Holtwood Play Park, Susquehanna River, PA 11/3/2024
Paddlers: Tom Hackman and Jim C. After a very long stretch without rain, we were forced to divert from our plan A, the Cheat River Canyon, to plan B: the manmade play park in the Susquehanna River at Holtwood, PA.
The park has 3 features for surfing: 1) a large and fast breaking wave, 2) a medium-sized bouncy hole, and 3) a fast wave that is difficult to stay on. The large wave is one heck of an intense ride. On this memorable splashy wave I was able to front surf, and spin in both directions, in my Dagger Nova, a full slice K1 that surfs well. In the hole (feature #2), I was able to get long rides with combinations of front surfs, spins, side surfs, and even back surfs. One nice feature of the play park here is that no shuttle is necessary, and the features are close together, so it’s very social. There were about 30 paddlers there, and we chatted a lot as we took turns surfing the waves and relaxing on shore in the nice sunny 60 degree weather.
A word about safety: The Holtwood playpark is safe but it’s not for beginners. Because the park is situated right below a large dam on the Susquehanna, the dam company provides a swiftwater rescue worker (a lifeguard) during scheduled releases. The surfing features are not retentive and do not have major hazards. However, as in any artificial whitewater course, the currents are strong and the eddys recirculate quickly. At Holtwood in particular, the swift and large flow of water would punish anyone who does not have a reliable roll. So this is a great place to practice surfing, but only if you already know how to roll.