Essential Information for All Visitors
We welcome you to Friends Wilderness Center and ask that you know and observe the following important tips to have a rewarding and safe experience. Anyone wanting to visit should contact Sheila Bach, the General Manager, to see about availability of facilities, to get accurate directions, or for details on events. This can be done by emailing her at center@friendswilderness.org or calling her at 304-728-4820. She usually replies within 24 hours.
Please note that there is some risk when visiting or experiencing any rustic natural setting within the Rolling Ridge preserve. Our surrounding area is rather rugged and covers a variety of terrain. Those visiting or using Friends Wilderness Center accept this assumption of risk and hold Friends Wilderness Center and Rolling Ridge Foundation (the land holder) harmless. Information, common sense, and appropriate gear or provisions will help you have a more enjoyable and safe experience. The gravel/dirt road to the Center or Cabin winds for over a mile and may not get plowed for several day after heavy ice or snowfall. Anyone reasonably fit will do fine on foot on our nearby trails and near the Cabin. Anyone wishing to take hikes on our most rugged trails or some parts o fthe Appalachian Trail should be in decent shape to handle rocky, rising and falling trails. We do offer a map (available in the Niles Cabin), have trails, and we can recommend hikes based on their difficulty. Our facilities unfortunately cannot accommodate people in wheelchairs. At the Niles Cabin there is a resident manager. On the Rolling Ridge land there is also a small resident community. They will not always be available for an emergency and may have little or no medical training. Emergency medical services such as paramedics can take up to one hour to reach locations on some trails within Rolling Ridge.
Please note:
Children: They have a great time here, but awareness and supervision is needed continuously by their parents /adults: there are open, unfenced ponds and streams on the land. Our tree house (20^ high and can sleep 20) does not have railings low enough to prevent gregarious toddlers from possibly sneaking under & falling, so please be alert there. Toddlers camping in the tree house will need constant supervision. We recommend instead that families with very young children camp on the ground or in the yurt or stay in the cabin.
Roads and Trails and Points of Interest: We have a new address of 305 Friends Way. Don^t expect it or other addresses within Rolling Ridge to show correctly on any print or on-line maps. We are located well outside the town of Harpers Ferry or Charles Town, WV: Get directions only from us, at least a day in advance (if you can) before starting out for the Center. Do not rely on Mapquest, Google, etc. The roads within our property are gravel/dirt and can be bumpy or muddy in some places. We recommend that people visiting us for the first time - or who are driving all the way in to the yurt or treehouse - arrive during daylight to see road conditions and signage. Look for our signs after turning off the main (paved) section of Mission Road. We are improving our trail signs to larger wooden signs with ^burned^ arrows and trail names. Follow signs just for Niles Cabin to get to Niles Cabin and the gathering point for most Center events. Ask for a trail map at the Niles Cabin. It will guide you to some unusual and enjoyable natural or hand-built points of interest in the area.
The Niles Cabin is a nice 15 minute hike away from the yurt and treehouse. The drive up to the tree house or yurt is on a gravelly/rocky road (the meadow will be on your left) There is parking for up to 8 cars at the Cabin. Cars do cross a small stream (about 3-9 inches deep) that is passable 364 days a year to get to the Cabin. The yurt, tree house or Cabin are about one to 1-2 miles in from the main, paved road. Our own roads inside Rolling Ridge may be more challenging after extremely heavy rains, snow or snow melt, or when there^s (rarely) thick ice. Roads may be impassable for some vehicles for 1-2 days after (very rare) snowfall of a foot or more. Contact Sheila if any questions. We intentionally maintain the lands in as original a state as possible to preserve the look, feel, beauty and legacy of the place, knowing it is home and sanctuary to a diversity of wildlife, a few year-round human residents, and occasional vistors.
There is a small trail map available from Sheila. If in doubt, get specific trail directions from a Center representative. We encourage all visitors to directly experience nature at Friends Wilderness: a groomed "resort" or spa we are not. When out at the Center you can expect to be in raw country and a certain appreciation and awareness is needed. Hike the most remote or steepest trails with a companion if possible.
Wildlife, Weather and Safety: Animals, poison oak or ivy, changing weather conditions, and open bodies of water are present and respect and reverence needs be applied toward them. Check for ticks after walking around Rolling Ridge (and anywhere in the eastern United States), especially between March and November, to avoid Lyme disease. These ticks are not the larger ^dog^ ticks but are nearly as small as the period at the end of this sentence. Information on ticks is at: http://www.loudoun.gov/health/lyme.htm or in a notebook in the Niles Cabin. Air temperatures here may be up to 20 degrees cooler than in the city. Hunting is allowed only by a small hunt club in season and is separate from the hiking trails. You can check with our Resident Manager about hunting season and take the basic precautions if in season of wearing our orange vests and avoiding the marked hunting areas. Cell phone reception is spotty and unreliable in parts of Rolling Ridge. There is a land line phone in Niles Cabin.
