JAMES CITY COUNTY, Va. — James City County is slowly trying to give people something to do while restrictions are still in place.
The Chickahominy Riverfront Park campground is open for stays of 14 days or longer, as permitted by Governor Ralph Northam’s Executive Order Fifty-Five. The walking trail, boat ramp, fishing pier, and lots of open space are also open and available.
The James City County Marina Store service window is open daily (beginning May 4) from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for fuel sales, payments, and other Marina transactions. The Marina Store remains closed and there are no bike and paddle craft rentals until further notice.
Leaders are reminding people to maintain a social distance of at least six feet and groups of more than 10 will be asked to separate.
The County’s tennis courts and pickleball courts are open, available for singles play only. The tennis courts are located at Jamestown High School, Warhill High School, and Lafayette High School. At Veterans Park, only the eight pickleball courts are open, 7 a.m. to sunset daily.
David Smith and his niece Rachel Jones are doing whatever they can to get out of the house. One thing they love to do is ride bikes. Smith and his niece are pushing for the state to reopen.
“To get out and have fun makes me feel good,” Smith said. “I would like to see it (the state) open up around this month.”
Parks & Recreation found these activities were the lowest risk and easiest to implement right now, whereas other amenities will open further down the road.
There are 167 coronavirus cases in James City County and 13 people have died from the virus. The county was once considered an outbreak area of coronavirus. Park’s Administrator Alister Perkinson said the county is looking at all of its services and assessing them individually.
“We look at what are the risks of coming into contact with other people, what does the governor and CDC recommend, what are our neighboring localities doing” Perkinson said.
Many amenities are still closed at parks in James City County. Smith is waiting for things to get back to normal.
“I'm looking forward to (the state opening), so we can get people out who have been locked up,” Smith said.
You can find out what’s open here.