Region's natural beauty is a tourism resource for Botetourt County.

Susan Bahorich reporterWDBJ7  5:14 p.m. EDT, May 1, 2013

BOTETOURT CO., Va.—

 

A lazy day on the river is better to many than a day at work.
And, it's this serentity Botetourt County has decided to capitalize on. .

"The Upper James River Water Trail started in Botetourt in about 2008. We officially opened up the trail in 2010," explains Richard Peters, Director of Parks, Recreation & Tourism for Botetourt County.

Nearly 3-years later that commitment is paying off.

The Gala public boat access is one of two sites Botetourt has opened in the last year and one of 8 in the county.

Explains Peters, "It provides access to the river for our local residents, but also for tourism and visitors that would come into Botetourt to fish and float."

Welcome to Eco-Tourism.
A growing movement across the country that has places looking at their existing, natural resources to draw in crowds.

Says Peters, "We're trying to expand that and grow that in hopes that visitors come to Botetourt and spend some money and boost our local economy, especially in the Northern section of the county where there's less opportunity for commercial development."

It's an idea that paying off for the county and its businesses.

"We've really seen some great results. We've had a lot of additional boaters. We have a local canoe livery that operates in Buchanan. Their business has grown 25% each of the last two-years," Peters explains.

And, at a cost of about 24-thousand dollars to prepare, it makes dollars and "cents" to the county.

"It's a fairly small capital investment, but it'll have huge benefits for us and huge impacts," Peters explains.
Ten-thousand dollars of Gala expense was covered by a grant. The remainer was picked up local businesses.
As for the Gala site, a kiosk will be soon added and Peters hopes to eventually have a concrete boat ramp constructed there.

See link below to watch news story:

http://www.wdbj7.com/news/wdbj7-regions-natural-beauty-is-a-tourism-resource-for-many-localities-20130501,0,5831863.story

Alleghany Highlands Blueway Article

http://www.paddling.net/articles/Trail47.html

Alleghany Highlands Blueway (VA)

The Alleghany Highlands Blueway is comprised of two lakes and two scenic rivers that offer great paddling, fishing and boating opportunities.

Waterways:

• Jackson River

• Cowpasture River

• Lake Moomaw

• Douthat Lake 

Jackson River

The jewel of Virginia's Allegheny Mountains, the wild and scenic Jackson River enters the Alleghany Highlands from Gathright Dam on Lake Moomaw. Nearly 30 miles of the Jackson River wind through the Alleghany Highlands, with two small segments closed to the public due to private property and logging operations. The Jackson meets the Cowpasture River near the town of Iron Gate to form the headwaters of the James River, which flows all the way to the Chesapeake Bay. Several small streams that feed into the Jackson River, including Dunlap Creek and Potts Creek, also offer excellent fishing opportunities.

There are no campsites along the Jackson River.

Cowpasture River

Approximately 10 miles of the Cowpasture River flows through the eastern portion of the Alleghany Highlands. Paddling on the Cowpasture is mostly moving water with a few easy straight forward rapids with great views of the surrounding mountains. Near Iron Gate, the Cowpasture meets the Jackson River to form the James River, which flows through neighboring Botetourt and Rockbridge counties on its way to the Chesapeake Bay.

Camping is permitted on National Forest property along the Cowpasture River.

Douthat State Park

Not only is Douthat State Park one of Virginia's oldest state parks, it's one of its finest. The Outside Family Vacation Guide named Douthat State Park one of the nation's 10 best. Its contribution to the Alleghany Highlands Blueway is Douthat Lake, a 50-acre lake with swimming, boating and seasonal trout fishing.

Established camping areas are available at Douthat State Park.

Lake Moomaw

Lake Moomaw is the northern most portion of the Alleghany Highlands Blueway. The lake, which is shared by the Alleghany Highlands and the County of Bath, has 43 miles of undeveloped, wooded shoreline just perfect for exploring by canoe or kayak yet large enough for sailing and motorboats. Add in beautiful campsites and world-class fishing and you've got a perfect vacation.

Established camping areas are available at Lake Moomaw.

Click on link for:

Downloadable Maps & Water Levels

The Alleghany Highlands is in the western part of the Commonwealth of Virginia along the border of West Virginia. The Alleghany Highlands is about a one hour drive from Roanoke and approximately three hours from Richmond, Washington, DC, and Charleston, WV.

