How to find the right rock when river levels are up

While walking through Pony Pasture Rapids park this week, I noticed a few wandering groups of youth looking for rocks to lay on. The rock real estate on the James is at a premium when the river levels are up. One group of girls in particular was fun to eavesdrop on their conversation. “What happened to all the […]

May 26, 2011; 6:58 AM • by Phil Riggan

While walking through Pony Pasture Rapids park this week, I noticed a few wandering groups of youth looking for rocks to lay on. The rock real estate on the James is at a premium when the river levels are up.

One group of girls in particular was fun to eavesdrop on their conversation. “What happened to all the rocks?” was one joking comment. ”Where are we going to go” was another. The granite boulders of the James River are huge draws for sunbathers when the sun is hot and the days get long. Problem was, the river levels were at about 6.8 feet that day.

Paddlers use the Westham Gauge to monitor the river levels and it is useful to rock hoppers too. The City of Richmond requires life jackets on the river at 5 feet and higher. There is an unwritten 5-foot rule-of-thumb for sunbathers too. The river levels need to be at about 5 feet or lower for the majority of the rocks to be exposed.

The most popular places to find the rocks are at Pony Pasture, Texas Beach (North Bank Park), the park’s Main Area (42nd Street), Main Area West (at the Atlantic Coast Line Bridge) and Belle Isle — all have similar conditions.

Which each of those locations, the rocks are harder to come by at levels above 5 feet. The Southside rocks at Belle Isle are about the only place where one can layout on rocks without a little wading at that 5 feet or higher.

I did suggest to those girls that they head to Belle Isle and the Southside rocks. I hope it turned out OK for them, they sure seemed baffled by the disappearance of the boulders at Pony Pasture. I remember those days too, when I wasn’t smart enough to know where to look and how to plan ahead for trips to the James River Park.

May 26, 2011 6:58 AM 0