Mike T's Top 5 SUP Destinations In The USA

Mike T and travel companion, Shredder

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - Boardworks team manager and athlete, Mike Tavares, lives a pretty charmed life. Between handling athlete affairs, attending events and 'Quality Control' testing new boards, he spends a decent amount of time on the road with Shredder in their camper. During his last visit to San Diego, we managed to corner him for a few minutes to talk about his favorite SUP spots across the US of A. Here's what he said…

1. Southern California

Mike T enjoying an icy winter's day things in So Cal

This one is high on my list - it's winter now. It's winter time right now and it's 70, 80 degrees out. So I would say Southern California from San Diego all the way to Orange County. It's got everything, too - flat water, surf, ocean racing - there's always something going on.

2. Florida

Florida puts on a pretty spectacular show at sunset | Photo Norm Wagner

It's a really great place to do everything - paddle, surf, you name it. Everything is happening in Florida. Yet another cool paddle state, because there's not really an off season, so people are always paddling and racing and doing something cool.

3. The South East

Boardworks team rider, Randy Fisher, enjoying the Gauley River in West Virginia

North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee - this whole pocket of the US has a ton of white water paddling opportunities, but it also has a ton of flat water, lakes. Just anything you really feel like.

4. The Rocky Mountains

Supconnect Community Assistant, Alex Mauer - no stranger to the Rockies

Another great white paddle destination, especially if you like white water. I actually started paddling white water and SUP's in Colorado of all places. Tons of cool river waves, lakes, mountain streams - anything you like. Even though it's up in the mountains, there's tons of opportunities to do whatever kind of paddling you'd like. It's always really beautiful.

5. tHE north West

Mike T enjoying the lighter side of Oregon's coast

One of my favorite places to paddle up there is Hood River, mostly because of the wide range of options. You've got the ocean just a few miles away, you've got the Columbia River for downwinds, you've got white water rivers that are feeding into the Columbia and hood. So, another great destination.

All the places I've named give you options, so no matter what style of SUP you're into, you should definitely go check them out!

About Boardworks 

Based in Carlsbad California, Boardworks Surf, a leader in the standup paddle industry, designs and manufactures innovative and award winning standup paddle boards, paddles, surfboards and accessories. The focus of Boardworks is to build user-friendly performance products that make your time on the water more enjoyable. There are many types of waterways in this world and many different ways to enjoy Surfing and Stand Up Paddling. Boardworks’ design approach ensures that you have the perfect board for your next SUP or surf adventure.  Along with the Boardworks branded products, Boardworks manufactures SUP boards and surfboards for some of the worlds premier brands including Infinity, Badfish Standup Paddle, Morrelli & Melvin, Ohana, Rusty, Hynson, Dewey Weber, Ben Aipa, and Hansen using our proprietary construction technologies.

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