Level: Intermediate, Expert
Type: Ocean
Water type: Flat, Chop
Water hazards: None
Water quality: Clean
Infos: Flat to choppy water.
Beach type & size: Grass, Sand - Small
Infos: Little bit of sand, but lots of grass.
Identified hazards: None
Weather specificities: Shorts during summer, otherwise a long wetsuit is needed.
Wind type: Frontal
Wind specificities: Best winds during winter.
Best months: January, February, March, April, May, November, December
Access description: by Car - From Butte take the 90 West and then take 1 West to Anaconda. Georgetown Lake is about 17 miles further west. Get onto Denton's Point Rd and get to Denton's Point.
Specific rules: None
Accommodations: Parking
View spot
Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Expert
Type: Ocean
Water type: Shallow, Flat, Chop
Water hazards: Buoys, Stones, Shells
Water quality: Clean
Infos: Tide, choppy water, can also be flat behind the dam.
Beach type & size: Pebbles, Stones - Medium
Infos: Stones, logs, when the tide is out, lots of seaweed, but once you're on the water, it's excellent. Old logs on the beach.
Identified hazards: Shells, Other
Beachgoer: None
Weather specificities: Mostly sunny from April to October. Shorty suit good June thru August. In winter a dry or heavy wetsuit is a must. Winter temps range 5-12C. Wetsuit needed all year-round.
Wind type: Thermal
Wind specificities: Depending on the wind, kites can be from 8 to 20 sqm. There is a road dividing the N and S, which acts as a wind break for the waves. Lots of wind higher up where the kite is, reasonably flat water where you're riding.
Access description: by Car - From Vancouver, drive towards the Tsawassen ferry terminals, and turn off the side road at the last set of lights before the terminal. The beach is just south of the dam.
Specific rules: Other
Extra: No fire and no camping.
Nightlife: Lots of nightlife in Vancouver.
Accommodations: Parking
View spot
Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Expert
Type: Ocean
Water type: Shallow, Flat, Chop, Small wave, Medium wave
Water hazards: Currents
Water quality: Clean
Infos: At dead low tide you have to walk quite a ways to get to the water. Anything other than dead low tide has flat water inside the sandbar and can have waves outside depending on wind strength and direction.
Beach type & size: Sand - Big
Infos: Nice sandy beach with enough room to launch and land kites. One obstruction is the ramp that allows 4WD vehicles to drive down on to the west end of the beach.
Identified hazards: Cars
Beachgoer: July, August, None
Weather specificities: Mid-late summer water temps reach about 70F. That is the max. Summer air temps range from 65-80F. Drysuits are needed from late October until mid April.
Wind type: Frontal
Wind specificities: Varies considerably. North winds are frontal driven and seem to be best early in the day. SW thermals develop as the day goes on and seem to reduce the strength of northerlies as the day progresses. Chapin is best in Northeast and Northwest winds.
Best months: March, April, May, September, October, November
Access description: by Car - For Chapin, take exit 8 of Route 6E and go north on Union Street. Turn right on 6A and head east for three miles. Turn left on New Boston Road. (Chapin Beach is just past the Aqua Cultural Research facility so watch for their signs.) Go 1/4 mile and trunk right on Beach Street. At the fork, take the middle road (Taunton Avenue). Taunton takes a sharp left at the water and becomes Dr. Bottero Road. The next fork is ACR's driveway, bear right and continue to the beach.
Specific rules: Zones, Fees
Extra: In the summer their is a parking fee ($8) for non-residents. The lot is not very big and can fill up. During the summer it is best to kite at the far end of the beach away from the beach crowd. Also, please be mindful of restrictions associated with piping plover habitat. If there are nesting pairs in the dunes, kites cannot be flown within 200 meters of the nests.
Accommodations: Toilet, Parking
View spot
Level: Intermediate, Expert
Type: Ocean
Water type: Small wave, Medium wave
Water quality: Clean
Infos: Cold water. Big swell if it is windy. Wind waves. Small to large.
Beach type & size: Sand, Rocks - Medium
Infos: Rocky, sandy a bit of everything. There is a small but suitable rigging area. Make sure you stay upwind or you'll soon find yourself in a wind shadow with no hope of making it back in. Unless you stay offshore which I would never recommend.
Weather specificities: Very cold most of the time. Wetsuit is always necessary with a drysuit advisable in all seasons but summer.
Wind type: Frontal
Wind specificities: Very erratic. Predictions are often incorrect. Usually 16sqm kites and bigger weather but sometimes 10sqm kites. Wind shadow further downwind, you need to stay upwind.
Access description: by Car - North of Nanaimo and Parksville. Follow signs to Qualiqum Beach. Follow road along the water till you see a large sign saying Columbia Beach.
Specific rules: None
Extra: Not a good learning location maybe at real low tide but as soon as you get blown downwind you'll hit the wind shadow and more than likely you'll be in for a swim.
Accommodations: Parking
View spot
Level: Intermediate, Expert
Type: River
Water type: Shallow, Flat, Chop
Water hazards: Currents, Ships
Water quality: Cloudy
Infos: Flat to choppy water. Can be a little swell.
Beach type & size: Sand - Small
Infos: Small, sandy, secluded beach. Watch out for broken rocks in the sand.
Identified hazards: Rocks, Trees
Beachgoer: None
Weather specificities: Weather in the summer can be 90+F with water temperatures warm enough for board shorts only in July and August. Shorties come in for June and September. Full wetsuits the rest of the year. Winters are not really kite-able here, with the bitter, blustering Easterly winds bringing snow, hail, and rain.
Wind type: Thermal
Wind specificities: Spring: March to May, light winds 12-20, somewhat finicky. Summer: June to early September, windy, 15-35, pretty solid. Fall: September to October, light to moderate winds, but very steady: 13-25. Main direction westerlies. Steady wind.
