Southern California’s Aliso Creek River Wave Erupts in Glassy Perfection (Video)

Story by

Dashel Pierson

Sat, May 2, 2026 at 12:09 PM UTC ·

2 min read

The niche world of river waves is the ultimate novelty surfing experience.

It only happens at a few places across the globe, and one of those rare locations is in Laguna Beach, California. The Aliso Creek river wave regularly breaches the sand – either naturally or by a little human intervention – and flows into the ocean.

And when it does, it creates a standing wave for surfers, skimboarders, bodyboarders, bodysurfers, and beyond to hop on the wave for a fleeting ride.

In the latest edition of the Aliso Creek river wave session, Beefs T.V. explains:

“Best and most glassy river wave in years formed in Southern California! Raw start-to-finish footage of this perfectly shaped river wave being surfed/shredded by Blair Conklin, Johnny Weber, James Sowell, Paul Carey, Chad Stickney and more! For everyone in the comments, this did not destroy the beach and cycles many times during extreme tide swings. Hope you enjoy this raw BTS look at a special break!”

I, myself, have ridden the Aliso Creek wave on a few occasions. It’s a unique and novelty phenomenon, nothing like normal surfing, but still, very fun.

But the river wave doesn’t come without its controversy.

A while back, Greg Viviani (aka SoLagLocal ) – a Laguna local who is a vocal proponent of breaking the berm, and letting the creek flow regularly, as opposed to the water staying stagnant and becoming a cesspool for bacteria, then eventually pouring out into the ocean – was ticketed for “digging a hole” in the sand .

So, Viviani has created a petition to help spread awareness, and most importantly “break the berm!” The petition reads:

“The High Tide Ocean Water fills up the creek during big swells and high tides. The majority of this is NOT pollution or Urban RunOff during these tide swings. When the creek stays filled, stagnate, non oxygenated water creates dangerous bacteria, horrible smell and mosquitoes etc! When the creek is flowing it has less chance of bacteria build up.”

This story was originally published by Surfer on May 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Surfer as a Preferred Source by clicking here.