The NAWFest is geographically dispersed into two main areas for the competitions.  The first day of competitive activities is located at Short Creek which is near Guntersville, Alabama.  The rest of the Festival and events are held at King's Bend with immediate access to the Locus Fork river.  King's Bend is located near the city of Cleveland, Alabama, which offers many outdoor adventures.  In the past three years, NAWF has not only attracted private (commercial) and public (government) funding, but has earned a great deal of exposure to the sport of kayaking by bringing together some of the world’s best whitewater kayakers for fun, entertainment and competition. The Alabama based team has put their blood, sweat, and tears into turning King’s Bend into one of the premiere whitewater parks in the country while offering a convenient campground. As one of the largest festivals in the United States, NAWF kicks off freestyle events for the United States Freestyle Committee’s yearly schedule of events.

This great festival was founded in 2005 by professional kayaker Jeremy Adkins, Gavin Rains, Keith Yell, Mark Travis, David Livingston and many other Bama paddlers (e.g. The Bama Boyz). We at NAWF pride ourselves in offering not only a family environment, but a full itinerary filled with food, refreshments, games, raffles, camping, music, media coverage, competition and good ole’ fashioned southern hospitality.