Stafford parks department: Rappahannock should retake Falmouth beach

Those who live there know: It floods in Falmouth.

Floodwaters ravaged the Historic Port of Falmouth Park on the Rappahannock River in Summer 2018, leaving behind large trees and debris, and closing River Road, which provides access to the park, for days.

On a normal day, however, the Port of Falmouth boasts a wide beach frequented by summer swimmers.

A year after the most recent flood, county leaders began talking about the possibility of ending the maintenance of the beach, allowing the river to take its natural course. It would mean less sand for beachgoers, but the park would remain open to the public.

Now, the County’s Parks and Recreation Department is recommending that the County allow nature to reclaim the beach area by letting the plant life grow naturally and not make any effort to clean up or groom the area.

Doing this could help give the beach some needed density to deal with debris since the beach sits on a flood plain, they said.

The recommendation comes after a partnership between Fredericksburg and. Stafford County to maintain the beach dissolved, leaving Stafford holding the sandbag.

Aquia District Supervisor Cindy Shelton supports the plan, calling it welcome preservation of habitat. While Falmouth Supervisor Meg Bohmke said that groups like the Friends of the Rappahannock were interested in planting trees to help with the plant-life reclamation of the beach.

If the County decides to stop maintaining the beach, it can’t restrict people from swimming because of its status as a state park. But those swimmers would be wading into the water so at their own risk ad the park would no longer be staffed with lifeguards.

According to a survey by the Parks and Recreation Department, 911 calls at the park have been increasing over the last five years. In 2019, county fire and rescue crews have had six calls for service while the sheriff’s department has gotten multiple calls for issues such as parking disputes and alcohol violations.

If the beach goes, they would still maintain the parking lot for those wanting to walk the Belmont-Ferry Farm Trail which winds through the park or to go fishing in the park.

However, there would be no staff, part-time or otherwise, that would keep an eye on goings-on at the park.

Bohmke, and Rock Hill Supervisor Crystal Vaunch asked how long it would take for the plant-life to reclaim the area. The answer they got from Parks and Recreation was that while the timetable wasn’t set, the growth would move in very quickly.

The Board of Supervisors plans to revisit the issue in June.

The park is open from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Once used as a port for ships during the colonial era, Falmouth was later used as a crossing for slaves seeking freedom on the Underground Railroad.