The James River Park System

Read a Pamphlet

These pamphlets, written by Park Manager Emeritus Ralph White, are available for free by email request at friends@jamesriverpark.org. Please include your full name and mailing address. Titles include:

• An Interpretive Guide to the Trails of the Pony Pasture Rapids
• Fishing the Falls of the James
• Poetry Guide to the James River Park System
• Seeing the Scars of Slavery
• Wheelchair Accessible Tour of Shockoe Slip: From Top to Bottom
• A Walk on the Wall: An Interpretive Guide to the Richmond Floodwall
• An Interpretive Guide to Belle Isle
• Snorkeling in the City
• Welcome to Pump House Park

Listen to an Audio Tour

Explore the secrets of the James River Parks’ unique geology with mobile audio tours! You’ll hear about what you are seeing, how it got there, and some of the reasons why the JRPS is special and worth preserving. Former James River Park Manager Emeritus Ralph White narrates these guided tours, which were produced by Anne Wright for Science In The Park and developed by sound artist Vaughn Whitney Garland with financial support from The Friends of the James River Park. Follow along on your mobile device, guided by live mapping.

• Geology of the Fall Zone: South Geo Tour
• Geology of the Fall Zone: North Geo Tour
• The Ecology of the River and Shoreline: A Sound History for the Trails of The Pony Pasture
• Indians To Industry: A Sound History For Belle Isle
• A Sound History For The Manchester Flood Wall

Purchase a River Book

If you’re looking for a little river reading, we recommend the following:

• At the Falls: Richmond, Virginia and Its People, Marie Tyler McGraw (buy online)
• Falls of the James, David D. Ryan (find online)
• In River Time, Ann Woodlief
• Insiders’ Guide to Richmond, Maureen Egan (buy online)
• The James River in Richmond, John Bryan (find in a library)
• Nonesuch Place: A History of the Richmond Landscape, T. Tyler Potterfield (buy online)
• Richmond Burning, Nelson D. Lankford (buy online)
• True Richmond Stories, Harry Kollatz, Jr. (buy online)