Leader: Mark Garland
Members $260; nonmembers $305
West Virginia’s New River Gorge in our country’s newest National Park, featuring the deep, forested canyon of the New River and extensive deciduous woodlands of varied elevations. It’s a region rich with nesting warblers and other songbirds, diverse wildflower displays, excellent diversity of amphibians and reptiles, and fascinating history. Spend two days taking short walks at several sites in and around the park, watching for birds and other wildlife while enjoying the views, plant communities, and whatever else catches our attention. Swainson’s Warblers and Cerulean Warblers are among the birds that nest in good numbers here. Further east (and closer to the Washington area) is the remarkable Cranberry Glades, where we’ll visit on Tuesday before we conclude. Here high elevation forests surround extensive mountain bogs, habitats that look much more like the Canadian boreal forest than the mid-Atlantic region. Northern Waterthrushes, Canada Warblers, and Mourning Warblers nest at Cranberry, beavers and black bears are common (though sightings can never be guaranteed), and several regionally rare plants can be found. There are various lodging options in the region, with the lodge at Hawk’s Nest State Park a good option, along with several collections of rental cabins. The terrain is hilly. Expect approximately 2-3 miles each day spread out across several shorter walks. The fee covers expert leadership only. REGISTER.