Virginia Rivers

The South Anna has fun little rapids interspersed with fairly flat sections between roughly Howards Mill and Route 54.  Above Howards Mill Road the river is all flatwater with relatively high banks.  Below Route 54 the water is also fairly flat.  This river can be run for most of spring and early summer, although it gets scrapey if it hasn’t rained recently.  The rapids are class 1 to 2, with the biggest ones being located just above Howards Mill and just above Auburn Mill.  There is a gauge painted on the Route 33 bridge; I’ve run it at levels from about 2 feet to about 7 feet.  At 2 it is quite scrapey and at 7 it is flooding and fairly dangerous, with large waves and very fast water.  The river is generally pretty, although some Hanover residents have marred the banks with houses in some places, and there will soon be a bunch of sprawl along a golf course just south of 33.  I recommend this for convenient day trips in the spring when the James might be too high and you don’t want to travel too far from Richmond.

Recommended Trips:

• (daytrip) Howard Mill Road to Rt 54.  This is a good trip is you have most of the day.  Put in upstream of Howard Mill in order to run the rapid just upstream of the bridge.
• (daytrip) Rt 33 (Mountain Rd) to Rt 54.  This is a good run after work in the summer if there’s enough water, as it only takes about 2.5 hours. This is the best section. Class I-II.

Directions to Put Ins and Take Outs:

Rt 617: Take the Oilville exit off I64 and go north/right on Oilville Rd/Hanover Rd.  At the fork in the road bear left onto Oilville/Pinhook Rd.  Go north a couple miles and bear right at the next fork, onto Vontay Rd.  Then bear left onto Spring Rd, and shortly thereafter you’ll come to the river.  This is farther north of I64 than you’d think.  Alternatively go south on Bourne Rd from 33, then left on Taylors Creek, then right on Spring Rd.  This is an unofficial put in but parking is easy along the road.

Howard Mill: Go north of Pouncey Tract about a quarter mile west of Pouncey Tract’s intersection with Rt 623/Ashland Rd.  Follow Howard Mill for about 5 minutes to the river.  This is an unofficial put in.  Parking is challenging.

Route 33: This is an official put in on the south/east side of the river, north side of the road with parking about 15 minutes west of I295.  It is easy to go past it as you’re headed west on 33.

Rt 54: This is a nice put in on the south side of the road, west side of the river, about 15 west of Ashland.  There is a Rt 54 exit from 95; head west from there through town and into the country.

Sections of River to Run:

Spring Rd Rt 617 to Howard Mill: This is all flat water.  The river is about 20 feet wide with fairly high banks.  The water is probably muddy is there is enough to run this section.  Dunns Chapel Road crosses the river about 3/5 of the way through the trip.  This trip takes several hours if you’re paddling, perhaps all day if you’re not.  The gradient is not steep and there are no rapids until the very end, just above Howard Mill. There are numerous tree piles which require portage.

Howard Mill to Rt 33: The two most exciting rapids on the South Anna are located just above Howard Mill Rd and just above Auburn Mill Rd.  This is a fun stretch with steeper gradient but generally easy whitewater interspersed with flat sections.  This run only takes an hour and a half or so.  I have not run this at very high water levels, at which the two main rapids would probably be pretty difficult.  This stretch of river is quite pretty.

Rt 33 to Rt 54: This run is generally pretty, with a couple of nice rapidy sections above and below Greenwood Church Road (also known as Gilman Bridge), which crosses the South Anna about halfway through the trip.   This trip is prettiest at water levels where there is just enough water to float, when all the little islands and grasses and rocks are visible.  When the water level gets up near 7 feet the rapids just above and below Greenwood Church get pretty big waves, about as much as an open boat can handle without swamping.  Late spring or early summer is a great time for this section.  There are a bunch of herons and kingfishers.

Rt 54 to Rt 1: I have only run the part from the confluence of the Newfound to Rt 1, which is completely flat.   Be careful not to go over the dam just above Rt 1, which is at least 25 feet high and not well marked.  You can take out on river right about 20 yards upstream of the dam, where there is a little dirt on the Ashland Mill property that leads to Cross Corner Road, which intersects Rt 1.