Taylor's Wave Is Open. The Park Around It Is Still Catching Up.

Drive north on Riverside Drive past the River Arts District and the French Broad looks different now. A ledge of native granite and concrete crosses the river beside Riverside Park in Woodfin. Water pours over it and stands up into a wave that holds still while the river runs through it. On Oct. 20, the Town of Woodfin said construction of the $4.8 million Taylor's Wave was complete. The town lifted its "Stay out of Water" advisory and declared the wave safe to use. The grand opening on Friday, Oct. 23 included a whitewater demonstration, a dedication and a reception at French Broad River Academy's South Campus.

The wave is done. The rest of the site isn't, and won't be for a while. The Riverside Park expansion that surrounds the wave has a project closeout target of July 2027. For the next several months, a good afternoon at the wave depends on the river level, the parking situation and your route from Asheville more than on anything at the park itself.

What Is Finished in the River

The project goes back further than most people remember. Woodfin voters approved a $4.5 million bond for the Woodfin Greenway & Blueway in 2016, with 71% in favor. Construction started in 2024. WLOS reported that Helene stopped work in September 2024. Work resumed in April 2025, Phase I wrapped up in April 2026, and Phase II ran from May 2026 until it was finished this October.

Marc Hunt, a former Asheville vice mayor, came up with the idea for the wave. Here's how he described the goal to the same station:

"What folks should expect is a natural-looking ledge extending across the river water flowing over it, hopefully creating the world's best river surfing wave."

The Woodfin Town Council named the wave in 2023 for Taylor Hunt. He was well known in the region's whitewater community, worked as an activities leader at French Broad River Academy just down the road, and loved surfing river waves. The in-river design is by S2O Design and Engineering. The town compares it to the Camphill Surf Park that S2O designed on New Zealand's Hawea River.

The town says the wave may still close temporarily over the next few months while crews tune its performance. Its post said, "We'll post announcements before any closures." Check the Town of Woodfin's Taylor's Wave page or the Taylor's Wave Facebook page before you load a boat.

The River Gauge Matters More Than the Calendar

The wave's difficulty depends on how much water the French Broad is carrying, and that changes from day to day. The town points users to the USGS gauge for the French Broad River at Asheville, site 03451500, for real-time flow measured in cubic feet per second, or cfs. Here is the town's skills guidance, organized by that number:

The river is running low this fall. A conditions snapshot on Oct. 22 showed about 899 cfs and 56.3°F water. That's well under the town's 1,500 cfs line. In a post embedded in the WLOS story, the wave's own page wrote: "Water is below normal currently as shown in this photo, but still a fun smooth surf. Gonna be burlier for sure at higher flows." 828newsNOW reported the same thing: a smooth ride for now, with more power expected as flows rise. So a wave that feels friendly in late October could be a different ride after a week of winter rain. The gauge reading on the day you go matters more than any review from opening week.

The town's ground rules are short. According to the town's Greenway and Blueway FAQ, everyone on the wave needs a properly fastened U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket. Kayakers and canoeists should have a reliable roll at any flow, and every user should be a strong swimmer. Smoking is prohibited in Woodfin parks. Alcohol is allowed only at events with special permits, and commercial outfitters need a town permit. Rules like these can change, so treat this as general information and check the town's current postings before you get in the water.

The design builds in a couple of margins. Most of the river runs through the wave channel on river right, next to the park. A gentler bypass channel on river left is meant for tubers, anglers, beginning paddlers and anyone who wants to skip the wave. Just downstream, the calm ¾-mile pool behind Craggy Dam gives swimmers a place to recover. Enter the river only at the designated access points.

The Shore Runs on a 2027 Clock

The wave is free to use, and so is the park. Only pavilion and picnic reservations carry a fee. The land side is still a work zone, though. Riverside Park, at 1630 Riverside Drive, has reopened after emergency repairs. The town says restrooms and other amenities will stay unavailable until the full renovation is done.

The town's timeline for the expansion lists these milestones:

• Base park construction finished in April 2027
• Optional elements finished in May 2027
• Project closeout by July 2027

When it's finished, the park will be about twice its current size. Plans include new parking, restrooms and changing rooms, longer walking trails, a pavilion, picnic areas, bigger boat-launch facilities, terraced seating for watching the wave, and a stretch of the planned Woodfin Greenway. For now, none of that is open. Watching someone surf this fall means standing where the park and the construction fencing allow, without the terraces. Parking was tight enough on opening day that the town asked people to carpool. Pack whatever you'd want from a restroom or changing room and bring it with you.

The Drive From Asheville Changed in September

The road to the park is also part of the construction story. Since Sunday, Sept. 13, Hill Street has been closed for the I-26 Connector. NCDOT expects the closure to last "through at least the end of 2027" while crews replace the Atkinson Street bridge and build a roundabout at Hill, Atkinson, Courtland and Houston. If you live in Montford or Hillcrest and used to drop down Hill Street to Riverside Drive, here's how the routes work now:

1. From Montford or Hillcrest, NCDOT's detour sends you to Riverside Drive by way of Clingman Avenue or Broadway Street, depending on where you're headed.
2. From the interstate, the I-240/I-26 off-ramp to Hill Street closed permanently in April. NCDOT now sends drivers to Exit 25, Broadway Street, to reach Riverside Drive.
3. Going home toward I-26 East, Riverside Drive's entrance ramp to I-240/I-26 is permanently closed, so you continue on Riverside to Broadway.

Walking or biking doesn't get around any of this yet. There is no continuous greenway between Asheville and Taylor's Wave. Funded Woodfin sections along Riverside Drive are expected around summer 2029. About 0.41 mile near The Mill at Riverside and Elk Mountain Road was cut from the funded project and is still unfunded. Updates on the county side are posted on Buncombe County's greenways page.

Silver-Line Park, the other Woodfin river park on Riverside Drive, isn't a backup option yet either. An Oct. 7 project update from the landscape contractor rebuilding it says the post-Helene rebuild is "getting closer to the finish line," with crews planting and finishing the grading. The town's parks page still lists the park as temporarily closed. It's also a different access point from Riverside Park, so make sure your map is pointed at 1630 Riverside Drive.

Two Stops on Riverside Drive

With no restrooms or concessions at the park, the businesses along the road fill in. Two of the most familiar names on Riverside Drive have reopened this fall.

Guajiro reopened Sept. 14 in its rebuilt space at Cotton Mill Studios, 122 Riverside Drive, in the River Arts District. That ended its stint as a food truck at Hi-Wire's Biltmore Village taproom. It's on your way north, on the Asheville side of the trip.

High Five Coffee has been serving from a wood-sided trailer on its Woodfin property since Sept. 6, according to Mountain Xpress. High Five's Riverside page lists the trailer at 2000 Riverside Drive, open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. If you're going to watch the wave late in the afternoon, plan your coffee stop before it closes.

Riverside Drive has seen a lot of construction in the past two years, and plenty of it is still underway. The wave is the first piece of the Woodfin riverfront that's actually finished. It's open now, at whatever level the Asheville gauge reads on the day you go.

At H. Scott & Associates, we keep track of how projects like Taylor's Wave and the I-26 Connector change everyday life in and around Asheville, whether that's a new spot on the river or a new route to get there. If you're curious how recreation changes like these factor into what a home near the river is worth, reach out and we'll walk you through it. Get Your Home Value.