🍊 The Big Orange Discovery Wednesday

Howard Xing
Mar 20
4 min read

Updated: Apr 9

Exploring the Waters of the Mid-South

Electric hydrofoiling is a sport built around water.

Every lake has its own personality. Some offer wide open riding areas, while others provide quiet coves that are ideal for beginners. Some lakes provide dramatic mountain scenery, while others offer long calm shorelines perfect for smooth gliding.

At Big Orange, discovering these waters is part of the journey.

To explore the region and identify the best riding locations, the club operates a seasonal exploration initiative known as The Big Orange Lake Discovery Season.

A key part of this initiative is our weekly exploration ride known as Discovery Wednesday.

Each ride becomes a small expedition — a chance for riders to explore new waters together while gradually building a shared understanding of the region’s lakes.

The Three Exploration Routes

To organize these explorations, Big Orange focuses on three major riding corridors across the Mid-South. Each route connects lakes and waterways that offer strong potential for electric hydrofoil riding.

Together, these routes gradually form the foundation of the Mid-South 100 Waters Project, a long-term effort to map rideable waters across the region.

1️⃣ Appalachian Foothills Corridor

Virginia → North Carolina

This route follows the eastern foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where a chain of scenic lakes provides ideal conditions for electric hydrofoil riding.

Many of these lakes feature large surfaces of calm water, beautiful forested shorelines, and strong local recreation communities.

Lakes in this corridor include:

• Smith Mountain Lake

• Leesville Lake

• Claytor Lake

• Kerr Lake

• Jordan Lake

• High Rock Lake

Because of their accessibility and scenic surroundings, these lakes are expected to become some of the most frequently explored waters for Big Orange riders.

2️⃣ Carolina Lake Network

North Carolina → South Carolina

The Carolina Lake Network connects many of the large recreational lakes that stretch across the Carolinas.

These lakes often feature reliable boat launches, wide riding areas, and vibrant outdoor communities nearby.

Key lakes in this corridor include:

North Carolina

• Lake Norman

• Lake Wylie

• Mountain Island Lake

• Lake Hickory

• Lake James

South Carolina

• Lake Murray

• Lake Hartwell

• Lake Keowee

• Lake Jocassee

• Lake Greenwood

These waters offer a mix of open riding areas, scenic mountain reservoirs, and well-developed waterfront recreation environments.

3️⃣ Tennessee Valley Route

The Tennessee Valley contains some of the largest freshwater systems in the southeastern United States, created by the reservoir system of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

These lakes often feature:

• expansive open water•

long shoreline routes

• island exploration opportunities

Lakes in this corridor include:

Tennessee

• Norris Lake

• Douglas Lake

• Cherokee Lake

• Fort Loudoun Lake

• Tellico Lake

Northern Georgia / Western North Carolina

• Lake Chatuge

• Lake Nottely

• Blue Ridge Lake

• Fontana Lake

These lakes offer dramatic mountain scenery and are well suited for longer exploration rides and future multi-day adventures.

Beginning Close to Home

While the exploration routes span several states, every journey begins somewhere familiar.

During the early stage of the club, the Big Orange Lake Discovery Season begins with lakes close to home in North Carolina’s Triangle Area.

Local waters provide the perfect starting point to refine exploration methods, test equipment, and document riding conditions.

From these nearby lakes, exploration gradually expands outward along the three discovery routes.

Each ride becomes an opportunity to understand how different lakes behave, how conditions change with the seasons, and which locations may support future training sessions or community events.