City: Richmond, VA

Category: Parks & Recreation

Description: A busy place because its concrete ramp situates boaters just beneath the fall line, exactly where the fish are, this section of the city’s James River Park System is perhaps the most culturally diverse spot in Richmond, especially in the spring when the shad are running. It’s a fishermen’s paradise (most of them are men, but of course some are women), and on any given afternoon you’ll see people lining the bank with their fishing rods, and in boats, angling from that angle. Wheelchair users can use the concrete path next to the boat ramp. It’s also the beginning of the Richmond Slave Trail. Find more about that in the “Parks” and “Commemorating the Civil War and Emancipation” chapters. To get here, follow Maury Street past huge oil tanks towards the Manchester Docks signs, going past the city’s sewage treatment plant. This area would make a cool movie set.