Use Your Birding & Nature Vacation to Revitalize Your Mind and Body.
Lodging Packages
Check-in with your selected lodging provider the afternoon before your first trip, and check-out the morning after your last trip. Additional details are provided in April.
Festival Check-In by Your First Field Trip
If your first field trip is:
Monday (All-week and first-Half week)- meet Sunday at Burnwood for a casual cookout welcome, between 6 PM and 8 PM.
Thursday (newcomer, second-Half week)- meet Thursday for Birding by Butt at Opossum Creek Retreat; coffee is on at 6, breakfast at 8, outings begin at 9 AM.
Thursday (returner, second-Half week)- choose any field trip; by your selection we'll either see you at Birding by Butt, or at Burnwood for any other trip.
Items provided upon check-in include a printed checklist, personal itinerary, name tag, and t-shirt.
A Typical Day
6am hot breakfast at Burnwood. Tune your ears by the morning chorus on the rim of the New River Gorge. Transport yourself to/from Burnwood.
6:15-7am field trips depart from Burnwood. Anticipation abounds. Field trip transportation is provided by bus; Hosts and drivers direct you to your bus.
11am-12pm picnic-style lunch. Famished! Lucnh is provided; bring your own favorites or special dietary needs.
2-5pm field trips return to Burnwood. Nodding off on the ride while tallying birds, trip return times vary by field trip (see Trips). Afternoons are your own to nap, bird, explore...
4pm presentation in the Meadows at Opossum Creek Retreat. Casual and approximately 1 hour. Grab fresh popcorn from the kitchen.
5pm appetizers and happy hour. Share the day's birding adventures. Drinks and snacks provided; bring your own favorites or special dietary needs.
6pm dinner. YUM! Provided; bring your own favorites or special dietary needs.
7pm presentation. Informational and entertaining, a highlight to wrap up each day!
Breakfast
Cranberry trips have breakfast provided, waiting on the bus.
Birding by Butt in the Meadows at Opossum Creek Retreat, coffee is on at 6 AM and breakfast at 8 AM.
Other trips, 6 AM hot buffet breakfast at Burnwood.
Historic Excursions 7 AM hot buffet breakfast at Burnwood.
Trip Times
Field Trip transportation is provided; trips depart from Brunwood between 6:05 and 7 AM. Exception: Birding by Butt and Historic Excursions.
Cranberry trips depart from Burnwood at 6:05 AM or as quickly as possible, with provided bagged breakfast waiting for you on the bus; trips return by 5 PM.
Birding by Butt, you roll in to the Meadows at Opossum Creek Retreat when you're ready - coffee is on at 6am, breakfast at 8am, outings begin at 9am; ends with lunch at noon.
Other trips depart from Brunwood by 7 AM and return by 2 PM.
Historic Excursions depart Burnwood at 8 AM and return after lunch around noon.
At 4 PM we offer a casual Presentation, however afternoons are your own! Enjoy a nap, bird or explore on your own. Go for a scenic drive around Park areas or around Fayette County. Explore the National Park. Plan ahead for an adventure activity like Bridge Walk or a Canopy Tour. Stroll downtown Fayetteville and Oak Hill.
2026, Apr 27 - May 2: Registration Opens in Stages. Subscribe for email notification!
Spend six or three days on daily nature excursions, enjoy meals with long-time and new friends, and presentations packed with knowledge and fun.
Seats are limited. All packages include three meals each day, field trip transportation from Burnwood, presentations, happy hour snacks and drinks (food and drink set out at the Meadows), and a t'shirt. Packages with lodging begin the night before your first field trip and include the night of your last field trip. See Lodging descriptions. Additional details are provided in April.
Field trips are limited to ~twelve seats, plus guides.
Package options are with or without lodging: All week (6 days) Monday through Saturday, first-Half week (3 days) Monday to Wednesday, or second-Half week (3days) Thursday to Saturday.
The following trips are offered each day as indicated. Select your daily itinerary upon registration, with one trip each day. After a trip is full, it cannot be clicked/selected on the registration form. When only 1 trip remains available it's preselected on the registration form. After a trip is full it cannot be selected. Trips fill on a first-come basis and are handled individually/manually by Rachel. Occasionally, an influx of registrations cause trips fill faster than updates can occur, and adjustments are individually communicated to you.
NEW Historical Excursions! Designed with accessibility in mind, you'll enjoy a leisurely walking pace at one or two select stops for a rich blend of scenic views, natural and cultural history highlights of West Virginia / Appalachia, with a bit of bird watching on the side. The day starts later and ends earlier with a local restaurant lunch. Select only 1 of these lighter, undemanding tours on your registration.
Upon Registration Select 1 Trip Each Day. Please select only 1 Historical Excursion.
Sunday Welcome/Orientation for All Week and first-Half Week birders is a casual cookout welcome; roll in between 6 PM and 8 PM, at Burnwood.