Camping and campfires: Camping is available in the tree house (sleeps 20!), the yurt (four is comfortable or you can squeeze in six people), just outside the Niles Cabin, and there^s open space elsewhere, and just outside the Niles Cabin pond (watch out there for fire ant mounds in the warmer months). All offer beautiful viewing of the very dark night sky and of forested horizons. Bring your own camping gear. Campfires must be in existing fire pits and never left unattended. Please make sure coals and embers are fully extinguished before leaving any fire site and see the fire pit is returned to usable condition. Live embers can become airborne and travel hundreds of feet before landing and igniting unattended leaf litter. Some cut firewood may be available at some campsites. We ask that you first pick up fallen firewood or cut some firewood for yourself and the next camper who comes along. The tree house and yurt share a basic privy.
Meals and drinking water: Often our daytime events offer an optional lunch for a modest charge (about $7). Tell the Resident Manager in advance if you will be buying lunch. Our meals are tasty, hearty, and healthy. Vegetarian food choices are possible. For daytime events, you^re welcome to bring your own food that is already prepared. If staying overnight in the Cabin, dinner and breakfast are usually included. Check with Sheila about your dietary needs and menu choice. If camping out, you can request dinner or breakfast of Sheila (for a modest cost). Any water (other than in our cabin) should be purified before consumption.
We recommend that anyone intending a visit us contact us at least two days in advance if possible. This gives us enough time to respond to your email or call, get you directions, etc. Most of our events can be registered for by email. We usually respond to all email within 48 hours. On rare occasions, some events are cancelled due to very inclement weather. Registering ahead then enables us to both know you^re planning to come out and to tell you of (possible) event adjustments. It^s always a good idea to confirm by phone the day before the event that event is a "go." If you do decide not to come out for a stay or an event at which you^re expected, please cancel with us in advance.
Directions: Click on "To Contact or Visit Us" in left hand column for getting directions. On-line mapping services do not provide accurate routes to, or identify our location. Verify directions with the Resident Manager, who knows the best routes! Trail maps are available from at the Cabin.
What To Bring: Here^s a basic on-your-person list, especially if hiking or camping and depending on season and weather and one^s outdoors skills and preferences: hat, sunscreen, rain or windbreaker jacket, bug repellant, drinking water if hiking (2 quarts per hour of very hearty or hot hiking is a good minimum measure), whistle, compass, flashlight/batteries if camping, meals or snacks for when on the trails, good shoes for hiking and pairs of socks, basic first aid: band-aids, layers of clothing, long pants and high socks (discourages ticks: lighter the color the better). Some on retreat here bring art materials, journal, binoculars, or night sky telescopes. The Niles Cabin has a small library. Dogs: Check with Sheila, before you come out, to gain permission to bring your dog.
What Not To Bring: Entertainment electronics: radio, gameboy, iPod, cd or dvd player, etc. Avoid all-cottton clothes for long hikes or anticipating being caught in rain or cold wind. We encourage you to immerse yourself in the setting and so please turn that cell phone off when possible. Cell phone service can be spotty where we are. Please avoid incoming calls ringing retreat place and please call out only when critical.
Rates: Per person, unless noted:
Cabin stay overnight, including delicious dinner and breakfast: $80
Camping in yurt or tree house $25 per family or $15 per person
Hot meals if camping: subject to arrangement with Resident Manager: inquire
Day visit, use of Rolling Ridge trails, use of Cabin as base: $15
Small groups (under 30) use of Cabin, trails: arrange with Resident Manager: inquire
Discounts may be available for groups. Presenters at Center events may receive complimentary cabin stay and meals. Volunteers at our Work Days often get a free lunch. Regular volunteers may get other benefits.
Want to hold you own event at the Center? Ask for what the conditions and cost may be. Contributions or memberships are welcome to help us cover operating expenses and are tax-deductible to the full extent permitted by law. Our income from event fees covers only a fraction of our costs.
Email Subscription and Privacy: Sign up (see left hand column) for email notices about upcoming events. We will send you no more than 12 a year. We will not lend, trade, rent, sell or access your e-mail address or other contact information to anyone.
We hope these tips are helpful and we welcome any questions, ideas, or feedback you may have! Comments can also be sent to Lisa Payne, Board Clerk, at lightseeking1@verizon.net. Have a nurturing, fulfilling, safe, enjoyable experience! Questions? Call Sheila Bach, Resident Manager at 304-728-4820 or email her at center@friendswilderness.org.
How Do We Keep It So Affordable? We^ve no endowment or donor angel that underwrites our programs or offerings. We rely on donations, special gifts, visitor fees, sponsorships, and events income to meet our lean budget. Your support is most welcome and donations and travel by volunteers are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Contact Board Clerk Lisa Payne at lightseeking1@verizon.net if you are interested in making a special contribution, legacy gift, or other donation honoring someone or for some special purpose.
