Surfing heads inland, to Austin, Texas

NLand, the first artificial surf park in North America, opened in landlocked Austin last month, inspiring a new generation of surfers who live miles from the ocean

I wasn’t surprised when I wiped out on my first wave. I hadn’t surfed in over a decade, but my body remembered the physical sensation before I slipped off my board and barrel-rolled under the tide. The familiar aftershock of stinging eyes and accidental gulps of salt water, however, were strangely absent. That’s because I was hundreds of miles from the ocean, surfing in a freshwater lagoon surrounded by Texas cattle ranches.

NLand Surf Park, the first artificial surf park of its kind in North America – and the largest in the world – opened last month in Austin, Texas. (Unfortunately NLand closed again for repairs soon after my visit when damage was discovered under the lagoon, though it should reopen by the end of the year.)

Continue reading…
Surfing heads inland, to Austin, Texas published first on https://noambouzaglou.wordpress.com/