Surfing Taylor’s Wave: A New French Broad Adventure Near Hendersonville

If you’ve ever dreamed of catching a surf-style ride without driving to the coast, Western North Carolina just delivered. Taylor’s Wave, a brand-new whitewater feature on the French Broad River in Woodfin, is now officially open and already drawing surfers and kayakers from across the region. For anyone living in Hendersonville—or thinking about a move to Hendersonville—this is one more reason our mountain home is becoming an outdoor lover’s paradise.

What Is Taylor’s Wave?

Taylor’s Wave is a man-made standing wave built directly into the French Broad River near Riverside Park in Woodfin, just north of Asheville and an easy day trip from Hendersonville. Unlike ocean waves that rise and fade, a standing wave holds its shape in one spot. A carefully engineered ledge of rock and concrete shapes the river flow into a smooth, surfable wave you can ride in place without drifting downstream.

Designed primarily for intermediate to advanced kayakers and river surfers, the wave changes personality with river levels. Lower flows deliver a friendlier, more forgiving ride, while higher water cranks up the power for freestyle tricks and dynamic surfing. Project organizers have noted that even in lower-than-normal levels, the wave is already providing a smooth, reliable ride—exactly what paddlers hoped for when this idea first took shape years ago.

Because this is a natural river environment, conditions can shift quickly. Before hopping in, visitors are encouraged to check their own skill level against that day’s river flows and always paddle or surf within their comfort zone.

A New Anchor for the French Broad Greenway & Blueway

Taylor’s Wave is just one part of Woodfin’s larger Greenway and Blueway initiative—a long-term effort to transform the town’s riverfront into a vibrant, walkable, paddle-able playground. The project is adding:

• Expanded greenway connections along the French Broad River
• Improved river access points for paddlers and tubers
• Gathering spaces for picnics, events, and riverside hangouts
• Much-needed amenities like restrooms and changing areas

Construction around Riverside Park is still underway, so visitors are asked to avoid active work zones as finishing touches are completed. But the heart of the vision—the wave itself—is now live, anchoring what’s expected to become a true riverfront destination for locals and visitors alike.

For more details on Woodfin’s riverfront vision and updates, visit the town’s partner site Wave Yard WNC, which helps visitors find information on river conditions, access points, and nearby businesses.

High-Tech Design with a Global Connection

One of the most fascinating parts of Taylor’s Wave is how it was engineered. Long before a single rock was placed in the French Broad, the design team traveled halfway around the world to Prague in the Czech Republic. There, at a hydraulics laboratory at Czech Technical University, engineers built a 1/30-scale model of the river feature.

By running water through the miniature river and tweaking the structure, they could test how the wave would form, how it might respond to different flows, and how kayakers and surfers would interact with it. The firm behind the design, S2O Design and Engineering, used this model to refine the wave shape to support both recreational and freestyle paddling while keeping environmental impacts in check.

The final design includes:

• A central feature for surfers and kayakers to ride
• Fish and wildlife passage to maintain river ecology
• A bypass route for river users who prefer to skip the wave entirely

According to project organizers, those early lab tests in Prague closely predicted the real-world performance of Taylor’s Wave—proof that science and stoke can go hand in hand.

A Heartfelt Tribute: Why It’s Called Taylor’s Wave

The story behind the name gives this project a deeply personal connection to the local paddling community. Taylor’s Wave honors Taylor Hunt, an experienced whitewater paddler who tragically passed away in an accident in Ecuador in 2015. His family has long been woven into the fabric of Western North Carolina river culture and advocacy.

Marc Hunt, Taylor’s father and a former Asheville City Council member, has been a driving force behind expanding river recreation access in our region. The family provided years of volunteer leadership and financial support, helping keep the project moving forward even through storms and setbacks. In 2023, the Town of Woodfin officially named the feature Taylor’s Wave to recognize both Taylor’s love of paddling and the Hunt family’s dedication.

For the Hunts, and for many in the paddling community, the finished wave is more than just a new attraction—it’s a lasting tribute that turns grief into a gift shared with everyone who loves the French Broad.

From Tropical Storm Helene to Opening Day

The road to opening day hasn’t been easy. Construction on Taylor’s Wave began in June 2024, only to be hit hard a few months later by Tropical Storm Helene. The storm sent powerful floodwaters surging down the French Broad, disrupting projects all along the corridor and bringing work on the wave to a standstill.

For several months, construction was paused as crews and planners assessed damage and waited for the river to settle. Work resumed in the spring of 2025, with the first phase wrapped in April 2026 and the second phase following soon after. The final touches were completed in October, allowing the town to lift its stay-out-of-water advisory and officially open the feature to the public.

All told, the project carries a price tag of about $4.8 million, funded through a mix of:

• Bonds approved by Woodfin voters in 2016
• Support from the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority’s Tourism Product Development Fund
• Friends of the Woodfin Greenway & Blueway
• Private donations from individuals and families, including the Hunts

Even now that the wave is open, you may see brief closures as crews fine-tune the feature to improve performance and safety. That’s normal for a complex whitewater structure and part of dialing in the best possible ride.

What Taylor’s Wave Means for Hendersonville Locals and Newcomers

If you’re already living in Hendersonville, Taylor’s Wave gives you one more easy weekend or after-work adventure within a short drive. Wake up in your quiet neighborhood, have coffee on the porch, then go surf a standing wave on a historic river—this is the kind of lifestyle that’s hard to find outside Western North Carolina.

For those who want to relocate to Hendersonville, Taylor’s Wave is another example of how our broader region keeps raising the bar for outdoor recreation. Between Pisgah National Forest, DuPont State Recreational Forest, the Green River Gorge, and now a surfable wave on the French Broad, it’s getting easier to answer the question, “What’s it like living in Hendersonville?” with a smile and a long list of options.

Here’s how this new attraction fits into the bigger picture of things to do in Hendersonville and nearby communities:

• Pair a morning surf session at Taylor’s Wave with an evening stroll and dinner on Hendersonville’s charming Main Street.
• Make it a family day: non-paddlers can enjoy riverside paths, parks, and breweries while the more adventurous riders test their skills on the wave.
• Turn it into a weekend getaway for guests, combining Hendersonville’s wineries and orchards with time on the French Broad or a hike in Pisgah.

If you’re considering moving to Hendersonville and want a deeper feel for neighborhoods, schools, and everyday life here, I’ve put together a number of resources on my Learning Center, including this overview of what it’s like living in Hendersonville and how to make the most of our mountain town.

Planning Your Visit to Taylor’s Wave

Ready to check it out for yourself? Before you load up the car and head north from Hendersonville, it’s smart to do a little homework:

• Check river conditions: Visit American Whitewater or Wave Yard WNC for current flows and access info.
• Match the wave to your skills: Taylor’s Wave is designed for intermediate and advanced river users. New paddlers may prefer flatwater stretches or guided trips.
• Use proper gear: Helmet, PFD, suitable board or boat, and cold-water layers when needed—they’re non-negotiable on any whitewater feature.
• Respect closures: Temporary shutdowns for adjustments or continuing construction are part of keeping the feature safe and fun long term.

Standing on the bank and watching surfers carve across the face of a river wave in the heart of the Blue Ridge is a thrill in itself. But the real magic is knowing this is now part of our everyday landscape—another way Western North Carolina blends small-town charm, mountain scenery, and big-adventure energy.

Whether you already call Hendersonville home or you’re thinking about your next chapter in the mountains, Taylor’s Wave is a powerful reminder of why this region keeps capturing hearts. The river is calling—and now, it’s surfing too.