Experience one of the most beautiful and remote beaches on the east coast.  Cumberland Island National Seashore, reached only by passenger ferry, offers historic colonial ruins and unique natural habitats.  Travel to this island oasis is limited to walking, allowing for leisurely enjoyment of the undeveloped beaches, the saltwater marshes and the maritime live oak forests for which Georgia’s barrier islands are known.  In addition to visiting Cumberland Island, this tour features visits to several national monuments and to the oldest town in America.

TOUR FEATURES:
Escorted tour with local naturalist ∙ Three nights lodging ∙ Luggage handling, taxes and tips ∙ 12 meals (four continental breakfasts / four lunches / four dinners) ∙ Admission, including park, other entrance fees and miscellaneous program expenses ∙ Group size is limited to 12 participants

Golden Island and Seashores Information (PDF Format)

Travel to northern Indiana to discover the quiet beauty of the world-famous Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and observe the gathering of thousands of sandhill cranes.  Wander the trails from the Lake Michigan beaches to the tops of the sand dunes to quiet old growth forests.  Then head south from the dunes to the Jasper-Pulaski Wildlife Area where thousands of greater sandhill cranes and the rarely sighted whooping crane gather in their historic resting and feeding grounds near the Kankakee River.  From your ringside seats, you’ll watch the cranes land and take off just a few feet overhead and observe their spring “courtship dances” in between.

TOUR FEATURES:
Escorted tour with local naturalist ∙ Two nights lodging ∙ Luggage handling, taxes and tips ∙ Six meals (two continental breakfasts / two lunches / two dinners) ∙ Admission, including park, other entrance fees and miscellaneous program expenses ∙ Group size is limited to 12 participants

Join our naturalist for springtime get-away to Charleston.  From our award winning hotel, the Middleton Inn on the grounds of the historic 1600 acre Middleton Plantation and Gardens, we will explore a variety of beautiful natural areas and preserves and also enjoy the charm of the historic district of Charleston.

This modern hotel, nestled in the woods, has floor to ceiling windows, handmade wooden furnishings, hardwood floors, a fireplace and a marble European style bath.  The Inn has won a design award from the American Institute of Architects.  Step out of the door and paths lead to the adjacent Middleton Gardens and the Historic Plantation.  The gardens are the oldest in the country and contain an extensive collection of azaleas which should be near their peak blooming time.  Several enormous live oak trees in the garden are over 800 years old.  Birding at the Inn is excellent with over 230 species listed.

In addition to spending time at the Plantation enjoying the preserved historic farm, gardens and natural areas, we will also explore other nearby areas of interest.  We will have a guided walking tour of the beautiful antebellum district of Charleston, plantations and other sites of historic interest.  We will also visit the National Audubon Society Frances Biedler Forest at Four Holes Swamp, the largest virgin cypress swamp forest in the country.

The Oklahoma Mozart Festival is celebrating its 24th season and is famous for bringing together the best musicians in the world to play the best music in the world.   A variety of world-class musicians will perform with the orchestra-in-residence.  The tour includes ten concerts, many in a unique hall with fantastic acoustics, designed by the Taliesin Associates of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.  In addition to enjoying musical events, we will visit the Increase Art Museum, the Bolero Museum and other artistic, historical and cultural areas.  This tour begins and ends in Tulsa, OK.

TOUR FEATURES:
Escorted tour with local naturalist ∙ Six nights deluxe lodging ∙ Luggage handling, taxes and tips ∙ 15 meals (six breakfasts / three lunches / six dinners) ∙ Admission, including park, other entrance fees and miscellaneous program expenses ∙ Group size is limited to 12 participants

One of the most unbelievable and spectacular sights in all Ohio is the riot of wildflowers at Poland Forest, near Youngstown, OH.  Poland Forest features some of the largest trees in the state, thousands of wild bluebells and other spring wildflowers.  The forest floor is awash with a carpet of bluebells, dabs of red and white trilliums and a haze of marsh marigolds; the artistry of nature in all its glory.  Following our stop at Poland Forest we will visit the beautiful Fellows Riverside Garden in Youngtown’s Mill Creek Park.  Wear old shoes and be prepared to walk (rain or shine) about one mile on a flat trail with one small hill.

