NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/1535262
June 2025 • Nebraskaland 43 Gates on the flood channel direct flows into the North Fork's original channel, allowing the city to keep flows at the optimum level for the whitewater park, as long as there is enough flow in the river. Excess flows are sent down the flood channel. If You Build It ... Officials estimated 30,000 people would use the river in a year. Stuthman said he thinks that number might have been reached in the first three months. He and his wife opened a surf shop steps from the North Fork and the surf wave. They rent kayaks, surf and boogie boards and tubes to folks who want to walk right down to the river and also offer shuttle service for those who want to float the entire trail. Most people using the river outfit their own trips, bringing tubes or kayaks from home, but Stuthman said he is doing as much business in one weekend as he did in an entire year before the whitewater park opened. On one August weekend last summer, he said all he could see looking up and down the river near his shop were groups of tubers and kayakers. And in the park, the beach "was just wall-to- wall people." Those visitors came from throughout eastern Nebraska. But the whitewater kayaking and surfing culture is unique, and those who are into it will travel long distances to visit water parks that are popping up around the U.S., especially people who live in the Midwest, far from mountains. In its first year, people from at least 13 states visited the park, including some from both coasts. "It's an amazing addition for the state of Nebraska and the city of Norfolk," said Brett Mjelde, a whitewater enthusiast from Council Bluffs, during his second visit to the park last September with his son and daughter. While city leaders anticipated an increase in tourism from the water park, Moenning is equally pleased, if not more so, at the local interest, especially youths who flocked to the river during the heat of summer. "A lot of times, these were kids whose families might not have been able to afford a pass to the water park. This was an opportunity for them to enjoy a natural resource in the middle of their community that's easy to access. They can ride their bikes to it, and it's free," he said. So if you find yourself in Norfolk this summer, don't be surprised if you see kids, or adults, walking or biking across Norfolk with inner tubes or body boards slung over their back. Or if you hear screaming coming from the North Fork of the Elkhorn River. It's all good fun. You might be wise to pack your swimsuit and join them. N What'd You Call It? The North Fork of the Elkhorn River is what gave Norfolk its name. The city's founders had submitted Nor'Fork, or some other variation of a contraction of the river's name, to the post office, but somewhere down the line, postal officials thought it was a spelling error and changed it. Ask anyone who lives there, however, and many from Nebraska, and you won't hear an "L" in the pronunciation. North Fork Outfi tting operates the Riverpoint Surf Shop steps from the whitewater park.