Paddle boarding in Bend, Oregon is popular enough that on a hot summer day you would think you are in a beach town. Cars are racked with boards and the lakes are busy with paddlers.
However, Bend is a mountain town and some of the best paddling is done on rivers in the winter. Whitewater SUP is finding its way here. Big Eddy with 6 separate ClassII/III rapids is a destination for boaters. It is where I got my first taste for river SUP.
Over the years I have run Big Eddy hundreds of times. The "Notch" remains one of the more technical Class3 rapids I run on a regular basis. Kialoa's whitewater SUP paddle the Big Eddy is named after the river section. I am happy to call it my signature paddle.
Winter flows below 1000cfs make for fun laps. Summer flows in excess of 2000cfs make for some really challenging paddling.
Here are two videos of me SUPPAUL running Big Eddy. The first Big Eddy lap features winter laps. The second Big Eddy lap is in summer.
Paul Clark SUPPAUL is the duffle bag paddle boarder. Find him running rivers on his paddle board in the western states and abroad. He hosts clinics and multi-day river SUP trips. www.suppaul.com