Private River SUP Instruction in West Virginia

Sightseeing  :  United States  :  West Virginia  :  Fayetteville  :  Stand Up Paddleboarding

2.5-3 hour stand up paddle river instruction.

Stand up paddle boarding (SUP) is a new sport gaining a lot of popularity. Our SUP boards are inflatable, wide, and stable to be suitable for beginners. Learn the basic skills of SUP, learning how to stand, paddle, and maneuver your board in flat water and moving water. 

On top of learning about SUP you will also be instructed on moving water, including: safety, hazards and reading moving water. We will be on a 1.5 mile stretch of the New River through flat and class I+ rapids. 

All equipment: board, paddle, PFD (Life Jacket), and helmet are included in the price. Our instructors are very experienced and professional with ACA SUP certification. We fit the course to suit your level and skill, so if your a beginner or have experience SUP we will custom the class just for you!Once you book a paddleboard lesson. We will contact you with what time trip works best for you! Meet your guide at the river at the National Park Service Stonecliff river access at the agreed upon time. From there we drive upstream 1.5 miles to Stone Cliff river access. There we get you situated with your equipment and go over river and SUP safety. 

We will begin the instruction with the basics. There is a large flat water section where we will work on standing on our boards, paddling forward, turning, and getting back on our board. Once we have the basics down we will paddle upstream a bit to look at some moving water.

While observing the moving water/rapid you will lean a bit about hydrology and what to look for when thinking about going down stream through a rapid. You will learn how to find the deepest channel, how to look for rocks just under the surface, and hazards you need to look out for. After this learning session we will put SUP and river reading together!

Next we take the SUP boards into the moving water and practice our new learned skills! Once you feel comfortable practicing in some moving water we will make our way downstream to the Class 1+ rapid. We will get off our boards and scout out the rapid, pick out the line we want to take and try running it. Depending on your comfort level you can run it on your knees or standing. After running it, we have the option to walk back upstream and running it again! 

After the rapid the fun isn't over! We have about 1mile more of river to work on out SUP skills and enjoying the beauty of the New River. 


Check out an example of a beginner class outline below: Class Outline:

• SUP and River Safety

1. Personal equipment
2. Hazards
3. Safety techniques

• SUP Skills

1. Stances
2. Getting back on board
3. Forward Stroke
4. Turning
5. Edging 

• Moving Water
  1. River features
  2. Edging in and out of current
  3. Ferry angles
  4. Scouting rapids
• Practice moving water paddling
• Run the shoal

1. Scout
2. Look at lines
3. Look for hazards
4. Run it!

• Debrief the shoal, run it again
• Head downstream
  1. Work on SUP skills

• Take out and end of class