5th Street Wave stacks up right where the Gunnison River dumps into the Colorado River in Grand Junction, just downstream of the 5th Street bridge. It's a confluence wave, so it only turns on during spring runoff when the Gunnison drops low enough below the Colorado to create the gradient that builds the standing wave. When it's running, it can get genuinely big and pushy, with reports of water big enough to swamp an open canoe. It's a natural wave, so timing is everything, and it's earned its reputation among locals as a fickle, flow-dependent spot that rewards showing up during exactly the right week.