Photos by Eric Brady | The Roanoke Times

John Mays of Twin River Outfitters sends paddlers into the James River at Horseshoe Bend in Botetourt County.

Hunt Singleton, 16, Brian Dores, 11, and Scoutmaster Charles "Stretch" Ledford paddle on the James River. They are members of the Richmond-based Boy Scouts of America Troop 414.

Right: John Mays (left) and his twin brother, Dan Mays, own Twin River Outfitters in Buchanan.

Members of the Richmond-based Boy Scouts of American Troop 414 paddle on the James River.

If you have a canoe or a kayak, a camera or a fishing pole, Botetourt County's tourism office wants you to know that the 45-mile stretch of the James River that runs through the county is a great recreation and scenic place to spend some time.

And when you're done with the river for the day, Botetourt's land-based attractions, from restaurants and wineries to bed and breakfasts and small-town shops, are close by.

Tying those attractions together is the county's aim as it moves forward with a plan to create a "blueway" on the river. Blueways are wetter versions of greenways -- recreational paths like the ones that wind through Roanoke and Roanoke County that provide urban and suburban dwellers access to nature and exercise.

Kevin Costello, Botetourt's tourism coordinator, believes there are a range of novice boaters and anglers who would use the James River more if they were more familiar with its access points and knew where to buy gas or grab a bite to eat.

"They want to go out there, but they just aren't knowledgeable of the different locations of, say, the Class II rapids, or how long it takes to go from point A to B," he said.

Bruce Ingram, an outdoors writer who lives in Fincastle and author of "The James River Guide," a popular book about fishing and canoeing on the James, said there's a growing number of people who have little outdoor experience.

"So many people have grown up in an urban, suburban environment. They don't know where to go or how to start. And I think this information would be valuable to somebody," he said.

Blueways have grown in popularity as a tourism tool in recent years. Franklin County and the New River Valley have them, as do a host of other localities throughout Virginia and the country.

"It's really caught on," said Scott Martin, Franklin County's director of commerce and leisure services.

Franklin County has 42 miles of blueways on the Pigg and Blackwater rivers. Martin hopes to add an additional 30 miles over the next two years.

"I don't think it's an overstatement to say that paddling in our county has easily tripled or quadrupled since we started this project," he said. "It used to be very, very rare to see boats on our local rivers."

Primary users of Botetourt's blueways would be the county's residents, said Costello, but he added that a marketing campaign he's developing will be aimed at promoting the river's amenities regionally as well.

"We think it's a great idea," said Dan Mays, who with his twin brother, John, operates Twin River Outfitters near one of the James River's access points in the town of Buchanan. "It's really an untapped resource."

Twin River is a canoe livery that rents canoes and kayaks and inner tubes for float trips on the James. Mays said a blueway would help his business and others in Buchanan.

"For a regional draw for the area I think it would be a wonderful idea," he said.

Costello presented the plan for the Upper James River Blueway Trail to the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors last month and is applying for state conservation and recreation grants to raise money for the project. He's also working on a request for the supervisors to include some funding for the project in next year's county budget, but a figure hasn't been determined yet.

Costello said the blueway project calls for installing kiosks at each of the current six access points to the river from Arcadia to Iron Gate. The kiosks would contain a map of the river and other useful information about surrounding attractions.

"It will call positive attention to the value that the James River has for Botetourt County," said Ingram, who served on an advisory committee to help create the blueway plan. "This is a destination river. People come here from all over the country. The James is a major economic plus for this county."

Costello and Ingram hope that if more people take an interest in the river, they'll also preserve it by volunteering for cleanups such as the one held Saturday on the Roanoke River by the Clean Valley Council.

"We really want to talk about preserving what's here and making sure that the water quality's good and the fishery is alive and well," Costello said.

Fish enthusiasts are concerned about the number of fish kills on the James in the past few years. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries isn't sure what's killing the fish.

"I've seen rivers destroyed that didn't have a constituency, that didn't have people willing to go to bat for them," Ingram said. "You float down the James in Botetourt and Rockbridge counties just one time and you'll realize what a special river this is."