In July of 2023, the much anticipated Montgomery Whitewater opened to the public. The $90 million whitewater park is the latest in the U.S. to offer artificial river channels to an urban community. Prior to the park’s opening, whitewater standup paddleboarder Paul Clark took a tour of the facility and published his first runs in the video featured above.
Montgomery Whitewater brings rapids to the Montgomery metropolitan area and its population of 386,000 in Alabama. The 120-acre facility is the latest creation from kayaking great Scott Shipley and his engineering firm, S2O Design.
S2O Design is also the group who’ve constructed a collection of whitewater venues you’ve likely heard of. The U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, Boise Whitewater Park, and Riversport Rapids in Oklahoma City, to name just a few.
Montgomery Whitewater features two channels of class II-IV action. The first being a mellower, 1,900-foot-long recreation channel. The other being a 1,600-foot-long competition channel capable of hosting Olympic-caliber whitewater races. Montgomery Whitewater also features S2O’s signature RapidBlocs to create ever-changing features.
“We want to be able to bring international competitors here and have that Olympic standard course,” Shipley told the Montgomery Advertiser. “But we also want to make the hurdle to getting your church groups, and your school groups, and your family and friends out on that whitewater.”
Montgomery Whitewater has all the elements to entertain rafters and kayakers alike. Throw in those warm Southern temps and proximity to I-65 and I-85, and the park promises to be a year-round whitewater playground.
Visit Montgomery Whitewater to learn more.
