Upper James River Expedition 2026

There is no classroom quite like the James River. This week marks the launch of our first James River Expedition of the summer, sending a group of passionate students ages 14–18 out on a 5-day, 4-night journey of discovery, teamwork, and conservation. From conquering rapids to studying local ecology, these students are seeing the river from a whole new perspective. Follow along with this blog for firsthand updates and photos from the water as our students share their daily triumphs and favorite moments.

To learn more about these life-changing trips, visit the James River Expeditions page.

We started off our day with an introductory canoe ride through the rapids with some interesting sights, including cows near the shore and an otter. After learning the basics for canoeing, mainly how to turn and navigate the water avoiding obstacles, we stopped for lunch at “the squeeze” (our first class 2 rapid), where we enjoyed handmade sandwiches and other delights. We then progressed under a railroad bridge and played riddle games and “I Spy” in our 7.5 mile trip towards the campsite. Upon arrival, we assigned camp roles and set up our tents and camp equipment. While waiting for dinner, we played hacky sack and frisbee and equipped our tents with sleeping bags. The dinner was a delicious Italian spread with a classic spaghetti meal, garlic bread, and salad, where we then learned how to clean our dishes and prepare them for breakfast in the morning. Our key takeaways for the day include how to read and understand the river rapids to stay safe, leaving no trace in the campsite to properly care for the environment, and appreciating our time spent in nature and the scenic journey on the James.

-written by Mitchell and Brenna

We started off the day with a delicious spread of oatmeal and yogurt. We then packed up our boats and we started the paddling trip with some stretches. Then we started our 17 miles to the next campsite. At the beginning of our day on the river, we saw turtles, deer, and cows. After a class two rapid, we stopped for lunch and enjoyed some delicious sandwiches on the beach. We then continued our journey on the water and paddled about 10 more miles. When we finally reached our campsite, we played some cards and made dinner. For dinner we had tacos for taco Tuesday. After dinner, we had a group meeting and gave each other shout out to build morale and keep our energy up. After a long and hard day, we all were feeling really tired, but really accomplished. Our key takeaways of the day were too never give up when things get hard. We also learned to encourage each other throughout the day and be positive at all times.

Written by Wallis and Eleanor

Today we started with breakfast which was sausage, eggs and yogurt. Then after that we stretched, like yesterday, and while stretching we learned WORMS. This stands for water, objects, route, markers, and safety. We went down a few rapids, and then we had the first canoe flip. We stopped to the side to get re-situated and then kept moving. Then later, we stopped for lunch, which was sandwiches per usual. After lunch, we rode a few miles, and then we stopped. Here is where we had a water fight using foam squirters and paddles to splash each other with water. our total mileage was 14 today and when we got to the site, we had burgers and hotdogs for dinner. We spotted many animals as well, and when we got to our site, we also found a raccoon! Tonight we’re having a campfire and are excited for our 9 mile trek tomorrow.

Written by Jane and Colin

This morning we woke up at our third campsite and we had a very exciting treat of orange juice with breakfast. As we were preparing to depart we set off for our shortest day, only 9 miles, it started to downpour. We persevered and enjoyed the refreshing rain. Halfway through our paddle we stopped for a short lesson on macro-invertebrates, and saw some pretty cool bugs. After that we finished the paddle pretty quickly and got to our last campsite before lunch. We all stared to set up and ate a delicious lunch. We decided to jump in the water and swim around, and Felix taught us how to play frisbee. We had a lot of time to chill, and we had fun hanging out and bonding before dinner. For dinner we cooked pizza over the fire. We then had a LONG camp meeting where we all shared facts about an animal we saw or found fun on the James. We wrapped up the night by going down memory lane and recounted our trip. We said goodnight and went to bed listening to the pidder padder of the rain water hitting our tent. The stars shined a little brighter than usual.

Written by: Riley, Sophie and Felix 

A big thank you to our many partners, including support from the Luck Companies Foundation and AES Corporation, which made this program possible. Together, we are inspiring the next generation of river stewards across our watershed!