Your trip planner for your five-star birding and nature vacation begins here!
Create and log in to your User Account.
Check out the Speaker & Trip Schedule and refer to Trip Descriptions to choose your daily destinations.
See Lodging options with our partners.
Go to Registration to reserve your personalized package.
View your submitted registration and outstanding balance in your Cart.
Build anticipation -
- Meet the professional Trip Leaders, browse authentic checklists in Trip Descriptions, and check out what other birders are saying about us.
Then, get ready -
- Review Trip Planning and What To Pack. All kinds are welcome here!
Use Your Birding & Nature Vacation to Revitalize Your Mind and Body.
Lodging Packages
Check-in with your selected lodging provider Sunday afternoon, and check-out the following Sunday morning.
Festival Check-in
Festival check-in is Monday, 6 AM, at Burnwood. Items provided upon check-in include a printed checklist, personal itinerary and name tag.
Breakfast
Breakfast is provided hot buffet-style at 6 AM under a pavilion at Burnwood. Cranberry and Infinity Loop trips take a grab-n-go breakfast.
Trip Times
Cranberry and Infinity Loop trips depart from Burnwood as quickly as possible. Cranberry returns by 5 PM. All other trips depart from Brunwood by 7 AM and return by 2 PM. Field Trip transportation is provided.
At 3 PM we offer a casual Presentation and serve popcorn. However, afternoons are the perfect opportunity to enjoy personal time with a nap, hot tub, journal, or sightseeing. Take your time.
All trips begin with breakfast at Burnwood at 6 AM. Breakfast is hot buffet-style under a pavilion. Cranberry and Infinity Loop trips have grab-n-go breakfast to eat en route and depart Burnwood as quickly as possible. Cranberry returns by 5 PM. All other trips depart by 7 AM and return by 2 PM. Field Trip transportation is provided.
After field trips depart from Burnwood, modern restroom facilities may be limited - some routes stop at public areas for restroom breaks and some destinations have varying park facilities.
In response to weather, road conditions and bird movement, trip routes may be adjusted and some trips may overlap territory.
After a trip is full and no longer available, it cannot be clicked/selected on the registration form.
• Cranberry *returns ~5 PM
• Burnwood to Babcock
• Kanawha Falls
• Sugar Creek
• Muddlety to Carnifex
• Infinity Loop
• ACE Reptiles & Amphibians
• Glade Creek
• The Summit
• Wolf Creek & Rail Trail
Create a User Account for birding-wv.com. Log in to your User Account. Complete and Submit a Registration. View your submitted registration and outstanding balance in your Cart.
May 1-6, 2023, 21st Birthday
Jump to Health Safety Precautions
2023 Registration Packages and Links: Full Capacity - Registration Closed
2024, Apr 29 - May 4: Registration Opens in the Autumn of 2023. Subscribe for email notification!
Lodging packages include seven nights of lodging, Sunday to Sunday. All packages include Monday through Saturday field trips, presentations, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Filed trips are limited to twelve seats plus two guides. This is an immersive birding and nature vacation. All you have to do is show up for six days of adventurous field trips, meals, knowledge and fun packed presentations, and spend some time with world-class professionals and fellow nature enthusiasts you (will) know as friends.
Transportation
♦ Arrange your own transportation to and from your lodging, the breakfast location at Burnwood, and the presentations and dinners at our Opossum Creek Retreat headquarters.
♦ Field trips depart from and return to the breakfast location at Burnwood.
♦ Field trip transportation is provided by bus.
♦ Go to Where We Are
Lodging
♦ Lodging check-in is the day before your first field trip and check-out is the day after your last field trip.
♦ Additional lodging days may be requested but depend on lodging availability.
♦ All lodging options are on a first-come-first-serve basis.
♦ We have special rate deals with our lodging partners that we pass on to you!
♦ Other area lodging option links are found under "Travel" below.
♦ Go to Lodging
Packages
♦ 2023 packages are all week only, and available with and without lodging.
♦ Each day includes a field trip of your choice, three meals, presentations, field trip transportation, and an assortment of drinks and snacks.
♦ Go to Registration
A Few Tips to Get You Started...
Bird and nature watching is an outdoor sport - bring your gear and be prepared to have fun! The mornings start outdoors at 6am and the days are spent in the mountains at various elevations and physical environments. Mornings can be quite cool, afternoons quite warm, and a spring shower may pop up. You never know what you're going to get into.
Health Safety
- hand sanitizer
- masks
- disinfectant wipes
- thermometer
- COVID test
Gear Ideas
Travel Notes
♦ Plan your routes ahead of time; paper maps we provide in April are important because all gps systems are not equal and some will lead you astray.
♦ AT&T seems to have the best coverage in the area, however it is spotty and difficult to find a signal when exploring mountains and valleys.
♦ Yeager Airport (CRW) in Charleston, WV is approximately 63 miles (~1.25 hours) from Festival headquarters at Opossum Creek Retreat; 61 mi (<1.25 hrs) from Canyon Rim Visitors Center at the New River Gorge National Park.
♦ Raleigh County Memorial Airport (BKW) in Beckley, WV is approximately 38 miles (44 minutes) from Festival headquarters at Opossum Creek Retreat headquarters; 30 mi (39 min) from Canyon Rim Visitors Center at the New River Gorge National Park.
♦ Car rentals are available at both airports, as well as in Beckley and Summersville; make arrangements in advance as they are not open 24/7.
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