Beginner Lessons in Arizona

Arizona is desert country (canyons, red rock, and a lot of sun), and it also, improbably, surfs. There's no ocean swell within reach, so the sport takes other shapes here: mostly wake surfing on the big lakes, some river surfing on the right stretches of moving water, and a small circle of schools and coaches who specialize in teaching both. It's a landlocked scene with its own logic and its own regulars.

The Colorado River reservoirs do the heavy lifting. Lake Havasu, Lake Powell, and Lake Mead (wide, deep, and ringed by rock and desert brush), give wake boats the room to throw long, rideable waves. Schools and private coaches work these lakes hard, running lessons and camps for everyone from first-timers to riders chasing cleaner turns.