Woodfin warns public to stay clear of Taylor’s Wave construction zone
Woodfin told paddlers and pedestrians to avoid Taylor’s Wave as the French Broad River project moved toward a hoped-for summer opening.
Woodfin officials warned paddlers, visitors and anyone passing through Riverside Park and the Taylor’s Wave work area to stay out of the active construction zone along the French Broad River. The town said the area remained off-limits because crews were still working and the site could include equipment, unstable surfaces and changing river conditions.
The caution came as the multi-million-dollar whitewater project moved closer to the finish line. Buncombe County first studied a Woodfin greenway in 2010, beginning a planning process that has stretched for more than a decade. In 2022, the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority approved about $5.89 million in additional grant funding for the Town of Woodfin’s Greenway/Blueway and Whitewater Wave project. A groundbreaking for Taylor’s Wave and the Riverside Park expansion followed on June 21, 2024.
By early 2026, the project was nearing completion and officials were hoping for a summer 2026 opening. The broader Woodfin Greenway/Blueway and Whitewater Wave plan has been estimated at $35 million and is intended to connect eventually with Asheville’s River Arts District, tying the project into a larger riverfront network in Western North Carolina.
Taylor’s Wave is also expected to give Woodfin a rare attraction. One report described it as one of only a handful of free-standing whitewater waves in the United States, a distinction that could draw paddlers and visitors once public access returns. Woodfin itself is a town of about 8,100 residents, so the project carries outsize weight in a community where the French Broad River corridor is both a recreation space and part of local identity.
The wave feature did suffer minor damage from Hurricane Helene, but construction continued. That left the town with a clear message for summer river users: the site is still a work zone, and public access should wait until officials say the project is finished and the area is safe to reopen.
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