TOUR FEATURES:
Escorted tour with local naturalist ∙ Boxed lunch

Rich in history, the Flint Hills of south-central Kansas safeguard one of America’s last great landscapes.  A light breeze ripples through the growing grasses as spring wildflowers pepper the rolling landscape – an amazing display in Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve.  Discover the delicate beauty of this recently established 11 thousand acre preserve that once covered more than 140 million acres of North America.  You’ll stroll the foot trails in the largest remaining intact tallgrass prairie landscape of North America.  In addition, you will tour the back roads to historic small towns, finding wildlife amidst the stretching prairies.

TOUR FEATURES:
Escorted tour with local naturalist ∙ Four nights lodging ∙ Luggage handling, taxes and tips ∙ 11 meals (four continental breakfasts /three lunches / three dinners) ∙ Admission, including park, other entrance fees and miscellaneous program expenses ∙ Group size is limited to 12 participants

Tallgrass Prairie and the Flint Hills Information (PDF Format)

It will be peak bird season on the prairie and newborn bison will be frolicking on hillsides lush with wildflower and prairie grasses.  Stretching from horizon to horizon, the Nature Conservancy’s 37,000 acre Tallgrass Prairie Preserve is truly one of the ‘Last Great Places’.  Free ranging bison graze, coyotes howl and marsh hawks drift over miles and miles of prairie flowers and grasses on the rolling Osage Hills of northern Oklahoma.  Meadowlarks, dickcissels and scissor-tailed flycatchers add song and color to this historic landscape in the heart of the Osage Indian Nation.

The Oklahoma Mozart Festival is celebrating its 24th season and is famous for bringing together the best musicians in the world to play the best music in the world.  A variety of world class musicians will be performing with the orchestra-in-residence.  The tour includes ten concerts, many in a unique hall with fantastic acoustics, designed by the Taliesin Associates of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.  In addition to enjoying musical events, we will visit the Gilcrease Art Museum, the Woolaroc Museum and other artistic, historical and cultural areas.

TOUR FEATURES:
Escorted tour with local naturalist ∙ Eight nights lodging ∙ Luggage handling, taxes and tips ∙ 23 meals (eight breakfasts / seven lunches / eight dinners) ∙ Admission, including park, other entrance fees, eight concert tickets and miscellaneous program expenses ∙ Group size is limited to 12 participants

Meadowlarks and Mozart Information (PDF Format)

Join Discovery Tours for a trip that mixes art with roses.  Our first stop will be at the Fellows Riverside Gardens.  This eleven-acre living museum, funded by a very generous bequest of the late Mrs. Elizabeth A. Fellows, began with its first plantings in 1963.  The Gardens include labeled displays of roses, tulips, chrysanthemums, herbs, trees, evergreens, dwarf conifers, rhododendrons, annuals and perennials.  Other features in the Gardens include two flagstone terraces, a lovely reflecting fountain pool, the beautiful Victorian-styled Gazebo and the Kidston Pavilion overlooking Lake Glacier.  After our lunch break our adventure continues with a visit to the Butler Institute - the first museum of American art.  The original structure, dedicated in 1919, is a McKim, Mead and White architectural masterpiece listed on the National Register of Historic places.  The Institute’s holdings now exceed 20,000 individual works, and the Butler is known worldwide as “America’s Museum.”  We will complete our day with a visit to the Mastropietro Winery.  Situated near Lake Berlin and Lake Milton, the winery offers a relaxing atmosphere overlooking three acres of vineyards.  Come and enjoy the view while sipping on your choice of fine wines.

TOUR FEATURES:
Escorted tour with local naturalist ∙ Lunch ∙ Admissions, including the Fellows Riverside Gardens, Butler Institute of American Art and the Mastropietro Winery ∙ Group size is limited

Don’t let this adventure pass you by! We will journey through the beautiful Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania on the Youghiogheny River.  A true float with no white-water awaits you.  You ride in the comfort of a large 19-foot raft with a firm floor, seated with both feet comfortably in front of you.  A guide dressed in 1750’s period garb will navigate and narrate the ‘Yough’ River’s rich history, while you sit back and relax, moving through small riffles and calm pools for three hours.  Your journey will take you to Dawson, where you can stroll the streets and tour the Washington Coal and Coke Headquarters, which has been transformed into a small museum and gift shop.  You will also visit the Cochran House, a beautifully restored Victorian home.

