Eagle River Park fundraising event builds momentum for a new wave design

When Lachie Thomas moved from Sydney, Australia to the U.S. in 2004 — and then to Eagle, Colorado in 2005 — he’d never thought he’d still be surfing. Thanks to river parks throughout the state, Thomas can continue a lifelong passion that reminds him of home. 

Eagle River is home to engineered waves — manmade rollers built for surfers, kayakers, boaters and other river-based hobbyists. The waves were initially built in 2018, but only fully operational by 2019. However, over time the waves began faltering and becoming not only unusable, but also potentially unsafe. Now, wave riders are joining efforts to get a re-build up and running. 

“The idea was that the (wave) was going to have some high-performance features and some more mellow features, but instead it’s been not working and also a bit dangerous,” said Jon Christensen, one of the founders of the Eagle River Park Coalition, a Colorado nonprofit looking at ways to build a new version of the wave, after seeing the success of Scout Wave 2.0, a wave rebuild project on the Arkansas River in Salida, Colorado, that debuted in 2022. 

The fundraising event, “Surf Movie Night,” called upon the local community to help raise funds for the wave redesign. The event ran from 6-9 p.m. at the Eagle River Park and had a raffle, a silent auction, a movie highlighting the success of Salida and to tie it all together, free beer. 

Thomas, the Aussie surfer who’s the president of the Eagle River Park Coalition, said that this event was one of the first steps in building momentum to raise enough for engineering what he said could cost close to $125,000 for one wave. Step two, he said, is actual construction, which could cost about $1.2 million for the first wave at the top of the park. 

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The money from the previous wave came from a 0.5% increase in sales tax, which was approved by Eagle voters. Thomas said they’ll be looking for grant support to pay for engineering. The second step, the build-out, will be potentially supported by a combination of grants, private funds and funds from the town of Eagle.

Thomas said the original waves used to bring community members of all generations, especially young kids, together. 

“We’ve just noticed that drop off a little bit as the wave hasn’t lived up to its performance, so the idea would be to make that happen and then therefore engaging the community better,” he said. 

Thomas also highlighted that the current wave features were causing safety concerns for users, including surfers and boaters, and that the new design would address them. He added that the coalition has also been in communication with Colorado Parks and Wildlife as well as the Eagle River Coalition to make sure they are on board for any improvements they make. 

“We really want to do this right,” he said in a conversation following the event. 

During the event, one could feel the emphasis on community, as surfers and nonsurfers alike, came to support the redesign. 

“This was an incredible addition to the recreation that our kids have been able to enjoy, that every generation has some part of enjoying the river,” said Heather Kehoe, a Vail Valley local for over 60 years whose husband has played a role in the coalition. 

“When this came out, and you could start way up in Vail, almost, and go way all the way down the river almost to Gypsum, I mean, that’s just an incredible journey and experience,” she said. 

Jon Christensen was working the ticket table and never seemed to stop as the cash was flowing in the whole evening. He emphasized the importance of the multigenerational connection, but also how the new wave would increase the amount of surfing days to as much as three months. 

“We are going to have a new wave by 2028,” he said. 

Although the total amount of money is unknown at this time, following the event, Thomas reported a night of success. 

“I think that the community that it will bring is the most valuable part of it” said event attendee, Ramsey Cotter. “I think it’s a beautiful opportunity to bring people together for wholesome fun.”