Snap: Canoeing Rivanna under the RR

By Hawes Spencer |
Published online 7:33am Sunday Jun 26th, 2011
and in print issue #1026 dated Thursday Jun 30th, 2011

A youthful canoeist peers up at the old C&O Railway bridge near the Woolen Mills neighborhood. The old bridge, now leased to the Buckingham Branch Railroad, carries mostly empty coal and grain cars plus the three-days-a-week Cardinal passenger train for Amtrak. Saturday's weather was perfect for paddling the Rivanna on the quintessential Towe Park-to-Milton route. Sunday's forecast calls for another ideal summer day with a high near 84. (Were it not for Bosher's Dam on the western outskirts of Richmond, a portage-free canoe trip all the way from Charlottesville to the Atlantic Ocean would be possible.)

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2 comments

NancyDrew June 26th, 2011 | 10:04am

What glorious weather this weekend. Where can I get on the Rivanna to canoe this stretch, looks like fun, and are there canoes to rent ?

NancyDrew June 26th, 2011 | 12:48pm

Thanks for the link to a map of your route. With all the water in the river, this is a good summer for paddling.