Overview:
Few streams have as storied a history as Bull Run, site of two major battles in the Civil War, including First Bull Run/First Manassas, which marked the beginning of a very long war. Even in Virginia, with its countless Civil War battlefield and skirmish sites, Bull Run stands out, and one feels that graveside flowers would be more appropriate to bring canoeing than a cooler of beer. Today, far more profane than any quantity of alcohol, sprawl surrounds the battlefield, I-66's unceasing noise prevents reflection, and the waters have become more turbid with concrete channeled runoff. Despite being so defiled, Bull Run courses through a relatively undisturbed riparian corridor before entering the Occoquan Reservoir and merging with Broad Run. Between the area north of the battlefield and the sprawl of Manassas, it passes through lovely open space preserved permanently by Franklin Roosevelt as Manassas Battlefield Park, a unit of the National Park system. It is a reminder of what the rest of Northern Virginia once looked at: clear water (clearer, at least), attractive bluffs with north facing hemlocks, bluebells in April, and open floodplains. While there are less disturbed rivers elsewhere in the Commonwealth, Bull Run is a worthy paddle for Northern Virginians and those who wish to pay their respects to the soldiers who perished as a result of secession.
Recommended Trips:
Sudley Springs to Rt 29 (1/2 day)
Directions to Put ins and Take outs:
View Bull Run in a larger map
Sudley Springs: In Sudley Springs Little Bull Run (or Catharpin Run) joins Bull Run, near the intersection of Featherbed Road and Rt 234. Just south of this intersection is a large church (west side of road) and a small historic site on a gated road (east side of road). Park and unload in front of the gate, then drive fifty yards south on Rt 234 and park in a National Park parking lot. Drag canoes across the grass to put in, only about a hundred feet.
Route 29/Stone bridge: Park in the Park Service lot on the east end of the battlefield ($5); put in/take out just upstream of the old Rt 29 stone bridge, which today carries a hiking trail.
Route 28: There is a nice park parking lot on the north side of Bull Run, west side of the road, which is accessible from Rt 28 north or southbound. If heading northbound, turn into the lot immediately after crossing the bridge. This parking lot also serves the hiking trail that runs along Bull Run from the Regional Park near I-66 all the way south to Fountainhead.
Sections of river to run:
Sudley Springs to Rt 29: At its intersection with Catharpin Run, Bull Run is a small stream that seems to hold momentum from its dash off Bull Run Mountain. It passes by many beautiful stone cliffs and hemlocks on river right, as well as occasional islands anchored by sycamores. The water is an attractive green, though somewhat obscured by sediment, probably by sprawl in the vicinity of Rt 15. Deer overpopulation is painfully evident, with the whole forest understory stripped bare on either side of the creek. You are likely to see herons, Coopers hawks, and other birds. This run only takes two or three hours, depending on your pace. It is likely to have enough water in the winter or spring assuming a healthy amount of rain has been falling, or perhaps after a prolonged summer storm. No rapids exceed class 1, and the only hazard is possible strainers, particularly where the creek bends around islands.
Rt 29 to Rt 28: For the first mile below Rt 29, Bull Run continues its undisturbed course through the battlefield, with the exception of an impressive and antiquated junk pile on the right bank. Then it passes by a couple houses on the left bank and goes under I-66, after which you will hear road noise for a mile or two. The scenery from here alternates between pleasant and unattractive, as sprawl from Prince William creeps up to the riverbank in three places. About a mile passing under Ordway Road Bull Run reaches the Rt 28 bridge. One could continue downstream to the Bull Run Marina (operated by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority), but it entails flatwater paddling on the Occoquan Reservoir for the final two miles or so, not far below the Popes Head Creek/Bull Run confluence.
