Hughes and Hazel

The Hughes and Hazel rivers are two beautiful small whitewater streams located about 1 1/2 hours from the DC metropolitan area. The putin is along SR 603, which parallels the Hughes for a short distance. The first 4 miles has the best stuff, mainly 1-2 foot ledges nicely scattered throughout the run. Strainers pop up every mile or so as well. After 4 miles, there is a low water bridge that must be portaged at all but the lowest levels. It is advisable to scout this bridge beforehand from SR 644 as it really sneaks up on you.

Paddlers who just want a short top-shelf run can take out here, as the last 5.5 miles can drag a bit, especially at lower levels. Shortly after the low water bridge, the Hazel flows in from the left, and you get a few more decent ledges, the first one of which is the largest for this section.

Unfortunately, the last three miles start to flatten out and have a few challenging strainers. This adds considerably to the time it takes to run the whole 9.5 miles.

The take out for the entire run is at the Rt. 522 bridge. The shortest way to the putin from the takeout is to proceed a mile north on 522 and turn left on SR 707 at the convenience store. When you reach the point where the Hazel runs parallel to the road, you can turn left on 644 and go a very short distance to scout the low water bridge or set your takeout here. To get to the putin from this point, take the third very sharp left on 603. After 100 yards, you will cross a small feeder stream, and right after this on the left is an open area that is a popular putin spot. You can extend your run by going up 603 a bit further.

See Also:

Classic Virginia Rivers, Ed Grove (1992 ed), p. 60.

Virginia Whitewater, Roger Corbett (2000 ed.), p. 160.

Exploring Virginia's Waterways, Ed Gertler (2022 ed.), p. 105.