© Corey Miller Photo
It’s a mostly undisturbed natural paradise—and one nature lovers drive across states to dip their paddles into each year.
Never mind the water’s tea-colored appearance. Tannins—yes, the same found in wine, coffee and dark chocolate—give the Dragon Run its dingy tint. Water aside, you’ll fall in love with the birds and the beavers, protruding spatterdock and centuries-old trees that appear to know stories we’ll never be told. For the naturalist and the history buff, the awe is the same.
The Dragon Run isn’t Instagram pretty, though; it’s John Constable pretty—a canvas brushed by a divine hand. It’s something you’ll want to witness firsthand, but not through the color-muting lens of a mobile phone camera.
Let’s Talk Paddling!
Before launching, you’re provided a kayak and outfitted with a life vest complete with a safety whistle. Davis Rhodes, the on-site safety officer, briefs you on safety protocols for proper paddle use before dragging your kayak into the water.
Once on the water, Janice Moore and nature guide Teta Kain handle most of the tour. Mason Washington, a third guide, hangs behind the group to make sure no one drifts into the weeds—easy to do at the beginning since the first leg of the 3-mile roundtrip starts with an uphill paddle against the current.
Pencil-pointed tree trunks provided context clues about upcoming beaver engineering within the waterway. In some instances, Janice and Mason navigated us through man-made passage gates or themselves physically moved enough branches for kayaks to pass without interrupting the habitats.
Conversations alongside Teta were the most memorable part of my trip. She’s a playful and energetic soul nearly twice my age—and I was born in the late 1970s—with unparalleled knowledge of the wildlife, birds and plants inhabiting the Dragon Run. She identified every creature and plant we saw and understood their importance to the ecosystem.
All along the Dragon, as she spoke and I observed nature at her rawest, I couldn’t help but wonder what life paddling this waterway must have been like for Native Americans, or even the early settlers. Was I seeing the same landscape they paddled and trekked, much the same as I see the same stars overhead at night?
Janice seems to think so.
“You don’t get many chances to spend time in total quiet with nature in a way that looks the same today as it did when Captain John Smith came up Chesapeake Bay centuries ago. This is one of those places. You can look at old-growth trees that are a thousand years old. You don’t get many of those opportunities.”
Chris Jones is The Local Scoop’s Williamsburg consultant and a fav writer. He’s always ready to take on new challenges to get the story such as paddling the Dragon Run or sailing on the Rappahannock River. I DragonRun.org