Flashing Blue Lights Don't Always Signal KMart Specials

As a friend of Charlie's found out recently, it can mean a park ranger is pulling you over for an infraction...or two.

Boating and fishing in the U.S. national parks can be a collectively enjoyable and relaxing activity as long as one plays by all the rules, and make no mistake, there are many of them.

Charlie's friend had visited Colonial National Historical Park (also known as College Creek Park) in Williamsburg, off Colonial Parkway. As she was leaving the park premises, she glanced up to find flashing lights in her rearview mirror. It seems she had committed two federal offenses. For openers, she parked on a non-paved area in a national park. Secondly, she launched a watercraft in a national park.

As the victim related to Charlie, "At least the park ranger was nice enough not to give me two tickets, and he let me go." The worst part of all, though, was, as she noted, "I didn't catch a single thing."

In my desire to understand the rationale for this situation, Charlie was kind enough to provide the pertinent information, as set forth in the Park Superintendent's Compendium 2016. It reads as follows:

Boating

Except in emergencies, no privately owned vessel shall be launched from land within Colonial National Historical Park, and no privately owned vessel shall be landed on land within said park (36 CFR 7.1[a])

Providing for active recreational uses of the park, such as the launching and landing of vessels, to include canoes, kayaks and jet skis, has been determined not to be a compatible recreational use of the park and is prohibited. There are more than a dozen public boat launching sites maintained by state and local recreational facilities in the vicinity of Colonial National Historical Park which provide access to both the James and York Rivers.

Fishing

Fishing is permitted in the James and York Rivers along the Colonial Parkway, subject to licensing requirements in Virginia.

All freshwater impoundments and certain riverbank fishing areas within the park are closed to fishing and boating, to include the following areas: Wormley Pond, Jones Mill Pond, Bracken's Pond, all water areas within the perimeter of Jamestown Island, all river shoreline areas of Jamestown Island, Cove 2 and Cove 3 of the Yorktown Beach Picnic Area, fishing from any bridge or overpass in the park.

So the bottom line here would seem to be thus: If you're planning a trip to a national park, I would encourage you to contact them ahead of time and make sure you understand all the rules and regulations in force at that location. Otherwise, you, too, may be seeing blue...or perhaps red.