Thrill

Catching a wave in the middle of Ohio may seem far-fetched, but Shannon Thomas’ Surf Dayton has helped adventurers do just that on portions of three different waterways since 2019. Surf Dayton’s guides take river surfers out on the Mad River and Great Miami River — both of which have multiple drop-in spots that offer access to whitewater features with varying levels of difficulty.

After spending some time in Florida, Thomas, who is a native of Dayton, founded surfdayton.com as an outgrowth of his surfing.com community website. The idea was to launch a clinic business that would teach people how to river surf and paddleboard on both whitewater and flatwater.

Beginners should start with the flatwater stand-up pad- dleboard clinic and gain proficiency before booking a whitewater lesson. The surfing clinics are more demanding, and participants should be strong swimmers and confident in their physical abilities. Each lesson starts by outfitting surfers with boards, life jackets and helmets. There’s then 30 minutes of on-land instruction, followed by 90 minutes of surfing.

Lessons begin in the middle of June and run through September, but some of the best water for surfing comes in August due to a lower flow. Thomas says Surf Dayton has a roughly 95% success rate of visitors standing on a wave by the end of their lesson.

“That’s part of our reward,” he says, “seeing someone stand up for the first time and the absolute joy on their face of riding a wave.” For more information, visit surfdayton.com.