Hello forum members,
i am searching for Information about kiting int the US, but didn´t find so much up to now (maybe i didn´t look at the right pages). First, sorry for this english style, hopefully you can understand what i mean
This summer i will have a break between school and study for 3 months and now i am loking for the right place to go and kite (connected with english). One of my ideas is to fly to the US and to travel from one spot to the other.

First: Which region is most interessting for kiting, or which regions you enjoyed most? I thought for flying to Los angeles and travel up north then.

Second: I heard different statements about traveling in the US: One said, that a car is very very important, others told me that offical transport and backpacking would work fine there.
The second opportunity would be great, while the first one would dextroy the plans to travel the US i think, because a rental car for 3 months is certainly really expensive.

Greetings,
Clemens

unless you stick to the cities with light rail, get a car. Even to get to the backpacking locations, you'll need a car.

The west coast would be a good place temperature wise. We got decent winds in Dallas in the summer, but the 100 degree temperatures aren't much fun.

clemens, its funny you mention that as im from the usa and i want to travel to england and do some kiting with those crazy brits........

When is your break...? That would help with suggestions as to what events are happening during your visit.

thanks for the quick answer. Maybe i should check, whether i can find a cheap rental service, or maybe it would worth to buy a cheap car for 3 months, and to sell it when my travel time is over.....
@ kiteetik, i can not really understand what do you wanted to say, sorry

my break is from 6.6.2011-25.8.2011 + or - some days

So you are looking at June through August?
What kind of kiting are you looking for? Water or land?
The west coast is indeed some of the most beautiful coastland you will come across. It really depends on what you want to do. There are lots of great locations to go. Unfortunately, Wildwood beach will be closed to land riding during that timeframe.
Best of luck on your trip!

Hello,
i practise Water and Snowkiting, no Landkiting.
On the question of rent a car or buy a car, something came up to my mind 5 minutes ago:
It is that easy: i will not be able to rent a car to this time. All in all, when i scroll through other traveling forums, it seems to me that in different states of the US it could become difficult for me to travel because i am 18 years old (to the time of the break 19). i got used off beeing full- aged, so i didn´t think about this up to now :D...

yes, the rental companies won't rent a car to an 18 year old, no matter how mature they are. You'll need to buy one or find a friend that will take you in their car or loan you theirs.

if you are looking at kitesurfing/kiteboarding, then there are some great locations on the West Coast, LA is not really one of them. From what I've read (never been there) it tends to be light-wind conditions primarily. You might get lucky, but I havent exactly heard good things about wind in LA.

You might do better to fly into San Francisco. The bay area scene is HUGE. Its deep, cold water though. So be prepared for that. Anywhere you go north of there is also going to be very cold water. There are some riding locations farther inland, some look really good too. However, bear in mind if you go into the Pacific Ocea, you will probably need a wetsuit, even in the dead of summer.

Unforunately, there isnt very much in the way of snowkiting in the US during the summer months... I also dont know about many good water riding locations in the middle of the continent. I am sure there are some, but you will most likely want to swing through Texas and hit the coast line there, then move towards Floriday and up the East Coast. Water will be warm, and winds could be good.

Summer winds on the east coast arent always great, but you could get some great sessions in. I would definitely try to include Hatteras in your trip, and possible some of the locations around New York City (i've heard some great stories of riding up there.

As for transportation, kiters in the US are generally a pretty friendly crowd. You could get probably convince people to help you out in that department. Fly into a major airport, then arrange for accomodations and ask someone to help you out getting there... If you come through DC, I'd be happy to help you out...

Best of luck.

Hey ragden,
thanks for this discription.
I just named snowkiting, i do not really plan to do snowkiting there, for that i have switzerland mountains some hours away from my home .
And i just say LA because i found cheap flights to there. I don´t have to be there, maybe San francisco is comparable depending on flights.
Did i understand you right, if you would plan this tour you would start near San francisco or maybe a little bit more north an than go south, Texas, along the Golf coast to Florida and then the east coast up to the region of NY? WOW that sounds like an amayzing tour. Its nearly a distance of 3,600 miles.

