Clover Point Waves (1.21.12)

I've often been told that when the McKenzie River (OR) gets really high flows that Clover Point forms a series of huge surf waves, and is arguably the best play in Oregon. However, since I much prefer creeking, I seem to always end up on the steep stuff since the flows of Clover and the nearby creeks typically coincide with each other. This past weekend things were different, as most everything was blown-out except for Lake Creek and Clover. Since I’ve run Lake Creek many times before, I opted for the latter and made some phone calls to rally the troops. Soon enough, we had a fairly good sized group. Since it’s only about 45 minutes from Eugene, we decided to get some extra sleep and opted for a late start, leaving town around 1pm.

The gauge was reading just under 5’ and was dropping pretty steadily. My understanding is that the best flows are between 4.5’ and 5.5’, although I’ve heard it’s also good up to about 6’. As we drove past the waves, they definitely looked sweet through the car windows, and I was getting pretty fired-up to see what they had to offer.

The gauge used for Clover. On this day we had between
5' and 4.5' as it dropped throughout the day

As Roman and I pulled into the Mom’s Pies parking lot, we saw Lofty and Tyson, who were the first ones to arrive. While changing, Joe, Matt, and Eric showed up, rounding out the crew for the day. One-by-one we put-on and headed the 1/8 mile or so downstream to the giant waves. Since I had crammed a bunch of camera gear in my little playboat (not tied in of course), I decided to play it safe and skirt the waves before pulling into the staging eddy. Once there I quickly unpacked my boat and threw the gear on shore. After taking a few pics I got back in my boat, slid into the water, and got ready for my turn.

The Clover waves. Note that the one in front of Tyson and Roman
(just off the rock) is actually the entrance wave-hole that is used
to get on the main ones in the middle of the river.

Once again, Clover is actually a set of three waves that form at high water. The first two are stacked back to back with the third sitting back just a bit. The third is also more of a wave hole and can get pretty rowdy if you get into the meat of it. That said, the first is the most targeted with the second being a good backup in the event that you flush off. It should also be noted that getting onto the waves takes a bit of effort. Basically, one must surf a small, and somewhat sticky, wave-hole at the top of the eddy to get into the main flow; once there you will line up while floating backwards until the pile of the wave smashes against your back and shoots you forward down the face of the wave – this is probably my favorite part of the surf!

Joe drops into the entrance wave-hole to get to the main waves

The author drops down the face of the wave after droppin' in

Once you’ve settled onto the wave (the first one), be ready for a fun bouncy ride -- this wave is very dynamic. It took me a few rides to start feeling comfortable and relax my nerves a bit, as it’s a pretty intimidating amount of power. If you are a good playboater (which I’m not), you should be able to throw a pretty good variety of aerial tricks. I was just happy to carve and throw spins, which were remarkably easy thanks to the large pile at the top and strong shoulders at the edges. Once again, as you come off the top wave keep it pointed upstream to catch the one right behind it, which is also quite fun to surf, although not as retentive or clean.

Matt carves it up on the first wave

Tyson takes his turn on the first wave

Aaron (Lofty) works the first wave.
Notice the shoulders and pile -- Awesome!

Roman looks on as Lofty sets up between moves

Matt throws a nice blunt on the first wave

Lofty gets a nice bounce -- pretty common on the first wave.

Eric digs in for a nice ride

The author mid spin. The large pile made staying on pretty easy.

Roman on wave #1

The last wave, as stated above, is pretty burly, but at the same time, can really give up some good rides. To get on this one you really need to come off the second on surfer's right (river-left). There is one more small hole directly after the third – although it’s not really surfable, it could mess with you while rolling up.

Aaron tries out the third wave

Aaron gets some spins in the meaty
part of #3 as Roman drives for the eddy

Everyone in the group was having a blast, but getting pretty tired at the same time. It’s amazing how much energy it took to get out to the wave as well as stay in control once you were on it. This of course can make it tough to roll back up, especially since the water is so chaotic down below – even the swirly water blocking the eddy can throw you around a bit. We actually had a swim in the group, which ended up being fairly long but relatively safe, since there are no real hazards downstream other than the fast moving current.

