The Wausau Whitewater Park is an awesome canoe and kayak park in Wisconsin located on the east channel of the Wisconsin River. This amazing space is for folks of all ages and abilities. It's a world-class facility located right in Wausau that's hosted world events but also welcomes the newest paddlers to experience what an awesome and exhilarating feeling it is to get out on the water. So if you're looking for a fun-filled outdoor activity for the summer months, keep reading.
The east channel of the Wisconsin River has become the longest-running and most actively utilized natural world-class whitewater course in the entire world. Since 1974, this splendid course has hosted kayakers and canoers of all ages.
Though this course has held a World Junior Championships and multiple World Cup events, it's actually friendly for paddlers of all ages and skill levels.
According to its website, "At about a third of a mile long the park has something for everyone. The lower portion of the course is designed to be beginner-friendly as the bottom four features are a great place to learn and fine-tune your surfing and spinning skills in the forgiving holes and wave train. Instruction starts downriver as new ones learn their paddle strokes, basic ferrying, and wet exits in the wash below the course. The course is utilized for both slalom and freestyle events. Both the slalom and the freestyle can be scaled to be challenging or a friendly citizen style event."
This literal world-class facility is used for everything from youth programs to rehabilitation with the Wounded Warrior Project. It's a huge boon to the Wausau area that most people have no idea exists.
The Wausau course is one of a very few natural, human-enhanced, courses in the world that can
control its water levels, making Whitewater Park a practical "guarantee" when compared to sites
that rely upon natural flow.
Those unsure what to do on the course can sign up for three different levels of classes that come with the use of a boat and flotation devices. Classes are 2.5 hours and run around $45.
There's at least one weekend a month in the summer where there are open days on the river. In order to participate, you must have a helmet and an approved life jacket (PFD), and boat flotation bags are required in your boat.
The cost for those Recreational Release days is $15 per day, $25 per weekend, or $110 for a season pass and the water is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.
The Wausau Whitewater Park is an awesome and exhilarating way to experience the Wisconsin River. It's a closed course that gives you the ability to learn and train in an environment suited to it and it's usable by all ages and skill levels.
That such an amazing park is on public land and available for all to use is such a wonderful gift and folks in Wisconsin absolutely should take advantage.
Wausau Whitewater is located at 200 River Dr, Wausau, WI 54403. For more information, visit the park's website.
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Have you ever had a chance to use this awesome kayak park in Wisconsin? Let us know about it in the comments!
Looking for more ways to get out on the water? Check out Most People Don’t Know You Can Go Camping On A Wisconsin Sandbar.
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