Key Points
- Aliso Creek river wave forms in Laguna Beach during unique water and sand conditions.
- Skimboard champ Blair Conklin showcased new ways to ride this novelty wave.
- The wave can create dangerous rip tides when ocean water mixes with urban runoff.
When conditions align, a rare novelty wave emerges in Laguna Beach, CA.
The Aliso Creek river wave forms when the basin fills with water, making its way towards the beach, then breaches the sandbank and begins flowing into the ocean – oftentimes, with a little assistance from eager wave-riders armed with shovels and digging hands.
Like its sister novelty river wave at Waimea Bay on the North Shore of Oahu, it’s a popular spot for unconventional surfing, bodyboarding, skimboarding, etc. And one person who knows Aliso Creek better than anyone else, is Laguna Beach native Blair Conklin. The three-time skimboard world champ is one of the best river surfers to ever ride Aliso. But recently, during one of the flows, Conklin took a different approach to the novelty spot…