Golden Wave sits inside Golden's Clear Creek Whitewater Kayaking Park, a boulder-built course dedicated back in 1998 and split into three sections as the creek drops through town. The middle stretch holds the broad, shallow surf wave most riders come for, while the lower section serves up bigger, more aggressive wave drops for those chasing more punch. It's free and unsupervised, but Clear Creek runs fast and cold, especially during spring snowmelt, so come ready for real current and submerged rock. Best flows line up with the spring runoff window, when the wave is at its most rideable.