Monday
7am – 2pm Babcock
7am – 2pm Cunard
7am – 2pm Sugar Creek
7am – 2pm Fayette Station
8am – 12pm Historical Excursion: Thurmond -Ghost Town! NEW
Tuesday
7am – 2pm Babcock
7am – 2pm Cunard
7am – 2pm Sugar Creek
7am – 2pm Fayette Station
8am – 12pm Historical Excursion: Wolf Creek Wetlands -Natural History! NEW
Wednesday
7am – 2pm Babcock
7am – 2pm Cunard
7am – 2pm Sugar Creek
7am – 2pm Fayette Station
8am – 12pm Historical Excursion: Exhibition Coal Mine -History & Culture! +$15/person NEW
Thursday
Second-Half week returner check-in at Burnwood breakfast, unless you opt Birding by Butt.
6am – 5pm Cranberry
7am – 2pm Sugar Creek *Jeep Tour to the Gauley River! +$100/person
7am – 2pm Fayette Station
8am – 12pm Birding by Butt *Welcome/Orientation for second-Half week newcomers, and a classic favorite available to everyone!
8am – 12pm Historical Excursion: Nuttallburg -Ghost Town & Natural History! NEW
Friday
6am – 5pm Cranberry
7am – 2pm Babcock
7am – 2pm Cunard
7am – 2pm Sugar Creek
7am – 2pm Fayette Station
Saturday
6am – 5pm Cranberry
7am – 2pm ACE Reptiles & Amphibians (emphasis herpetology)
7am – 2pm Carnifex & Summersville State Park (emphasis botany)
7am – 2pm The Summit
7am – 2pm Wolf Creek & Rail Trail
Lunch
Lunch is provided on field trips, picnic style, prepared by the respective outdoor adventure center that owns the bus, Adventures on the Gorge or ACE Adventure Resort.
Lunch on Historical Excursions is at a local restaurant (please be prepared to tip).
4 PM Presentations
Casual afternoon presentations start at 4 PM daily and last approximately 45-60 minutes, in the Meadows at Opossum Creek Retreat.
Mo. Dr. Thomas Pauley: Amphibians & Reptiles of NRG WV
Tu. Jodi French-Burr: NRG WV Botany
We. to be determined
Th. Dr. Bill Hilton Jr: banding birds
Fr. Rachel Davis: WV Cultural & Natural History Storytelling
Sa. Guide Panel: topic to be determined
Dinner
Monday through Saturday, happy hour at 5, and dinner starts at 6 PM in the Meadows at Opossum Creek Retreat; beverage options and outdoor seating are provided.
7 PM Presentations
Evening Presentations start at 7 PM and last approximately 60-90 minutes, in the Meadows and include outdoor broadcast viewing areas.
Mo. Jim Rapp
Tu. Mandy Talpas
We. Katie Fallon and ambassadors from the ACCA
Th. Tom Stephenson
Fr. Mark Garland
Sa. Farewell Pizza Party starts at 6 PM with music by Ryan Brandenburg
Please be forgiving as the speaker line-up may change due to unforeseen personal schedule changes and technical difficulties. Field trip times and routes are approximate and may vary due to accessibility, bird movement, weather or road conditions, and other unforeseen variables.
Farewell Pizza Party
Saturday at 6 PM - pizza, beverages, and live music by Ryan Brandenburg, singer-songwriter with Appalachian folk roots!
"Appalachian music has deep roots in the British Isles, particularly in the North of England, the Scottish Lowlands, and Gaelic-speaking regions of Ireland and Scotland. Early settlers brought these musical traditions to the Appalachian Mountains, where they blended with other influences to create a unique and vibrant style. Appalachian ballads are often based on historical events or legends. These ballads were passed down through generations, evolving over time.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, new instruments like the guitar, mandolin, and autoharp gained popularity in Appalachia, thanks to mail-order catalogs. These instruments were incorporated into string bands, alongside traditional instruments like the banjo and fiddle. Appalachian musicians also developed unique instruments to add rhythm and bass to their music. Hambone (originated from enslaved Africans), a form of body music that involves using the body as a drum set, was incorporated for rhythm. Spoons and washboards for percussion, while the washtub bass, often made from a metal wash tub, a stick and strings, provided a bassline.
Appalachian music has often been a powerful tool for social commentary with ballads and songs about the hardships of life in the coal mines, such as "Sixteen Tons," giving voice to the working class and helping shape the region's cultural identity.
Growing up Appalachian, these are the sounds I heard at family gatherings and, most wonderfully, on summer nights on the ridge where my parents were born. Music came up from the community on the mountain in true 3D sound, starting with someone on an unseen front porch as they started picking a guitar, then a banjo joined from another, then a harmonica..." - Rachel Davis.
♦ Detailed location information and map links are provided in April.
