REGATTA DIRECTIONS
Regatta Direction Information
Head of the Schuylkill Regatta. Click link for all the info you'll need.
Head of Lafayette. Click link for directions and information.
Botanical Gardens
Directions:I-64 exit 279 toward the airport.
At Azalea Garden Road, go left. Turn right into Norfolk Botanical Gardens.
Pass through the post/entrance, pay $5.00 to park and go to the end of the road to park in the main lot by the visitor's center. Do not attempt to park on the road leading into the gardens. They may tow your car. The dock and regatta site is immediately to the left of the gate, but you likely won't be allowed to park there.
Newcomer Notes:
If you come early, you can get a parking space at the Duck Pond parking area, otherwise, you will park by the visitor center and walk down the hill or use the tram. This is a smallish area, but mostly flat with paved areas. There are outbuilding bathrooms (permanent) and a soda machine. There are not, traditionally, any food vendors at this regatta but there is a cafe at the Gardens. If you are a member of the gardens you may use all of your normal privileges - including parking. All visitors may tour the gardens while they are at the regatta.
Mathews
Driving time is approximately 2-2.5 hours. Scheduled departure time for rowers is 4:30 AM. Parking is approximately one half mile offsite, but a shuttle is provided. Large bulky items (such as large coolers) are allowed, but can be inconvenient due to limited space on buses. Because of the location, weather can be unpredictable - and colder than one might expect. Blankets and layered clothing are advised. Bathroom facilities are the temporary kind and can be (ahem) short of supplies. Better to bring your own. Limited food choices are available (sometimes better than others). The road to the parking lot is paved, the actual parking lot is not. No seating is available - bring chairs. Viewing rails along the wharf are excellent locations for taking pictures.
Notes from the Prez 4/18 about Mathews:
Info from a past parent.
1- The regatta site is a little chunk of land that sticks out in the middle of the river. The temperature can go from 40 to 80 in a matter of minutes. With this can come sun, wind, or torrents of rain. I've been there twice when we had all of the above in a matter of 3 hours. Come prepared! Bring layers and rain wear. Don't judge the weather on what it is in Chesapeake. Mathews is like being on another planet!
2- There is a really long, narrow pier that you can walk out on to watch the races. It's the closest view you will ever have of your kid racing.
3- The food is awesome! Breakfast and lunch and they are famous for their crab cake sandwiches. Come hungry and eat a lot. All the profit goes towards maintaining the wharf.
4- Mathews is a tough competitor.
5- Parking is in a field .5 miles from the wharf. There are shuttle buses that will take you down or you can walk. Parking is $5 per car and that money goes to offset the cost of the regatta. Please pay it willingly and graciously. If it has rained at all in the last week, the field will be MUDDY! Wear sturdy shoes that can get wet or muddy. I recommend hiking boots. No one should ever wear sandals or flip flops to Matthews and that goes for siblings too.
6- Bathrooms are port-a-potties! Yipee! While they do a decent job of trying to keep them stocked with paper and hand sanitizer, they don't always succeed. Come prepared.
7- Mathews usually has cool tee shirts. You order them, they make them right there (like at Cox) and you pick them up. Every rower will want one. I can't remember the cost. I think around $15, but it may be $20.
8- It's a solid two hour drive. The directions are on the website or you can mapquest it. The address is 1070 William Wharf Road, Matthews, VA 23109
9- Don't even THINK ABOUT trying to drive down to the wharf to drop stuff or sneak a parking place. The site is small and it gets VERY crowded with trailers and rowers and spectators. The road is narrow and with the buses going down turning around is a challenge. If you can't get it on the bus with you I recommend you leave it home. Hope this helps!
DIRECTIONS TO REGATTAS IN MATHEWS COUNTY:
Take 64 to Route 17(J. Clyde Morris Blvd)exit.
Follow Route 17 North through Gloucester County.
(You will go over the Coleman Bridge which has a $2 toll North-bound only.)
Turn right on Route 17 Business after you pass Wal-Mart.
Turn right onto Route 14 at the first stop light.
Follow Route 14 until you reach a stop sign (about 12 miles).
Turn right onto Route 14/Route 198.
Stop at the first stop sign.
Turn right again ( Hardee's on the corner).
Drive about 2 miles and turn right on Route 614.
Follow to the end of Williams Wharf.
Parking is in an open field (often muddy) and a fee ($5) is charged.
A shuttle bus runs the rowers and parents in to the regatta area.
GPS/Mapquest address is 1070 William Wharf Road, Matthews, VA 23109
HEAD OF THE JAMES.
Directions to this Regatta:
Take I-64 West towards Richmond
Take Exit 200 to merge onto I-295 North toward Washington DC
Take exit 53A to merge onto I-64 West toward Charlottesville
Take Exit 175 for State Hwy 288 South
Merge onto VA-288 South
Take the exit toward Huguenot Trail
Turn Left at Huguenot Trail
Turn Left at Robious Forest Way then turn left at James River Rd.
OCCOQUAN.
Directions to Occoquan:
Take I-64 West towards Richmond
Take Exit 200 to merge onto I-295 North toward Washington DC
Pick up I-95N toward DC
Stay on I-95
Take the Occoquan Exit 160B off I-95 for 123N toward Occoquan/Lake Ridge
Travel apprx. 4 miles and turn left on Hampton Road.
After 8/10 of a mile, the road will fork slightly, go left on Van Thompson Road.
Follow Van Thompson to the entrance of Sandy Run Regional Park.
Parking. Parking fee from $10 -$20.
Special Information for those who've never been to Occoquan:
First of all - it's about 3 or 3.5 hours drive.
There is food at the regatta site, but the club will also have food available for your family.
It can cost anywhere from $5 to $20 to park ...Cash.
Weather. Stay up on the forecast. Plan on driving rain, scorching sun and chilly wind all on the same day. Layers work best. So do blankets. If you're driving, you might want to throw in some old towels and a trash bag along with your travel gear. If the kids are wet, they're muddy and it can be hard on your auto interior. To that end, tell your rower to bring a change of clothes or at least a couple of pairs of dry socks. Be Prepared!
Bring a camp chair - you can get them for around $7 at any discount store. Seating is sketchy so you can be on your feet for about 6 hours.
In the Spring. If you plan to hike to the bleachers, you won't need the chair, but bring something soft to sit on as the bleachers are concrete and get hard after watching a few races.
There is a shuttle that charges $2 each way if you are too tired to walk the .5 miles back and forth to the bleachers.
Binoculars help if you want to catch a glimpse of your child rowing.
Spring sprint races will bring your rower's boat with a few yards of where you're standing.
Fall races mean you'll be picking your child out from a distance.
The Occoquan site has one pretty steep hill and a rocky trail to and from the bleachers (you only go to the bleachers in the Spring). There are two ways to get to the bleachers so ask someone there (one is shorter but steeper and the other is longer but prettier right along the river).
There are no pets allowed.
They almost always sell regatta t-shirts and the kids usually want to buy them. Those run around $14 - $20
The club will provide food for your family.
If you're sending your rower with another parent, please make sure you give them enough cash to buy meals on the road.
There are bathrooms onsite, at least one is handicapped accessible. Rarely do they have purell in the dispensers. Bring your own.
