Running the Kanawha Canal in Richmond, Virginia

I’m in Richmond, Virginia tonight and decided to go for a run along the Kanawha Canal that follows the James River. The canal was built to transport tobacco and other crops down to the navigable part of the river from the plantations up river. Ultimately the James River leads to the Chesapeake Bay and then goods made their way to Europe. Today the canal has been redeveloped as a tourist attraction and urban park.

There are paved paths along both sides of the canal and a few restaurants along the way as well. Tonight I headed down river along the canal for a couple of miles and then came back through the Shockoe Bottom neighborhood.

Eventually, the redeveloped part of the canal ends and you have to go through the flood wall to continue your run.

There are a lot of murals and street art in downtown Richmond and the flood wall makes a great canvas.
When the river rises these doors to the flood wall are closed to protect the low lying areas of The Shockoe Bottom neighborhood.

Once through the flood wall you can see the boat house for the canal tour barges off to your right.

You can continue your run along the path that runs under the railroad bridge parallel to the canal.

At the end of the path I turned left and headed up the hill past the historic warehouses that have now converted to condos.

Once up the hill in Shockoe Bottom, I ran past some more street art.

I also passed the beautiful train station building just as the sun was starting to soften.

I hope you enjoyed the tour. Stopping to take pictures along my run ensures that I never get too tired.