Alexandria Late Risers rowing team in Four-Mile-Run Stream. Photo Credit: Jean Garner |
Wait, is that a crew shell in Four-Mile-Run Stream? Yes, and it’s one of the many boats that use the stream for recreational paddling or fishing. As the largest stream flowing through Arlington and bordering Alexandria, Four-Mile-Run attracts a variety of watercraft that, depending on rainfall, tides, and hull depth, can travel as far inland as the intersection with West Glebe Road.
Location of the Washington family’s mill property. Photo Credit: Devry Becker Jones. |
Historically, boats, which could get nearly to Shirlington, may have carried loads of grain. During the 18th-19th century, the stream was flanked by multiple watermills for grinding corn and wheat, including several in Arlandria just upstream of Four-Mile-Run Park. George Washington owned land a bit further up at the Run’s confluence with Upper Long Branch Stream. You can see the Arlington Mill marker where Washington’s step-grandson built a mill on the property in 1826.
Deforestation of the original oak hickory forest eventually rendered Four-Mile-Run the site of heavy runoff and devastating floods. After a 1972 flood, the Army Corps of Engineers channelized the stream’s lower half mile for flood control. The channelized portion, bound by cement barriers and riprap, is largely what we see now in Four-Mile-Run Park. The stream topography today is dramatically different from its original form.
With the Potomac River often buffeted by winds and motorboat traffic, Four-Mile-Run stream provides a recreation refuge. Boaters entering the stream from the Potomac must navigate through multiple bridges under roads and railroads. Kayakers who rent boats from the Washington Sailing Marina likewise enter from the river. The low clearance prevents sailboat passage into the stream, but small motorboats enter to fish for largemouth bass, bluegill, and catfish.
Paddleboarder riding the waves of the Water Control plant effluent. Photo Credit: Devin Reese. |
Today, the water gets increasingly shallow as you go upstream, except for the churning influx of sanitized water from the Arlington Water Pollution Control Plant just behind the Observation Deck (a prime birding spot). Boaters also also access Four-Mile-Run from an old ramp close to where Commonwealth Avenue meets the stream. Muddy but functional, it serves as the launch point for the regular stream clean-ups by kayak.
Boating in a stream that receives water treatment effluent and street runoff begs safety questions. As an urban stream, Four-Mile-Run suffers contamination, such as during this 2021 incident. But the Northern Virginia Regional Commission and City governments run regular water quality monitoring programs for the stream (see HERE), issuing alerts as needed, and always discouraging swimming.
As long as you’re planning to stay in your watercraft, you can safely boat on Four-Mile-Run stream. To boost access, a project is in the works for a new kayak launch. A collaborative project between the Four Mile Run Conservatory Foundation and City of Alexandria, the launch will be the first site on the Potomac River to provide ADA-compliant access for kayaks and canoes. Learn more HERE.
Style of the future boat launch on Four-Mile-Run. |