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To Contact or Visit Us:
All visitors need to be in touch (see below) with our General Manager, Sheila Bach, before coming out to the Center so you^ll get accurate directions, the latest on the planned event you may want to attend or are designing yourself - including meal arrangements or possible cancellation for bad weather, or details for arranging your own personal visit or retreat. Contact information is shown at the bottom of this page. We typically respond to email within 48 hours and phone messages within a day. Do not expect our address or location to accurately show on print maps or on-line mapping services. Our "street" name is still newly assigned by the county. Get directions first-hand from us. We^re open year-round unless very heavy rains, snow or ice.
To get notices of upcoming events: Just click on "Sign up..." in the column at the left. It^s the best way to stay informed of events. We promise to not send you more than 10 emails a year. Privacy: We'll never share your subscriber information with anyone outside the Center.
Location and Directions: We^re outside the borders of Harpers Ferry or Charles Town and across the Shenandoah River from these towns. Our "street" address is on a dirt and gravel country lane off a dead-end road. We are in the very easternmost edge of West Virginia, actually bordering Virginia and the Shenandoah River and near the Appalachian Trail. We^re within the private nonprofit "Rolling Ridge" preserve that is 20 minutes southwest of Harpers Ferry, WV, 15 minutes east of Charles Town, WV, an hour or less from Frederick, MD, one hour from the Beltway in N. Virginia, or an hour and a half from the Beltway near Silver Spring, MD, or 1.5 to 2 hours drive from downtown Washington, DC. There is a MARC train that goes to Harpers Ferry.
We do not provide a map or explicit directions on this web site because we want to hear that you're planning to come out and to give you accurate directions to reach us and to find your way around once inside the private preserve in which we dwell. There are various routes to drive toward Friends Wilderness depending on where you start out. The best directions are available from our general Manager. We are not accessible by bicycle. If you seek a ride out to one of our events, let us know in advance and maybe we can help you find a ride. If you can take a rider from your area to a public event of ours, please let us know.
Note: Niles Cabin is the main building and typical gathering spot for Center events. The Center's footprint encompasses a parcel of land within the Rolling Ridge Foundation property, stretching from the tree house & yurt to Niles Cabin (separated by a 15- to 20-minute walk or a 5-minute drive).
Before you visit: We recommend that anyone visiting us for the first time, or anyone visiting us just after very heavy rains or snow in our area first contact Sheila about road and trail conditions inside Rolling Ridge before driving out. Be sure to read the Essential Information page on this Web site for a safe and enjoyable visit.
Once you've arrived at Niles Cabin: Fill out a registration form and get a trail map from Sheila. If you're using the trails for a day hike or retreat, we recommend you check in with Sheila so she knows you've arrived and when you're due back to the Cabin or your car or other location. Typically, we do not track hikers' returns, so don't assume we will automatically notice you and respond if we don't see you return. Unfortunately, our buildings and trails are not accessible by wheelchair.
Do not rely on cell phone service at
Friends Wilderness Center or on the trails. Service can be sketchy. The Niles Cabin does have a
land line phone. Fire or paramedic response can take 20 minutes to 2
hours depending on your location within Rolling Ridge, and other
factors.
Board of Directors:
Sheila Bach Treasurer and General Manager. Langley Hill Meeting (VA)
Kevin Boles Hopewell Center Meeting (VA)
Michael Conklin Friends Meeting of Washington (DC)
Juliet Guroff Recording Clerk. Goose Creek Meeting (VA)
Elizabeth Johnsen Sandy Spring Meeting (MD)
Lisa Payne Clerk. Goose Creek Meeting (VA)
Carol Robbins Shepherdstown Meeting (WV)
Hank Rupprecht Frederick Meeting (MD)
Bob Sabath Study Retreat Community of Rolling Ridge (WV)
Paul Slattery Langley Hill Meeting (VA)
Linda Spencer Alexandria Meeting (VA)
Friends Wilderness Center Other phone numbers:
305 Friends Way Board member and area resident Bob Sabath: 304-724-6653 (h)
Harpers Ferry, WV Fire Department or Sheriff: 911
304-728-4820
Below is a photo of the pond (in the rain) nearest the Niles Cabin. Photo by Hannah Siegel©. Updated April 14, 2008.
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