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Private charters may be scheduled for any day and time during the season, but must be reserved a minimum of two weeks in advance. Join Richmond Canal Cruises for an informative, 40-minute, historically narrated tour or private charter of the James River and Kanawha Canal along Richmond’s historic Canal Walk. Our covered boats, which accommodate up to 35 passengers, depart on the hour from the Turning Basin, located at the intersection of 14th and Dock streets on Virginia Street. RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Riverfront Canal Cruises is launching its 24th season of historical tours and private charters. Starting Friday, April 5, cruisers can enjoy 40-minute, historically narrated tours of the James River and Kanawha Canal. Due to Richmond’s canals being so narrow, “turning basins” had to be specially constructed so that the long barges and passenger boats could turn around.
Family Hotels Near Richmond Canal Cruises
These 45-minute tours will give you a newfound appreciation for the capital city’s history and stunning architecture. Here’s everything you can look forward to when you embark on a Riverfront Canal Cruise. Only six passenger boats — called packets — ran on a regular basis during this busy time. Packets could carry 30 to 40 people and took approximately 33 hours to reach Lynchburg via canal. From the packet office in the Great Basin, the boats were poled out to 7th Street where they were hitched up to a horse or mule.
Canal Walk Parking and Transportation
More than 1,000 buildings burned between 4th and 15th streets, from Main Street to the river. All the buildings in the Shockoe Warehouse district were destroyed. The devastation was so complete, residents afterward had trouble identifying their own streets.
Riverfront Canal Walk
Mending Walls is a public art project that brings together public artists from different cultures to create murals that address where we are now in society and how we can move forward through understanding and collaboration. The Virginia War Memorial is the Commonwealth of Virginia’s premier monument, museum, and educational center dedicated to Virginians who served to defend the United States from World War II through today. The Virginia Holocaust Museum preserves and documents the Holocaust in exhibits and its archival collections. Through the permanent exhibit, educational programming, and outreach, the museum employs the history of the Holocaust and other genocides to educate and inspire future generations of Virginians to fight prejudice and indifference. The City of Richmond and the Slave Trail Commission unveiled markers for the Richmond Slave Trail in April 2011. Seventeen markers along the path display somber and illuminating information on the history of slavery in Richmond.
Richmond Private Charters
Charters may be scheduled for any day and time during the boating season, are dependent on weather conditions and are scheduled on an individual basis, subject to availability. The 32-foot-long boats are covered with a canopy to protect riders from the weather, but we recommend that all passengers check the weather the day of and dress accordingly. The boats are handicapped accessible and can accommodate up to two wheelchairs.
Richmond, lying on the fall line of the James River, was destined for a history steeped in canal navigation. George Washington, a staunch proponent of canal transportation, appeared before the Virginia General Assembly in 1784 to support legislation to create a waterway to bypass the falls. By linking the James River with the Kanawha River in western Virginia, which in turn flowed into Ohio, he hoped to improve transportation and trade with the western region.
You’re also welcome to bring your own food (BYOF) to enjoy on your cruise! Our boats are outfitted with built-in cup holders, coolers, USB charging stations, and large Bluetooth speakers to set the vibe with your preferred tunes. Take your birthday party to the next level this year on a private PARTY BOAT. Blast your favorite playlist, enjoy drinks with your favorite people, and get the perfect picture with Richmond skyline as the backdrop. In a few more steps, you’ll reach the flood wall and the end of the 52-mile Virginia Capital Trail, a paved multi-use trail that starts in Williamsburg. You’ll reach the end of the Canal Walk at the 1.4-mile mark, but only after crossing over the Kanawha Canal three times via footbridges and tunnels.
The Panama Canal is one of the most astonishing human-made wonders, a sliver of ingenuity that allows ships to move from one ocean to another. Cruise from the Pacific to the Atlantic, or vice versa, and take in the scenery as you move through this engineering marvel built in 1914. Nothing boosts team morale like a little vitamin D and vitamin Sea. Bring along your favorite cuisine, uncork the wine, and indulge in gourmet meals as you glide through the night, creating unforgettable moments under the moonlit sky. The Pipeline Trail is more or less a catwalk that runs over an old pipeline and under the railroad bridge.
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In 1888, Richmond built the first commercially successful electric streetcar system in the world. The tops of the new cars were connected to an electrical line called a “troller,” and thus became known as “trolleys.” The streetcars ran for 60 years before giving way to buses and cars. From Colonial times, the waterpower of the James was used to grind wheat into flour. This became even more effective when millraces, like the waterway that ultimately became the Haxall Canal, were dug to divert water from the river for this purpose. In the 19th century, when the city became one of the largest flour exporters in the world, fleets of schooners and brigs carried Richmond's flour to Brazil and around Cape Horn to San Francisco and Australia.
By the mid-19th century, the city had become the largest tobacco producer in the world, with more than 50 factories, including chewing tobacco and cigar manufacturers, box makers and label printers. Many tobacco warehouses dating from the late 19th and early 20th century still stand. Canals and the locks that raised boats from one water level to the next were considered among the greatest engineering feats of their time. Preserved by the Reynolds Metal Company, these locks connected the Great Basin, between 8th and 11th Streets, with the Richmond dock at 14th Street. Power plants have stood along the Haxall Canal for more than 100 years. In 1901, the success of the city's electric streetcar system, which connected its downtown and growing residential areas, led the Virginia Railway and Electric Company to build a new hydroelectric plant along the Haxall Canal.
The animals pulled the boats along the towpath while a boatman steered from the rear. On nice days, passengers sat on the deck of the boat and enjoyed the leisurely journey. Partially located under the present-day James Center, the basin was a hub of activity surrounded by mills and warehouses. The Tidewater Connection was completed in 1822, and boats could enter the canal below the falls. Wooden locks and the Richmond Dock connected the lower James to the Great Basin via canal to the upper James.
Falling into the relaxing-and-absorbing tour category is the Riverfront Canal Cruise. Lobbied for by none other than George Washington himself in 1789, our first president urged the Grand Assembly to connect Richmond’s waterways. These interesting tours last 40-minutes and are led by guides well versed in Richmond history.
