THE FUTURE OF WHITEWATER

 A survey of local kayakers and professional whitewater athletes says change in baseflows, predicted low CFS, and the overall deterioration of the Truckee River Whitewater Park has made it unsuitable for professional whitewater competitions. The Reno River Festival has brought these concerns to the attention of the City of Reno. The city tells us that due to increasing costs and staff restraints, there is no definitive timeline to address the maintenance issues at the whitewater park.

The survey found significant challenges facing the return of whitewater events to downtown Reno beyond needed maintenance to the park. Many professional whitewater athletes have moved away from our area and are now scattered all over the world. Over the past two years, COVID forced the cancellation of competitive whitewater events in Northern Nevada and California. Kayakers surveyed say this part of the United States is no longer perceived as a whitewater destination, and there is a lack of interest by athletes to incur travel costs to come to the region.

The Arlington Bridge Project is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2024. Many kayakers surveyed believe this would be the perfect time to bring in a professional whitewater park designer to fix the features at the Truckee River Whitewater Park.

KAYAKERS, WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

The Reno River Festival is working with the city of Reno. We want to hear more from the local kayaking community about what can be done to return professional whitewater events to downtown. Please contact us at [email protected].

The Reno River Festival is working with the city of Reno. We want to hear more from the local kayaking community about what can be done to return professional whitewater events to downtown. Please contact us at [email protected].

ABOUT THE TRUCKEE RIVER WHITEWATER PARK

The Reno River Festival was born in 2003 to celebrate the completion of the Truckee River Whitewater Park and a multi-million dollar downtown revitalization campaign. Over the years, the festival has showcased the top-ranking whitewater athletes in the world. It is truly a unique venue for whitewater competitors with two world-class features and the fun and exciting downtown Reno culture. The festival routinely draws over 40,000 visitors who enjoy sunning on the riverbanks, watching pro kayakers duke it out, listening to live music, shopping merchandise tents, sampling food and beverage gardens, and learning to kayak in the beginner channel.

The Truckee River Whitewater Park was designed with features at all water levels. Hole 3 was designed from 700 – 3,000 cfs, and hole 5 was designed at 400cfs to provide every freestyle move in the book to the discerning playboater. The original weekend of the RiverFest was set to coincide with the annual peak runoff on the Truckee River, giving us the greatest chance for perfect flows.

The River Festival kicks off the summer season in Reno/Tahoe and has been central to the worldwide marketing campaign for Reno/Tahoe.