Register to attend 2026, Apr 27 - May 2
Log in or Create a User Account with a username and password. Then, you'll see a User Menu (on the right of your desktop or on the bottom of your mobile) with a link to Registration. After your Registration is submitted, those details are waiting in User Menu > My Registration, and a PayPal invoice will follow in approximately 72 hours. Why Create a User Account: Creating a user account on birding-wv.com is the best way to keep your Festival registration organized and accessible. It's designed to streamline registration and keep your itinerary, lodging details, and PayPal links at your fingertips. Logged-in users need only to go to User Menu > My Registration. Any time. The ability to link private PayPal invoices directly to your user account means you can make secure payments toward your balance and eliminate the risk of transcribing or tracking mistakes. For your privacy, you only need a username and password for a user account; further, we only use your email address in PayPal.
Registration opens in stages beginning in October; email notification is sent as stages open. Subscribe for notifications and updates.
Join the flock with this Easy Peasy registration with pre-selected trips and lodging at Hawks Nest State Park Lodge
or fully personalize your experience with our standard Registration.
Scroll On or Jump Ahead...
| Key Details Before You Register | Rate Guide | Deposit & Payment info |
Festival packages include a t-shirt and daily field trips, field trip transportation from Burnwood, three professionally catered daily meals, knowledgeable and fun presentations, and happy hour snacks and refreshments.
Package options include duration, lodging, and daily field trips.
Duration: All week (6 days) Monday through Saturday, Half week (3 days) Monday to Wednesday, or Half week (3 days) Thursday to Saturday.
Lodging packages begin the night before your first field trip and include the night of your last field trip, and options range from hotel-style to deluxe cabins.
Field trips fill on a first-come basis. Any option that cannot be selected, is full and closed. Registration forms are manually updated. Occasionally, an influx of registrations cause trips to fill faster than site updates can occur, then Rachel communicates adjustments individually.
Registration form navigation: Desktops and laptops have easier navigation than phones. When you click "Submit My Registration" wait for the "Your Registration is Submitted" screen. Don't navigate away or close your registration form until you see "Your Registration is Submitted." It may take a solid minute for the system to save your selections. Be patient.
Note: First-Half week package offers Birding by Butt Thursday as an add-on, but is not part of the Monday-Wednesday package and lodging check-out remains Thursday morning.
Field trip transportation is provided from Burnwood. Trips depart from and return to the Burnwood breakfast location. Birders must transport themselves between Burnwood and their lodging.
Lodging packages include a special rate agreement with our partners and we handle the reservations for you! Lodging check-in is the afternoon before your first field trip and check-out is the morning following your last field trip. Additional days may be requested but depend upon provider availability. Other lodging details are provided in April. Review lodging options.
Festival Check-in 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.
Additional details are provided in April.
Deposit & Payments
Total Balance Due by April 1
Deposit is made from the PayPal link in My Registration. A non-refundable deposit of 15% of your total is required to hold your reservation. Other payments may be made at any time, and are refundable (minus PayPal fees) until March 1.
Payments are preferred directly to your PayPal invoice found in My Registration.
Or write checks payable to "New River Birding & Nature Festival" with "NRBNF" on the memo line, and mail to 310 West Oyler Ave, Oak Hill, WV, 25901.
Set your own schedule and personal reminders for payment installments.
A PayPal account is not required to use its portal - you choose your preferred payment method and enter the amount you wish to remit.
To help our nonprofit handle PayPal fees, consider adding 1.99% plus $0.49 per your payment transactions.
Festival Package Rates
Opossum Creek Retreat Cabins SOLD OUT
Available first to veteran supporters of NRBNF programs and the non-profit Fayette County Education Fund, Inc.
6 days, 7 nights: All week: 1 person $3460. 2 people $5273. 3 people $7168. 4 people $9063.
Adventures on the Gorge Cabins
6 days, 7 nights: All week: 1 person $3218. 2 people $5113. 3 people $7008. 4 people $8903.
3 days, 4 nights: Half week: 1 person $1751. 2 people $2651. 3 people $3599. 4 people $4546.
Hawks Nest Lodge
6 days, 7 nights: All week: 1 person: $2665. 2 people $4560.
3 days, 4 nights: Half week: 1 person $1435. 2 people: $2335.
No Lodging
6 days: All week: 1 person $1895. 2 people $3790. 3 people $5685. 4 people $7850.
3 days: Half week: 1 person $995. 2 people $1895. 3 people $2843. 4 people $3790.
Health Safety
+ cdc.gov Travelers' Health
+ Nearby CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Urgent Care, MedExpress.
