FUNC Fest Montrose, Colorado-Late Season Colorado SUP Racing

The Montrose Colorado Water Sports Park (Whitewater Park) is a gem for Colorado Paddlers. With 6 features, 4 of which are great for surfing stand up boards, the Uncompahgre River through the Montrose Park is unique for the State of Colorado. Most of our rivers run during the spring/early summer run off period and then taper off as the summer progresses forcing Colorado based paddlers into the larger rivers that still have enough flow. However the Uncompahgre has irrigation flows that allows the river to run at optimal flows from April-September. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG2R2evnKS0 Capitalizing on this long season the City of Montrose started the FUNC (Fun on the UNCompahgre) Fest last year and it returns this year on July 30th in what is sure to become a staple of the Colorado river racing calendar. Last year's event featured stand up paddleboarders racing alonside whitewater kayakers in two events, a downriver sprint race in the morning and a head to head cross race in the afternoon. The community really came out for the event and the banks were packed during the afternoon cross race. Live music, beer, food vendors...Montrose knows how to throw a party. The City is really supporting paddling through this event with cash prizes for both men and women's classes. Come out and support this great new event at a down time in the calendar in Colorado. If you are driving west to the Outdoor Retailer show in SLC the next week Montrose is on your way! You can get more info and register at the FUNC Fest website. Hope to see you there! -Mike Harvey, Salida, CO