It will come as no surprise to Virginia paddlers that their state’s river access laws are among the least boater-friendly in the Nation. Along with Colorado and Georgia, Virginia’s laws are rare in that they fail to clearly protect a right to paddle at least some rivers. In the not distant past, paddlers have been escorted off rivers, and access has been blocked. Rivers like John’s Creek were deadlocked in debate for years, and challenges to the right to paddle bubble up every few years somewhere in the state. While this may sound like a dire situation, Virginia rivers are generally considered open to paddling and the state has weathered some significant attempts to shut down paddling.
Virginia’s neighbors all have superior, more nationally consistent river access laws, and many of them are reaping the benefits of river recreation. West Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Maryland all have local bustling river-based economies. These states also support use of all types of rivers by the public, which significantly adds to the quality of life of residents, public health, and the societal value of healthy rivers. These benefits of accessible rivers have not gone unnoticed by Virginia state and local governments. Small communities are beginning to dedicate water trails on scenic rivers that flow through their areas. Franklin County, VA is among the most recent to create a publicly accessible “blueway,” which is located on the Pigg River. The State’s webpage itself urges visitors to “Dip your oars into more than 25,000 miles of Virginia’s rivers and streams that meander through some of the most beautiful country in the world.” They also offer service for rafting as well as canoeing and kayaking on their website.
American Whitewater has carried out numerous efforts to improve access to Virginia’s streams. In one case we bought a takeout – to John’s Creek – and after a decade of challenges paddlers are once again enjoying the river and using our take out. Throughout the years we’ve worked closely with the paddling community to advocate for stream access on a statewide level, engaging with elected officials and the courts whenever access laws are threatened.