When many people new to SUP hear about the sport, I’m sure many think:
Yea, these paddleboards sound pretty awesome, but I don’t live in Florida, California or Hawaii, so it just won’t work for me.
Totally wrong!
If you’ve been searching the internet for paddleboards for sale but have been thinking that it’s useless if you don’t live near the ocean, keep reading! You can paddleboard anywhere there is water – well maybe not your bathtub, but pretty much everywhere else.
Granted, when the sport started it was centered in Hawaii. But after so many people saw, experienced and loved it, paddle boarding quickly moved on to gain some huge popularity, extending from beach communities to rivers, lakes and ponds.
Do a quick Google search (after you finish reading this site, of course), and you’ll find places all over the country that now have paddleboard clubs, groups, lessons and rentals.
Places like:
- Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York
- Lake Tahoe on the Nevada/California Border
- Chicago and around Lake Michigan
Some enthusiasts even argue that they prefer paddling on a lake, because they are generally much calmer than a sea or ocean, and thus, a bit easier to learn balance and paddling skills.
White Water Paddling
Betcha didn’t know that one of the newest extreme sports even involves SUP – white water paddling!
Pretty intense, right?
Just like how you think of typically tackling rapids, on a raft, some adventurous athletes are doing in on their boards. For the past few years, one of the Mecca’s of this white water SUP movement has been the decidedly landlocked town of Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
It’s here during the Rocky Mountain Surf Festival that features competitors battling it out for surfing, racing and SUPcross titles, all on the swollen Colorado River.
Paddleboard Fishing
And that’s not all you can do on your sup. How about fishing?
That’s right, tons of people are using their stand up paddleboards as a nice base to do a little bit of fishing.
It’s a great way to get out into shallow water where your boat might run aground on sand, and even a way to get just out past the breaks of the ocean without worrying about hitting any people.
Being able to strap your fishing pole and tacklebox to the front of your stand up paddleboard is really easy, and provides a great little break from paddling.
SUP Yoga
Or what about stand up paddleboard yoga?
Crazy?
Maybe not, it is a huge trend that is taking the nation by storm, people are doing yoga on their stand up paddleboards all over the place, you can find most any places now that give SUP lessons will also have SUP yoga classes.
So why do yoga on your stand up paddleboards, it provides a beautiful sense of scenery being out on the ocean, in a lake or a stream, plus it also requires a bit more concentration and sense of balance. The board will move with the water, even if there are no waves, so it adds a bit of a fun twist to an already popular sport.
Give it a Shot
So, if you’ve tried out paddleboarding and really enjoy it, but don’t live near an ocean, no problem.
In most places in the US (and around the world), some form of river, lake, pond, bayou or stream isn’t too far away. And with this type of board, there are even a few more options, because it is so thin, you could actually travel places that even canoes or kayaks could not, because of the tiny draft, the navigation possibilities are endless!
And so why are you still reading? What are you waiting for? Go get out there I promise you will have a fantastic time out on the water for years to come. It really is addicting!
