Great Smokies Eco-Adventure

Experience the Smokies like never before! Spend your days exploring the wilds of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and your nights glamorously camping off the grid. DLiA is partnering with A Walk in the Woods to bring you this exclusive 3-day, 2-night adventure that will include guided hikes and nature walks, camping in a luxurious off-grid setting, great local food and drink, and much more. All proceeds from this fundraising event will help DLiA discover and conserve the rich biodiversity of the Smokies.

Gain new insight into the rich biodiversity of the Smokies from experts in local flora and fauna!

Savor delicious local food & drink!

Enjoy s’mores around the campfire with live music by Elza Gate!

Tentative schedule

The 2-night adventure begins at noon Sunday, August 29th and will last and will conclude on the evening of Tuesday, August 31st. Here’s a look at what’s in store.

DAY 1 (SUNDAY, AUG 29) Guests will meet at Sugarlands Visitor Center at noon, and enjoy light snacks and a guided insect hike led by DLiA’s resident entomologist, Will Kuhn. In the late afternoon, we’ll head to A Walk in the Woods’ private off-the-grid camp located near Cosby and settle into our luxurious glamping accommodations. We’ll enjoy a cocktail party with heavy hors d’oeuvres, serenaded by local bluegrass duet, Elza Gate. We’ll finish off with s’mores around a campfire.

DAY 2 (MONDAY, AUG 30) We’ll have fresh coffee and an early breakfast at camp made with local ingredients and pack our sack lunches. Guests will then have a choice of day hikes: for the adventurous, an exclusive guided hike through old-growth forest to see some of the largest trees in the southern US (moderate difficulty, but gorgeous), or guests may choose an easier guided waterfall/swimming hole hike. We’ll arrive back at camp in early evening and enjoy southern fixins around the campfire.

DAY 3 (TUESDAY, AUG 31) We’ll start with a pancake breakfast, pack sack lunches, and pack up our gear. Guests will again have a choice between two day hikes: a more strenuous guided through-hike along Gabes Mountain Trail (8 miles) or an easier hike in the Cosby area of the Park. We’ll plan to arrive back at Sugarlands Visitor Center around 5PM where we’ll say our goodbyes and guests will depart.

Your hosts

The Great Smokies Eco-Adventure is co-hosted by Discover Life in America and A Walk in the Woods. As an award-winning, locally owned and operated tour guide company, A Walk in the Woods has been helping people get the most out of their Smoky Mountains experience for over 23 years, serving over 100,000 visitors along the way!

A Walk in the Woods has generously provided their camp, staff, and Smokies expertise to make this new and exciting fundraising event possible and we are so excited to work with them!

Tickets: $950 per person

All proceeds from this event will help DLiA continue its work in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Tickets are $950 per person, which includes your travel, accommodation, food, and alcohol during the event (details below).

What does your ticket purchase support?

Specifically, your support will fund

• our continuing research work with the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, aimed cataloging, understanding, and ultimately conserving the remarkable diversity of life in the Smokies
• our world-class summer internship program, where we train the next generation of conservationists through an immersive experience in the Smokies
• our educational programming in and around Great Smoky Mountains NP, fostering nature literacy among our community (Science @ Sugarlands, iScience, Species SnapIt & MapIt)
• and much more!

Travel (included during event)

Ticket purchase includes private bus transportation during the event. Guests must arrange their own travel to and from the meeting place (Sugarlands Visitor Center in Great Smoky Mountains National Park) before and after the event.

Food & drink (included)

Food (including vegan options) and drinks (including beer and wine) are included. Guests should plan to eat lunch before arriving on Sunday (light snacks will be provided). Please specify any dietary restrictions during ticket purchase and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

Accommodations (included)

This is a “glamping” (glamorous camping) event and accommodations are rustic, but comfortable. The camp is off-the-grid, but it has many of the amenities of home, including hot showers and running water, a well-stocked camp kitchen, and a battery pack for lighting and to charge your phone as needed. You’ll sleep in a large 2-person tent with a comfy cot. Pricing is based on double occupancy.

What to bring

Where & when to meet?

Meet at Sugarlands Visitor Center, Bus parking lot (closest to Little River Road) at noon on Sunday. We will send out instructions and follow-up information to ticket holders as the event approaches.

Cancellation Policy

Full payment is due at sign up. If you decide to cancel your spot, we are happy to refund your full payment if and only if we are able to fill your slot before the event.