Rivers of the Richmond Region

In 2011, the RRPDC published Rivers of the Richmond Region, a guide to the public access points along the Richmond Region's rivers - the Appomattox, Chickahominy, Pamunkey and James. The guidemap includes a map of the access points and descriptions of the amenities available at each.

During the Capital Region Collaborative’s public review process to identify strategic priorities for the Richmond Region, it became clear that the Richmond Region is
often defined by its rivers.

The Collaborative heard many comments describing the need to improve public access to the James River, as well as public awareness of existing access points.

To help address this lack of public awareness, the RRPDC developed this public access guide for all rivers in the Richmond Region to illustrate the location and characteristics of existing public access points to not only the James River, but also to the Appomattox, Chickahominy, South Anna, and Pamunkey Rivers.

Development of the guide was funded through a grant from the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The grant also paid for a first printing of 3,000 copies.

To help distribute the guidemaps to the public, RRPDC staff approached a group of the 2011 class of Leadership Metro Richmond, who were involved with the Capital Region Collaborative’s process.

They originally intended to distribute the guidemaps through local parks and recreation departments, river keeper and boat outfitters, and river access points. However, it quickly became clear that demand would far exceed the first printing of 3,000.

Fortunately, through the efforts of an LMR alumna, the MeadWestvaco Foundation approached the RRPDC with an offer to pay for a second printing of 30,000 copies.

RRPDC staff took advantage of the reprinting to perform a significant revision of the guide. The improved guidemap has generated commitments from Sports Backers and the Richmond Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau to help distribute the first 8,000 copies.

RRPDC welcomes assistance from any organization wishing to receive or distribute copies of the free guide.

Download the Rivers of the Richmond Region Guide

Version 2 (March 2012): Full size (7.4 MB) | Low resolution (2.7 MB)

Version 1 (August 2011): Full size (10.4 MB)