Contact Info:

Alleghany Highlands of Virginia

110 Mall Road

Covington, VA 24426

Upper James River Fishing Report April 14, 2013

Now that spring has finally rushed into reality, the smallies will be getting ready for their first spawn of the season. Once the current river levels settle down, the surface water temperatures will definitely be in the ‘50s and the “guard” fish will start working the shallows. Crawfish, lizard, and helgramite imitations will work for sure. Crank baits mimicking crawdads and small baitfish will also be great candidates for those times when the waters are a little stained or we have low light conditions. Keep in mind that because of the delay in spring getting here the fishing season is going to move quickly into spring fishing patterns, if our weather patterns hold true to history – but who knows, there is no crystal ball for fishing. You should keep a jig n’ pig, a tube bait, a single and/or double tailed grub, a good medium sized spinner bait, a couple of good crankbaits, a fluke of some kind, and at least one top water (torpedo or buzz bait) in your arsenal at this time and you should be good to go. This past week I caught several fish, some of decent size (15 to 18 inches), using tubes and jig n’ pigs. Because the water was still pretty full (Buchanan gauge @ 4.5’ or higher) the fish were definitely tight to the bottom in areas of low drag – meaning that they were in the current seams where they have to work less to “sit” there and wait or search for food. 

 

Good luck and keep a tight line . . . . . . . . . if, by chance, you or a friend are interested in a private guided fishing trip by raft, canoe, or kayak please contact John or Dan at Twin Rivers Outfitters @ canoevirginia.net/ or 540-261-7334.

Respectfully,

Richard Furman
Twin Rivers Guide

New Public Boat Landing Now Open in Botetourt County

4/10/2013
Fincastle, VA – Residents and visitors to Botetourt County have several new opportunities to enjoy the outdoors as the Botetourt County Parks, Recreation & Tourism Department (PR&T) announces the opening of several free recreational amenities.

As part of the County’s development of the Upper James River Water Trail, the new Gala Public Boating Access, located just off Route 220 between Eagle Rock and Iron Gate, is now open for boaters and anglers. The County recently completed the construction of a hand-carry boat ramp and a parking area for over 20 vehicles and trailers with direct access to the James River via Sinking Creek for rafts, canoes, kayaks and john boats.

“The site is ideal and one that the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries had identified many years ago as a prime location for a boat launch,” stated Pete Peters, Director of Parks, Recreation and Tourism for Botetourt County. “By utilizing Sinking Creek and the existing railroad trestle, we are able to provide a safe passage to the James River and make another section of the river more accessible to recreational paddlers and fishermen.”

The Gala site became possible after the County signed separate lease agreements with Bonnie Anderson and Richard Thompson for 4 acres along Sinking Creek and with Jerry Fraley to utilize a gravel road off of Route 220 to access the property. Funding for the site was realized through contributions from local stakeholders and grants from the NiSource Charitable Foundation and the Alleghany Foundation.

The Gala site becomes Botetourt‘s second new public boating access on the James in the last twelve months, as the County opened the Alpine Public Boating Access, located off of Rocky Point Road and Gilmer’s Mill Road just north of Buchanan, in April of 2012. In total, the Upper James River Water Trail now offers eight public boating access points along the 45-miles of river located in Botetourt County. To learn more, including suggested itineraries and maps, information on canoe and kayak outfitters, visit www.upperjamesriverwatertrail.com.
 For more information, contact Parks, Recreation and Tourism Office at 540-473-8326 Click here to see full article:  http://botetourt.org/news_events/news_item_detail.php?press_release_ID=604

Subject: Town Hall Meeting to readdress issues brought forth in defeated SB
737: access to streams deemed "private property".  Your presence is requested at a second Town Hall Meeting to address the issue of streams declared "off limits" to boaters due to trespassing issues (prime example: John's Creek).

Town Hall Meeting:  Saturday, 4/27/13 from 7:30-9:00 pm
Where:  Niederer Auditorium in the Wetherill Visual Arts Center at Hollins University.

The address for the auditorium is:
Niederer Auditorium
Wetherill Visual Arts Center
Hollins University
7916 Williamson Road
Roanoke, VA 24020

The first Town Hall Meeting encouraged conversation leading to the submission of Senate Bill 737 in last year's Virginia legislative session.  The bill almost made it out of committee. There is hope for passage of a bill in next year's legislative session that will legalize boating on some of Virginia's streams that have been "off limits". Hope to see many faces at the Town Hall Meeting. Please pass this information along to anyone you think might be interested in attending.