Canal Walk – Richmond VA

RATING: ♦♦♦♦

It was the last nice day of our stay at Pocahontas State Park. The weather forecast was calling for cold and rainy days ahead. David had some things to do around “home”, so I drove into Richmond on my own. I had read about the downtown Canal Walk and thought it would be fun to take some pictures.

I parked at the west end of the Canal Walk, which was close to the Belle Isle Pedestrian Bridge. I had to check out this bridge which hangs under the Robert E. Lee Bridge which is part of U.S. Route 301. This pedestrian bridge crosses over a section of the James River to small Belle Isle in the middle of the river. The walk over the bridge was interesting and traffic was not as loud as you might imagine. The river below is only 5 feet deep, rocky, and beautiful.

After walking the Belle Isle Pedestrian Bridge, I continued along the Canal Walk, which runs along the James River. There were many small bridges spanning the canal, making it possible to cross over and walk along either side. I noticed many downtown employees having lunch or otherwise taking advantage of the pretty area. The Canal Walk has access points at nearly every block between 5th and 17th streets.

Not far from the Belle Isle Pedestrian Bridge is the T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge, which is another (newer) pedestrian bridge. This one spans the entire James River. I walked halfway across and then back, and headed home.

There were signs and quotes along the Canal Walk that illustrated the important roll Richmond played in the Civil War. It was worth a day of exploring.

Canal Walk – Richmond VA