Warwick River/Lucas Creek in Virginia

Trip Overview

If you follow Rt.173 (Denbigh Blvd.)South-West in Newport News you will end up at the Warwick River. There is a City operated boat ramp and fishing pier located here. You can easily launch a kayak or canoe form the concrete ramp or from the shoreline next to the ramp. If you go to the right, up river, you will find a series of "S" curves for about two miles. The river passes the Fort Eustes Army Base on the left and many nice houses on the right. There are many small creek inlets on the right side for exploration. Be careful not to get in too far if the tide is going out. You can find yourself sitting on a mud bank with nowhere to go. This is a nice 2 to 3 hour paddle to attempt when the tide is coming in. The water is about 100ft-200ft wide in this area, but gets very narrow as you head up river.

If you go left and head down river at the boat ramp, the water gets much wider and deeper as it flows into the James River about 2 miles to the Southeast. About 1/2 mile on the left you will see the entrance to Lucas Creek. It winds its way for about 3 miles with many series of "S" turns. It is a beautiful place to paddle. The creek is only about 75 ft at its widest point, and eventually gets to the point where you will have to back out a ways to turn around. With the addition of a new bridge on Lucas Creek Road, you can now paddle under it to a part of the creek that was not very accessible 2 years ago. This part of the trip will take about 3 hours round trip. A really beautiful morning or afternoon paddle. I know, because I live on Lucas Creek near the bridge and paddle it quite often.

Directions:

From I-64 take exit 255 to Jefferson Ave. West to Denbigh Blvd. Take a left on Denbigh and continue to the end at the boat ramp.