Brandermill, VA Outdoor Activities

The boating experts at Carefree Boat Club empower their members to explore the region’s waterways at the helm of like-new, professionally maintained water vessels. Safety is paramount, so before club members can take the helm, they must attend a classroom training session and two on-the-water training sessions with Carefree Boat Club’s dock master. During these sessions, they learn navigation, docking, and boat safety. After receiving their safety certificates, members gain access to the fleet of deck boats, fishing boats, sailboats, pontoons, cruisers, and watersports boats.

The club’s dock staff also holds the water vessels themselves to high safety standards. They inspect boats weekly using a 50-point safety checklist, and outfit boats with safety equipment such as flares, horns, flotation devices, and earplugs for blocking out siren songs.

Political feuds. Infidelities. Racial tensions. Once capital of the colonies, Williamsburg possesses a deep history stretching back to the 18th century, and guide Allison Wildridge illuminates the city's many legends on her narrated walking ghostly tours. She also recommends that guests dress for the weather, wear comfortable walking shoes, and bring digital cameras.

Chariots for Hire’s fleet of Cinderella and vis-à-vis carriages escort guests on romantic horse-drawn rides, adding a touch of glamour and grace to escapades and special events. One or two well-groomed horses pull the topped or convertible carriages, escorting magical rides for up to six passengers or one lonely walrus. The majestic white and brown steeds are lovingly cared for at Chariots for Hire's farm and are pampered with a bath and grooming session before taking to the streets in special rubber shoes to protect their hooves. To add poignant symbolism to special events such as weddings or ribbon-cutting ceremonies, the dedicated staff will release a flock white rock doves that are trained to fly or hitchhike back to the farm after being released.:m]]

Amid the tree-canopied foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, clusters of tubers and kayakers drift idly down the James River for a day of relaxation or recreation on these local waters. For more than 20 years, outfitters Kevin and Geneva Denby have facilitated just such excursions, providing not only the watercrafts, but guided instruction on paddling or floating technique and transportation to their launch site. Among the day trips offered, river adventures come by way of self-guided trips in the Denbys’ kayaks, rafts, or canoes, as well as several overnight trip options that ensconce visitors in the local scenery for up to two days at a time. The pair also furnishes expeditioners with supplies such as live bait, tackle, cameras, and sunscreen for their adventures. Upon return, Kevin and Geneva invite guests to wash off the day’s sweat, sunscreen, and kisses from passing boat captains in their hot showers.

Jimmy Crews, Roger Nelson, and Stephanie Tyson grew up on the James River, paddling along its tree-lined banks to find the most scenic spots and best fishing holes. Now the masterminds behind Howardsville Canoe Livery, the trio outfits outdoorsmen for their own explorations by renting tubes, 10’ Perception Pescador kayaks, and 16’ Old Town Camper canoes. Most trips go down the James River, though adventurers can also explore the Rockfish and Tye Rivers when water levels permit. Abundant wildlife roams the banks, including the occasional bald eagle. Though trips are self-guided, one of the livery’s team members can join groups for a guided tour, narrating in the group’s choice of accent about the rivers’ rich history, geography, geology, and fishing spots. Though all trips include shuttle service, staff can also give a lift to those who already own a tube, kayak, or canoe.

A businesswoman by day, Bonnie Florek turns into a ghost by night. Donning 18th-century period dress and assuming the identity of one Catherine Rathell, Bonnie regales tour groups with hair-raising tales of yore. Bonnie founded Spooks and Legends Haunted Tours as a means of immersing tour groups in an interactive, goose bump–inducing jaunt through Williamsburg’s historic streets and into the past.

Spooks and Legends Haunted Tours’ guides](http://bit.ly/MYmFD1) lead tour-goers of all ages on 75-minute excursions as they narrate true tales of cryptic happenings and how the town’s denizens met their mysterious ends. The nightly tours meander through the oldest lanes and thoroughfares of Williamsburg, stopping periodically to peer at local horror–hot spots such as the Peyton Randolph House, known for its many suicides and murders, and Bruton Parish Cemetery, known to be full of dead bodies. Tour-goers are encouraged to bring their cameras along to document any unnatural sightings of apparitions, orbs, or suspicious screams emanating from the stomachs of hungry black cats following the group.