Best months: May, June, July, August, September
Access description: by Car, Boat - Drive from Portland to Hood River. Stay on I-84 and drive further east until you reach Martin Spring. Drive further towards Squally Point and before you reached the Tooley Lake, stop and park somewhere. No real parking and not easy access. You need to walk a long way over the rail road tracks and through a field of scattered, rusty barbed wires until you reach a small sandy beach. For exact location look out for kites from I-84.
Specific rules: Zones
Extra: Kiting or even parking at this spot has been banned. Too many people were parking here to go kiting so the railroad who owns the land has instated the ban. But you can still access with a boat.
Nightlife: No nightlife.
Accommodations: None
View spot
Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Expert
Type: Lake
Water type: Shallow, Flat, Chop
Water hazards: Swimmers, Ships
Water quality: Clean
Beach type & size: Sand - Small
Identified hazards: Bystanders
Beachgoer: June, July, August
Wind type: Frontal
Access description: by Car -
Accommodations: Rescue, Shower, Toilet, Food, Parking
View spot
Level: Intermediate, Expert
Type: Ocean
Water type: Shallow, Flat, Chop
Water hazards: Swimmers, Currents, Ships, Jetskis
Water quality: Crystal clear
Beach type & size: Sand - Tidal
Beachgoer: May, June, July, August, September
View spot
Level: Intermediate, Expert
Type: Lake
Water type: Chop, Small wave, Medium wave
Water hazards: Mole
Water quality: Clean
Infos: If there is a North onshore wind try this site for a real treat of semi hollow big waves that can wrap around the long rock jetty.
Infos: Park, rig and launch by the trailer parking area south of the rocks.
Identified hazards: Rocks
Weather specificities: Season from March to November. Wetsuit needed all year. Frozen in winter.
Wind type: Frontal
Wind specificities: Good launch for Northerly winds. Keho is most recommended during Southwest and Westerly winds. When there is a westerly flow, it is always windy close to the mountains earlier in the day, at Pincher Creek / Oldman Dam ... the wind spreads out over the prairies later (You can actually do a bit of work and then catch an afternoon or evening session at Keho). The rule of thumb is if it blowing 30k at Claresholm, turn and go to Keho ... if the wind at Claresholm is very light, keep on going to the Oldman. Claresholm is actually in the wind shadow of the Porcupine hills, so do not expect strong Westerly winds there ... usually if its 30km/h at Claresholm, it will be 60 km/h and up at Keho Lake! The lake is wide and has no hills or trees to break the wind, so the wind is generally steady and strong. In general warm Chinook winds blow through from the Southwest and West as early as March as spring rolls in. It breaks up the ice and keeners are out with warm air days possible. Chinooks very often get to 50 km/hr to 80 km/range, with some nice days at 100 km/h. It is comfortable in May and gets progressively warmer until July and then the wind is less strong. September it picks up again with strong colder Northwesterlies dominating, but still some great Chinook wind days from the West and Southwest roaring through. A very rough guess is on average that Chinooks come once a week for 3 days of solid 60 km/h plus winds for windsurf and kite and 2 days lighter kiting winds.
Best months: March, April, May, June, September, October
Access description: by Car - Located 1.5 hours southeast of Calgary. Driving from Calgary, head south to Claresholm, then turn east (left) towards Barons and at Barons go south (right) towards Nobleford for 2 or 3 miles then left (east) towards Keho for 1 kilometer. Get to the south of the lake and take the road west of the golf course. Park, rig and launch by the trailer parking area south of the rocks.
Specific rules: Other
Extra: Please keep it clean, pack it out. Use existing trails, do not drive over the latest hay and wheat crops around the lake. No vehicle parking within 150 meters (500 feet) of shoreline. No parking on sand. No camping over night! The Keho golf course across the lake has an amazing $5.00 breakfast!
Nightlife: No nightlife.
Accommodations: Camping, Parking
View spot
Level: Intermediate, Expert
Type: Lake, River Mouth
Water type: Chop, Small wave, Medium wave
Water hazards: Swimmers, Jetskis
Water quality: Clean
Infos: Lake Huron offers shallow waters.
Beach type & size: Sand - Big
Infos: Miles of beautiful natural sandy shores on the Bruce Peninsula in Southern Ontario.
Identified hazards: None
Beachgoer: July, August
Weather specificities: Air temperatures vary in summer from 70-80+F. Hot dry summer.
Wind type: Thermal, Frontal
Wind specificities: Steady winds, 12-30+ knots. Gusty in spring and fall, summer with afternoon thermals.
Best months: May, June, September, October
Access description: by Car - From Toronto Central/West GTA (3 hours): From the 401, follow Hwy 10 North to Chatsworth. Turn (right) onto Hwy 6 North, and continue on through Owen Sound to Hepworth. Then West to Sauble Beach on Bruce Rd/Main St. until you hit the beach.
Specific rules: Zones, Time, None
Extra: During summer months (July to August) the beach is crowded between 11am-4pm. Avoid launching on the main beach.
Accommodations: Rooms, Camping, School, Shop, Toilet, Food, Parking
View spot
Level: Intermediate, Expert
Type: Ocean
Water type: Small wave, Medium wave
Water hazards: Swimmers, Currents
Beach type & size: Rocks - Big
Identified hazards: Rocks
Beachgoer: June, July, August, September, October
Weather specificities: The water temperature is around 4-6C in the mid-summer.
Wind type: Frontal
Wind specificities: Do not ride here with offshore winds.
Best months: June, July, August, September, October
Access description: by Car -
Specific rules: None
Nightlife: Go to Rimouski and you will have all what you need.
Accommodations: Rooms, Camping, Rescue, Toilet, Food, Parking
View spot