Sometimes we venture out into nature to find solitude. To simply reflect on its beauty. To escape from noise, traffic and the constant interruptions from modern technology. Other times we feel the need to be surrounded by friends and family, though preferring a more scenic venue than our living rooms. Fortunately, there is a stretch of the Upper James River Water Trail for each of these experiences and plenty of others in between.

The Upper James River Water Trail is made up of approximately 64 miles of the James River in Botetourt and Rockbridge Counties plus about 10 miles of the Maury River, which merges into the James in the Town of Glasgow. If you assumed that roughly 74 miles of river offers a wide variety of sites, terrain and challenges, you’d be right.

Photos courtesy of Upper James River Water Trail.

The James River begins where the Jackson