All in all, I’m super glad I checked out these waves, and will certainly be returning from time to time. They offer opportunities for tricks way beyond my abilities, but even with my limited arsenal of moves it was great fun, albeit a little intimidating at first.


Footage from our session at Clover:

Neils - Mckenzie River, OR (11.24.11 & 11.26.11)

As any of my boating buddies will tell you, I by no means consider myself a playboater; however, I do like to hit the local play spots from time to time to work on boat control and roll practice. My skills basically consist of front surfing, back surfing, flat spinning, and some crude cartwheels --even so, I seem to always have a good time regardless and typically paddle away feeling pretty pooped.

One of the best play spots close to Eugene (less than an hour away) is a wave on the McKenzie River known as “Neils”. This wave is in at a good level for many days during the winter season and is hardly ever crowded, which is pretty typical based on the relatively small boating community in the area. On this Thanksgiving weekend we had really good flows of between 3’ and 2.8’ on the Vida guage. It can be surfed as low as 2’ on the gauge, but it gets really shallow and isn’t that great. Much above 3’ it starts to gets pretty flushy and you really have to be on your stick to stay on while doing any tricks. That said, most agree that the optimal level is somewhere between 2.8’ and 2.6’.

The gauge used for Neils (found here)
(this report is from the 24th and 26th, 3' and 2.8' respectively)

To get to the wave we either put in at “Mom’s Pies” (an old, now vacant, pie stand) or at the bridge a ¼ mile downstream. For the takeout we usually use the Silver Creek boat ramp, located about 2 miles downstream of Mom’s. The wave itself is located about halfway down against the river-left bank and across from Eagle Rock Lodge, it should be pretty obvious when you get there.

After meeting at the Albertson’s on Hwy 126 at the edge of Springfield, we headed out for a quick session prior to our Thanksgiving Day plans. On this trip up we had Aaron Loft, Kristin Alligood, and me. When we got to the put-in bridge, we unloaded our boats and started to change into our gear. No sooner than dropping trou, a truck pulled up with a couple boaters who asked if we’d be interested in sharing a shuttle. The two boaters ended up being Macy and Amanda Burnham, both former Eugene residents who are now living in Reno. Apparently they were in town to be with family for the Thanksgiving weekend, and were itchin’ to visit some old boating haunts.

After gearing up we headed down to the wave. One we got there I got out to take some photos and setup for some video, and while doing this the others quickly settled into a groove. Before long I slid into the water and joined in on the fun. The level on this day was 3’, and it took some work to get on the wave, as well as stay on it. The real key is to paddle like hell and drive toward the pocket on surfer’s left, from which you can use to setup your next move. The far left shoulder is formed well enough to keep you on the wave, so long as you don’t edge hard against it. The main obstacle on the wave is the soft spot, located smack dab in the center -- this is where you will get blown off 90% of the time. You can work that area, but don’t hangout too long or you’ll be shown the door and sent to the back of the line.

As previously stated, I don’t have a large quiver of moves to pull out on the wave, so I basically just work on carving and flat spins, as well as chattin’ it up in the eddy while waiting my turn. I had never met Macy or Amanda before this day, so it was good to talk about the old boating community, as well as the current one. Eugene used to have a much more vibrant scene, and Macy was part of it and one of the top (pro) boaters at the time. This became very apparent from watching him on the wave, throwing blunts and backstabs with ease like it was still his backyard play spot. Here are some pics from all of us having a good time on the wave:

Macy prepares to drop in while Lofty looks on

Amanda digs in for the blunt

Aaron high on the pile

Macy works his way toward the pocket

Kristin sets up from the surfer's left shoulder

Macy sets up for a blunt

The author, mid flat spin
(photo by Aaron Loft)

Bobby (who showed up later) waits his turn

Bobby gettin' some wave time

After a couple of hours we all started to get pretty tired and needed to head out to prepare for our Thanksgiving dinner plans. After exchanging goodbyes with the Burnhams we headed our separate ways, but not before discussing the possibility of meeting up in the future for some more boating.

