Upper Oxbow Loop
The rocky Fall Line marks the border of Virginia’s Piedmont and Coastal Plain geographic regions. The Falls of the James stopped John Smith and Christopher Newport from traveling farther upriver, and eventually spawned Richmond itself.
Richmond Skyline and James River
Downstream from Richmond, the James River begins its transition from freshwater river to brackish estuary.
Oxbows, or successive bends in the river’s course, elongated the journey for Smith and his Algonquian counterparts.
Cut-throughs created by Union soldiers around Turkey Island, Jones Neck and Hatcher Islands shorten the voyage for
modern boaters.
Motorists must navigate the urban corridor south of downtown Richmond, but enjoy the city’s famed Monument Avenue and bucolic stretches of Route 5.
Download a detailed map of the Oxbow loop: PDF Download (467kb)
The Sites
Water Trail:
1. James River Park System-Pony Pasture
3. Richmond Historic Canals and Riverfront
6. Great Shiplock Park
7. Drewry’s Bluff
8. Dutch Gap Conservation Area-View of Osborne's Landing
9. Henricus Historical Park
10. Deep Bottom Park
11. Presquile National Wildlife Refuge
12. Bermuda Hundred
13. R. Garland Dodd Park at Point of Rocks
14. Shirley Plantation
15. City Point
16. Rice Center for Environmental Life Sciences
Land Trail:
1. James River Park System-Pony Pasture
2. Virginia Historical Society
3. Richmond Historic Canals and Riverfront
4. Library of Virginia
5. Valentine Museum Richmond History Center
6. Great Shiplock Park
7. Drewry’s Bluff
9. Henricus Historical Park
10. Deep Bottom Park
12. Bermuda Hundred
13. R. Garland Dodd Park at Point of Rocks
14. Shirley Plantation
15. City Point
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