I think you did understand me correctly. That is kind of what I was thinking. You might have more luck posting on KiteForum to see what people would recommend for a US travel path. There are certainly some amazing locations to hit along the north west coast, but it depends on how keen you are to ride in cold water.

So... do you mind kiting with a wetsuit, or would you prefer warmer waters?

If you dont mind cold waters, you might do better to fly into Seattle, Washington, and start your trip in The Gorge (I dont know the specifics on the location, but heard a lot about it). Then head south through Oregon to the SF Bay Area, then head inland for the lakes scene in Cali (seen some amazing videos of that area). Then head to Texas and east from there... The big advantage of this route is the lack of backtracking...

The US is a big country... lots of places to kite....

Hey ragden,
i have no problem with cold water. in my holidays i am often at the northsea ti kite with a wetsuide. Maybe San Francisco is a little bit colder, but surely not much.
can you tell me an other US kiteforum? I know kiteforum.com, but this page don´t seems to be a forum for the US in special?
i didn´t find a translation for lack of backtracking, do you mean it´s hard to do this route without a car? If you ment this, it is exactly what i mean. This long distance would be planty of driving even if i can get a car, just hichhiking could be difficult.

How much costs fuel in the US? Maybe it would work to buy a cheap car and to resell it after 3 months. But even than 3500 miles costs a lot of liter. here at home i pay 1,5 Euro per liter, don´t know how much in the US.

With cold water as a viable option, you will have a lot of great places you can ride. I dont know the temps of the SF Bay, but I can say that if its anything like Santa Cruz, even in the dead of summer, the water does not get above 55 degrees (farenheit, 12 degrees celsuis). And that is on the really hot days. You are generally looking at degrees colder than that. Add in wind, and a wetsuit is a must. I dont know the temperatures in the Gorge, but if you hit the coast line in Washington state, or Oregon, you are going to find temperatures colder than that...

The only reason I recommend KiteForum (kiteforum.com, you had the right site) is because of the sheer diversity of kiters there. I am sure there are local forums for each of the sites you are looking at, but you would need to do some more reseach to find them. I dont know them off hand, sorry.

What I meant by back-tracking was going back the way you came. If you fly into San Francisco, then head north, you will end up heading south again which will cost you more money... If you start north, then head south, you are going one continious direction and not going back the way you came...

Getting a clunker to drive around is probably your best option. Gas prices in DC right now are around 3.20 dollars to the gallon. Probably cheaper than prices in the UK, but I dont know for certain. There are lots of public transportation options... Trains and buses that go all over the country. This can get you into major cities, and you would then need to hook up with a local kiter to get you to the riding spots. This would be cheaper, but require more coordination and with people you dont know (risky?)... If properly coordinated before hand, this could be a lot of fun though...

Sounds like an amazing 3 month vacation. Wish I could do something like that.... heh. I'll help you if I can. Let me know how it goes...

Gas was 2.89$ a gallon yesterday when I filled up.

If your big loop around the country should end in the NorthEast, you could take a session on one of the Great Lakes. Lake Ontario in Northern New York gets some great winds(sometimes) in the summer, and you could exit the country via Canada, and get to see some of that great country, too. Kingston or Toronto on the Canadian side of the lake likely has a kiting community to hook up with. Catch a flight out of Montreal to home, and you will also get that French flair the Quebecois are noted for! I wish I could go with you! Get to Syracuse, NY sometime around the end of July, and I could help you out for a few days. Will language be a problem, or do you have some english?
edit: We're paying $3.35/gal. here in the frozen north!:o

