved. 

As I have worked all over the US designing and building whitewater parks over the past decade my thoughts always come back to my hometown and how I can improve my home park. At the same time the low water use of the whitewater park has exploded with kids playing in the park on body boards at flows below 1000cfs. 


The goal this fall is to rebuild the Office Wave feature and target low flow performance (1000cfs-500cfs). Nothing is guaranteed in whitewater parks, but we are confident we can improve the feature and give local kids a fun spot to play on at the flows we have in high summer and fall on normal years.  We have most of the funding in place thanks to the City of Salida and some private donors. I have been donating my time through permitting and design and everything is pointing towards a late September construction.

We just need a little more cash to help put this project over the top. This is your chance to donate in small amounts.  All the funds will run through the Arkansas River Trust and go 100% to pay for construction costs. If you have questions about the project feel free to email me at [email redacted] and thanks in advance for your support!