Online registration for fall Dragon Run paddle trips opens at 9 a.m. today, Thursday, Sept. 1 (DragonRun.org). The paddle trips are conducted by Friends of Dragon Run in the spring, summer, and fall, weather permitting.

This year’s fall paddle season on Dragon Run will begin on Oct. 20 and end Nov. 1. Trips will be conducted every day, each accommodating eight guests.

Paddle trips will begin at Big Island, a FODR property located in King and Queen County. The trips will leave from and return to the same location where guests parked their cars. This is a round-trip paddle, and the upstream paddling may be strenuous at times. Individuals must be vaccinated to participate in one of the paddle trips.

“Fall is an especially beautiful time on the Dragon, with the leaves changing color, the bald cypress turning a cinnamon color, and the silky dogwoods and winterberry bushes attracting migrating and resident birds with their berries,” noted Friends’ president Jeff Wright. “Mistletoe ...