Virginia Rivers

Overview:

Thornton River headwaters originate on the slopes of Hazel, Oventop, Pass, Pignut, and Fork Mountains in Shenandoah National Park.  The two forks of the Thornton join just below Sperryville.  At Rock Mills the Covington and Rush Rivers enter the Thornton, approximately doubling its size before it continues east to become part of the Hazel River at Monumental Mills.  The Thornton has outstanding water quality and beautiful scenery in Rappahannock County, as a result of its protected headwaters and Rappahannock’s rural character.  The canoeist will float past beautiful rock walls, hemlock groves, and picturesque farms while navigating small ledges and rock gardens.  The only hazards below Sperryville are an occasional strainer, low water bridge, or cattle fence.  This is an outstanding trip following a spring rain, as the Thornton is usually too low to paddle, at least above Rock Mills.

Recommended Trips:

• Daytrip: Fletcher Mill to Rock Mills.  This half day trip can be lengthened by continuing past Rock Mills to Laurel Mills.
• (Daytrip) Rock Mills to Monumental Mills

Directions to Put Ins and Take Outs:

Fletcher Mill: From Sperryville take Rt 522 south for 1.5 miles; turn left on Route 620 and park on the west side of the road.  This put in is not posted, although it is a bit inconvenient to lift a canoe over or under the guardrail near the bridge.  Note that the Fletcher Mill bridge has some improvised fences suspended from it; put in on the downstream side of the bridge.

Rock Mills: One can take out just upstream of the Route 626/Long Mountain Road bridge or continue fifty yards downstream and take out on river right next to a large rock and gravel bar.  There is ample roadside parking on the south side of the river; do not park on the north side of the river due to landowner issues and the potential for rapidly rising water levels.

Laurel Mills: Route 610 can be accessed via Route 626 from the west and Route 211 from the north/east.

Monumental Mills: This takeout is at the low water bridge over the Hazel River, at the confluence of the Thornton and Hazel. Due to a profusion of No Parking and No Trespassing signs, one must leave the car in a small gravel pull out approximately 100 yards upstream of the bridge on Butlers Mill Road, and load/unload right at the one lane bridge on river left.

Sections of River to Run:

Fletcher Mill to Rock Mills: The Thornton has pretty ledges and very low banks from Fletcher Mill to Rock Mills, ensuring a very scenic trip.  This section of river is particularly pretty in late April or early May, when wildflowers cover the river banks and newly leafed out trees shade the river.  Be aware of possible strainers, due to the fairly narrow river width.  The rapids are all small ledges.  Route 621, the only bridge that the river goes under during the trip, is high enough that it should not present a hazard.  This trip takes about a half day at minimum runnable levels.  If the painted gauges on either the Fletcher Mill or Rock Mills bridges read “0” or higher there is enough water for this trip.  Generally this section requires significant rain the preceding day to be runnable.  There is a USGS gauge on Battle Run, which is a tributary that enters the Thornton east of Laurel Mills.  If that gauge reads 200 cubic feet per second or higher, there is probably enough water to run the Thornton from Fletcher Mill to Rock Mills (http://water.usgs.gov/waterwatch/).

Rock Mills to Monumental Mills: Most people take out at Rock Mills and never see the rest of the Thornton, which continues to be a beautiful stream all the way to its confluence with the Hazel. The best part of the trip is the four to five mile stretch to Laurel Mills, which has a few class I rock gardens and numerous rock bluffs. If the rain didn’t occur immediately prior to the trip the water may have a beautiful turquoise-green hue. A surprisingly healthy set of hemlock groves cover much of the north-facing river bank. There are only a couple brief unattractive sections where a farmer has pushed concrete debris and stumps onto the river bank to prevent it from eroding; otherwise the scenery is unspoiled. Down toward Monumental Mills the river flattens out and has higher banks, but until the final stretch the current remains strong and there are long stretches of low banks that permit expansive views of the surrounding countryside. This stretch often runs in the spring when bluebells and other wildflowers cover the banks. A reading of 4.75 feet on the Remington gauge could be considered the bare minimum, with a reading of 5 feet sufficient to run this section without scraping at all. This trip is 14 miles, and goes surprisingly quickly with good water velocity, taking roughly 6 hours of floating with intermittent paddling.