Wow, that's an endeavour! A car would probably be the best thing... something cheap with a high gas mileage... if you're hitting spots along the coast, there will be very long spans of open road you will have to cross. Come down to Padre Island, Texas, if you don't mind the heat! :D After spending time in the North West, maybe Texas would greet you with a warm welcome (<-- ha, I made a pun). The water off of Padre Island is very warm, very nice. Always a good strong breeze. Just be sure to gear up for heat, because in the thick of summer, it does get HOT! Expect temepratures regularly over 100F. Texans are a friendly crowd, give us a shout if you decide to come down here Contrary to popular belief, we don't still ride horses around and shoot Indians with our 6-shooters

Hey bobalooie, the loop which sounds nice becomes bigger and bigger :D
If i can made this i will surely come to an visit. lets see what water kiters on kiteforum.com will write.
language wouldn´t be a big problem i think, sometimes i don´t know the translation of special words by heart and i have to listen carefully to understand english speakers, but i think it will be duable.
anyway this is one of my reasons why i would like to travel in the USA, maybe i can inprove my english. earnestly, all people who were in an english speaking country told me that this few hours english per week in school didn´t teach them so much over years than a journey in this countries.

I'd have to agree with the "immersion experience" for learning to speak a language. I studied french in school for 4 years, and when I got done I really could not speak it well(but man, could I conjugate verbs!) But I spent 15 months in Spain and could speak spanish quite well when I left there. I have not yet kite boarded on the water, my experience is on land with buggy and a little kgb, and snow kiting with snowboard(still learning). I hope to get out on the water this coming summer, so maybe I'll be riding on the lake by then. I have seen other kiteboarders out on the lake before, and know a few guys out there as well. Good luck, and safe travels.

Hello Clemens,

I think you can have a great time in the states. Am I right that you are from Germany? I'm too, and I lived in the states a couple years and moved back to Germany two and a half years ago.

Here are a few things you should know:
- Buying a car: You most probably will not be able to register the car with the city if you were trying to buy one. I just don't think that you can do all that without a residence and a us drivers license / social security number. But i could be wrong in this department.
- Public transport: Most parts of the states do not have a good public transportation system like in Europe. Expect to be easily able to take trains or Greyhound long distance busses from one bigger city to another one. But once you arrive there often there is not local public transport availible. You would have to take a taxi to your hotel. If you go that route, connect by internet with some local kiters and ask them about busses or something. You could also stay close to the beach if possible.
- Language: You'll be fine and will be able to learn a lot. Your english will be very good after 3 months.
- Region: I would do the gulf coast, start in texas, make your way around/across florida and up the east coast maybe to NC, Hatteras. Stop in Saint Simons/Jekyll Island to see where I lived and hook up with angus from this forum :o)

Wow Toby, has it really been that long?

Yes Clemens, Toby is right on his observations. Smaller towns - often where kiting is good - will not have public transportation beyond taxis. I just checked on-line with the state of Georgia and you cannot register a car without a local driver's license, and that involves showing some form of local residence. Other states will be similar, I am pretty sure. A negotiated long term car rental is your best bet unless you take up temporary residence somewhere.
If you take Toby's advice and work through the Gulf Coast/ Texas and Southeast region then I can try to help you in the South Georgia area of St Simons, Jekyll Island ("Golden Isles") region.

Alright this man is on a kite mission let's give him an experience to remember I am calling out the members on hear to step up and help this guy on his epic journey

By this I mean places for couch surfing and transportation assistance

I will be in corpus from June 4 through the 14 and would be happy to help with pickup from the airport or bus station and delivery to the kite spots

Now somebody else step up with some available dates so this guy can plan a the trip of a lifetime :wee:

If you swing though Florence Oregon I have a spare bedroom if needed.:bigok: I only land kite but there is a good surf spot 20 min from my house.

As stated above, I am on vacation July 24-30, and in up-state NY. If you make it here, I have room, ride and sweet spot on L. Ontario to share. Can't guarantee wind, if I could, well, YOU ALL WOULD BOW TO ME!!!!! lol jk :duh: :duh: (that was for tridude! get well, man!)