Great Smokies Eco-Adventure 2022

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. Book now! Registration deadline extended to March 31!

The Eco-Adventure was a great experience! The Smoky Mountains are a significant natural resource and we learned so much more about them because our expert guides Will and Todd were there to answer our endless questions. The group size was small, which made it so that we all got lots of contact with the guides and with each other. Thank you!

Patrick from Raleigh

Tentative schedule

The 2-night adventure begins at noon Sunday, April 10th and will conclude on Tuesday afternoon, April 12th. Here’s a rough schedule, which is flexible depending on the interests of the group…

SUNDAY 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-grid camp located near Cosby and settle into our not-too-rustic glamping accommodations. We’ll have drinks and heavy hors d’oeuvres. We’ll finish off with s’mores around a campfire.

MONDAY We’ll have locally-sourced coffee and a hot breakfast at camp and pack sack lunches. We’ll then take a moderately difficult hike to see spring wildflowers. We’ll arrive back at camp in late afternoon and enjoy southern fixins around the campfire. If you’re up for it, we’ll go for a night hike at the camp to look for nocturnal critters. We might even see blue ghost fireflies!

TUESDAY We’ll start with a hot 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 or an easier hike in the Cosby area of the park. We’ll finish up around 4 pm. 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!

You’ll meet Will Kuhn and Todd Witcher from DLiA, who can tell you all about different kinds of Smokies biodiversity and who will assist with the guided hikes.

Tickets: $950 per person

This is a fundraising event for DLiA. All proceeds will help DLiA continue its work in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Tickets are $950 per person, which includes your accommodation, food, and alcohol during the event as well as expert-led hikes (details below).

REGISTRATION CLOSES: Deadline extended to March 31st!

CANCELLATION POLICY: Full payment is due upon ticket purchase. 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.

IMPORTANT NOTE: All attendees are required to show either proof of COVID-19 vaccination (at least one dose) or a negative COVID-19 test result taken no earlier than 3 days prior to the event. No exceptions.

What does your ticket purchase support?

Specifically, your support will fund

• our continuing research work with the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, aimed at cataloging, understanding, and ultimately conserving the 21,000+ species that call the Smokies home
• 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, Smokies Most Wanted)
• and much more!

What’s included?

Food & drink

Food is included with your ticket purchase, including vegetarian and vegan options, as are drinks, including local beer and wine. Guests should plan to eat lunch before arriving on Sunday though we will provide light snacks. We will ask you about dietary restrictions and drink preferences when we send out your welcome information close to the event. We will do our best to accommodate all your needs.

Lodging and other

This is a “glamping” (glamorous camping) event and accommodations are rustic, but comfortable. The camp is off-the-grid–no municipal power or water–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 spacious 2-person tent with a comfy cot topped by a thick sleeping pad. Pricing is based on double occupancy.

Guided hikes led by the experts

You’ll have full access to experts from Discover Life in America, who will take you on guided hikes and answer your questions about life in the Smokies, the history and natural history of the region, and much more. We’ll point out all the incredible spring wildflowers that should be in bloom during the event as well as the fascinating insects that pollinate them.

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.

FAQs

Q. What is the expected weather?

April in the Smokies is usually mild, with daytime temperatures reaching the 50s and 60s, and nighttime sometimes approaching the freezing mark. It’s best to wear layers that you can shed if it’s warm or pile on for those cool nights. But this of course varies dramatically from year to year. The region does receive lots of rain (which fuels the growth of all those wildflowers), so be sure to pack a rain jacket or poncho.

Q. What COVID precautions will be in place?

Each attendee is required to show either proof of COVID-19 vaccination or to present a negative COVID-19 test result taken no more than 3 days prior to the event. Attendees should bring a mask for times when we’re together inside a vehicle or other indoor spaces. These precautions aside, the nature of this event—being mostly outdoors—renders it fairly low-risk in the COVID era. All activities will take place in covered open-air facilities or on open trails with lots of airflow.

Q. How many people will be in attendance?

Space is limited to 20 attendees at the eco-camp where we’ll be staying (2 people per tent with 10 tents). This is a nice group size that permits lots of one-on-one interaction with your guides.

Q. If don’t consider myself a serious hiker, will I be able to keep up?

Our hikes are very much tailored to the abilities and interests of the group and generally follow a leisurely pace as we stop and look at flowers, insects, mushrooms, and lots of other sites to see. As long as you are able to walk around 5 miles over several hours, you should be fine.

Q. If I come to the Eco-Adventure alone, will I have to share a tent?

The ticket price for this event is based on double occupancy, so expect that singletons may be paired with another same-gender singleton. This is a fantastic opportunity to meet a fellow nature lover and future friend!

Q. What is included in the ticket price?

The ticket price includes all accommodations, food (including vegan options), alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and expert-led hikes from noon Sunday through Tuesday afternoon.

Q. What do I need to bring?

Tents, cots, sleeping pads, and other basics are all provided. Please bring a sleeping bag, towel, day pack and wear sturdy hiking shoes, rain gear and cool weather clothing. Also, please bring a well-fitting face mask. You can find a full list of required and recommended items above on this page. Attendees will receive additional information prior to the event via email.

Q. If I have any other questions, who should I contact?

Please contact Todd Witcher (todd@dlia.org) and he’ll be happy to answer your questions about the Eco-Adventure. You can also visit dlia.org to learn more about this event and DLiA’s work in the Smokies.