The following Saturday, Loft and I headed back along with Andy Carmichael, another Eugene local. This time the level was between 2.9’ and 2.8’. This small drop in flow made the wave a little stickier, which helped out quite a bit for staying on the wave. The soft spot was still there, but as long as you didn’t get too complacent it wasn’t too bad. Once again we spent a couple of hours on the wave and tired ourselves out pretty good. Here are some pictures of the wave at the slightly lower level:

Andy enters the wave

workin' the right side

Lofty driving hard

Andy takes the soft spot head on

Aaron digs in a rudder

Andy watches Loft from the staging eddy

Neils is good for back-surfing too!

If you enjoy playboating and you’re in the area when it’s at a good level, it’s well worth your while, and in my opinion, one of the best playspots in the state.


Here is a short video covering both days of boating:

The LT Hole (10.10.10)

Every September, the Eugene boating community is given a great little play spot and warm-up to the upcoming boating season. When an appropriate flow is released from Fern Ridge Reservoir (to allow flood control over the winter) a play hole comes to life. It's certainly not a renowned park-n-play destination, but it does offer playboaters a place to work on their cartwheels and loops. I enjoy just going out there to front & back surf, flat spin, as well as get the feel for my edges back after the time off during the summer. It's also a great place to get in some roll practice. I do try and throw a cartwheel here and there, but nothing too fancy.

September release from Fern Ridge Reservoir

The juice

The wave-hole that forms directly below the
dam. This should not be confused with the Butt Hole.
Although I know people that have surfed it, it's big
and violent (at least at this flow)!

It doesn't say anything about kayaks...

"The Butt Hole", as it's affectionately known, is essentially a riverwide pour-over hole with a 2' to 3' tall foam pile backing it up. My assumption is that the name comes from the water quality, which by Oregon standards, is quite dirty. Since it's located on the Long Tom River, I'll refer to it as the "LT Hole" in lieu of the previously mentioned name. The character of the hole changes with both water level and your location on it. From my experience, the fun boatable flows are between 800cfs and 1400cfs. It starts to get a little shallow at the low end of that range (especially for cartwheels), and starts to blowout much above the high end. All of the pictures taken in this write-up were at a flow of ~1050cfs, which is a good medium level.

~1050cfs for the last few play sessions
(a great medium flow)

The hole at ~1050cfs

The hole at ~1425cfs
(high end of good; taken on a later trip)

The hole at ~1500cfs
(pretty flushy at this level; taken on a later trip)

As for location along the hole, I'll reference everything from the perspective of the surfer, (i.e. surfer's left instead of river left). The left side has great eddy service and is where most people enter the hole. This is also the best spot to hang out in a front surf, especially if there someone else sessioning the other side. Toward the middle, the hole kicks out a little and can be used to initiate a flat-spin with little effort. Center-right is where most people cartwheel since it's one of the few places on the hole that you won't hit bottom with your ends; this is also the best place based on ease of setup. The far right side, just before it greens out, is a great place to get stuck in a side-surf.

Social hour in the surfers-left eddy

Kristin enters the surfer-left side

Front Surfs, Back Surfs, and Flat Spins...

Cartwheels...

and Loops!

Another great thing about the LT Hole is its ability to hold multiple boaters at one time. This cuts down the line in the eddy and also facilitates "King of The Wave" (aka Wave Wars). Loft and I had a couple of good battles the last few times we were out, and it gets even more exciting the more people you add at once.

Tandem...

and Wave Wars!

We're lucky to have such a fun park-n-play spot so close to Eugene...I only wish it had a longer season when everything else is dried up!

Aaron and Travis finish up a session at the LT Hole

Surfin' till the sun goes down is common on weeknights

Some head-cam footage of one of our play sessions:

POV - "LT" Hole from Nate Pfeifer on Vimeo.