TOUR FEATURES:
Escorted tour with local naturalist ∙ Box lunch ∙ Admissions ∙ Group size is limited

Southwest South Dakota is one of the most diverse ecological and geological regions in the country.  This system of national and state parks, national forests and national grasslands highlights the exciting natural history of this unique region.  The distinctive mixture of habitats makes South Dakota a perfect setting for abundant wildlife and a wide variety of plant life.  Join us as we explore the natural and historical heritage of this diverse region.

TOUR FEATURES:
Escorted tour with local naturalist ∙ Six nights lodging ∙ Luggage handling, taxes and tips ∙ 17 meals (six continental breakfasts / five lunches / six dinners) ∙ Admission, including park, other entrance fees and miscellaneous program expenses ∙ Group size is limited to 12 participants

The Black Hills and Badlands Information (PDF Format)

A visit to Assateague is a refreshing reminder that wilderness and wildlife can flourish on our crowded eastern seaboard.  This narrow barrier island is refuge for not only its famous ponies but for a host of other wildlife.  In the fall the island is famous for its migration of peregrine falcons and other raptors.  The back bay fills with waterfowl and even the ocean hosts are alive with migrants.  Discover the hidden marshes and lagoons, the unique challenges of the ponies, and the sublime beauty of this important national treasure.

TOUR FEATURES:
Escorted tour with local naturalist ∙ Four nights lodging ∙ Luggage handling, taxes and tips ∙ 14 meals (four continental breakfasts /five lunches / five dinners) ∙ Admission, including park, other entrance fees and miscellaneous program expenses ∙ Group size is limited to 12 participants

Wilds of Assateague Information (PDF Format)

Explore a mosaic of beaches, bays, dunes, wetlands and forests while marvelling at the fall migration phenomenon of Cape May.  Every autumn, birds heading south along the East Coast are funnelled to this peninsula, creating the perfect birder’s paradise.  We will be visiting during peak hawk migration – nearly 22,000 hawks have been counted in the area in a single day.  The skies will also be filled with monarch butterflies, dragonflies and numerous species of songbirds.

Accommodations will be in the heart of Cape May’s historic Victorian district at the 19th century Congress Hall, a newly renovated hotel just steps from the Atlantic Ocean’s beautiful sandy beaches.  You will also enjoy a boat a cruise and spend time at the migration concentration point at Cape May Lighthouse.  In addition to the migration spectacle, there will be opportunities to enjoy the charm of historic Cape May with its beautiful Victorian homes, fine shops and Jersey Shore hospitality.

TOUR FEATURES:
Escorted tour with local naturalist ∙ Seven nights lodging ∙ Luggage handling, taxes and tips ∙ 18 meals (seven continental breakfasts / five lunches / six dinners) ∙ Admission, including park, other entrance fees and miscellaneous program expenses ∙ Group size is limited to 12 participants

Fall foliage should be at its peak along scenic highways to Alleghany State Park in the mountains of western New York near Salamanca.  This is one of the largest state parks in the country (64,000 acres) and we will tour the miles of back roads that wind through the rugged forested terrain.  Our visit will include a stop at the scenic and historic Red House Lodge and its small museum and gift shop.  We will also stop at the Seneca Nation Museum in Salamanca.  An extra bonus included in this fall nature tour will be a visit at Jamestown, New York to the Roger Tory Peterson Institute to view some of the world’s best wildlife art displayed in a uniquely designed building.

TOUR FEATURES:
Escorted tour with local naturalist ∙ Lunch ∙ Admissions, including the Seneca Nation Museum and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute ∙ Group size is limited

Please note that with fewer than eight participants, a small-group surcharge (typically $100-$300 per participant) will apply - multi-day tours ONLY.

PRICING DOES NOT INCLUDE:  Roundtrip airfare to and from destination; items of a personal nature such as laundry, telephone, or drinks from the bar, or gratuities for professional guide and personal services.

TRAVEL INSURANCE:  To protect yourself from the loss of deposit and cancellation fees, you are encouraged to purchase travel insurance. Ask your travel advisor for more details.