Richmond

Richmond is a city in Virginia, a state in the South Region of the United States of America. Richmond has a population of 200,000 and the adjacent counties of Henrico and Chesterfield combine to create a local population of more than 750,000 people.

The easiest way to get around Richmond is by car. Roadside parking spaces are relatively easy to find but be in the look-out for no parking areas - particularly the "Fan District." The city is laid out on a grid system and is easy to navigate, however, many streets in the oldest parts of the city are very narrow and one-way.
The Greater Richmond Transit Company, or GRTC, operates a bus service across the city and partially into neighboring Henrico and Chesterfield Counties. The average fare is $1.25 for local routes and $1.75 for the express routes, exact change only.

The James River The section of the James River running through Richmond offers many opportunities for a day out. Due to Richmond's location at the fall line, the James River has many rapids right downtown which are great for white water rafting. The rapids are class III but may become class IV in the right weather conditions. The ones closest to downtown can be quite dangerous without an experienced guide. However, there are many smaller rapids just slightly upstream which can safely be run in a raft or innertube. One can travel at a lazy pace, stopping to repeat rapids or swim through quickly. In order to run the rapids in this way, one must have two cars, parking the first at the bottom exit point and the second at the entry point. There are parks on both sides of the James River above downtown, but the Pony Pasture section of the James River park is an excellent place to begin a few hours on the rapids. Just make sure to pull out when you see a sign on the right side of the river with an arrow directing you to do so; otherwise you will have great difficulty on the larger rapids. The river is quite clean and mostly surrounded by woods for this section. Make sure to try the rope swing under one of the railroad bridges. Many people simply swim around in between the smooth rocks at Pony Pasture without leaving that section. There are excellent trails through the woods on both sides and this section is used for the XTERRA Triathalon in June.