We are excited to announce a new partnership with WRIC ABC 8 News Richmond to bring you live views of the James River in Downtown Richmond and provide up-to-date river condition information as part of the daily weather broadcast. The WRIC River Watch program, sponsored by Friends of the James River Park, is designed to help spread awareness about river conditions and give Richmonders the tools they need to make good decisions about when and how to recreate on the James.

This program is not designed to be an all-encompassing tool to tell you whether or not you personally are able to go out without getting hurt. What it does is provide key information that people can use to improve their understanding of the James River in Richmond. The information provided through this program is stuff that everyone enjoying the James should have a basic grasp of.

In general life jackets and closed-toed shoes should be worn at all times when recreating on the James. The river bottom is uneven and it is easy to find yourself in water that is deeper than you thought it would be. The whitewater really picks up at around 6 feet, and challenging conditions can still exist at all levels, especially if you are new to river-based recreation. You have to combine what you know about your skill level with the river condition information in order to really understand what kind of risk you are taking. You can find a full list of safety tips on our River Safety page.

If you aren’t sure what activities are appropriate in the specific conditions, or if you want to test yourselves at higher water levels with a skilled guide, you can contact one of our local outfitters like Riverside Outfitters (https://www.riversideoutfitters.com/), or RVA Paddlesports (https://rvapaddlesports.com/). They can get you set up for success on the James with a guided trip, and they are usually happy to provide some tips about what is and is not generally considered safe in specific conditions.

We want you to enjoy the James, and we are not trying to scare anyone away from the river. Our goal is to spread knowledge about the types of information that people need to understand before they plan their day in the Park, and on the James. I firmly believe we can save lives and reduce rescues if we can create a broader culture of awareness about what might make river recreation dangerous. This is an effort to get “up stream” of the problems that we try to address with signage on the river bank. I think that is some of the best work that we can do to reduce accidents.

See you in the Park!

-Josh

Featured Image by Bill Draper