Here is an overview of our schedule of events:
- Park Opens: 6am
- Breakfast: 7am
- Lunch Served: 12noon
- Raffle Drawing Begins: 1pm
- Group Picture Taken: 2pm
- Dinner: 6pm
- Park Closes: 11pm
The Letchworth Fall Gathering will take place in beautiful Letchworth State Park at Trailside Lodge, near the brand spanking new Humphrey Nature Center. The gathering will be a great opportunity for cachers to meet and greet with one another during the start of the autumn season! The location of the event is the Trailside Lodge near the Humphrey Nature Center (just south of the Castile Entrance). We have a full day of fun activities planned, so read on to learn more!
Information about Letchworth Park’s Facilities:
Letchworth State Park opens at 6am and closes at 11pm. Please note that after 8AM there is an entrance fee per car to enter the park. If you are interesting in camping or cabin rental, you can call the park at 1-800-456-2267, or the Highbanks Tent and Trailer (camping) at 1-800-237-3303. There are also campgrounds and motels outside the park. If you are interested in staying at the Park call ASAP to ensure you get a site while they are still available!
NOTE - due to the train trestle construction the Portageville Entrance will be CLOSED. The nearest entrance to the event will be the Castile entrance (the Perry and Mt. Morris entrances will also be open per usual).
Pets are permitted in the Park but are prohibited from all Park buildings including pavilions, cabins and recreational facilities. The pavilion can accommodate nearly 200 people and is furnished with tables, charcoal grills, running water and electric outlets as well as restrooms and a playground nearby for the kiddies. There is also a fireplace inside the pavilion, so local firewood donations are currently being accepted!
For those "early birds" who arrive to the event at the crack of dawn, there will be breakfast refreshments available (coffee, pastries, etc.) while supplies last.
Lunch and Food Donations:
Lunch will be a potluck affair, and will begin around 12noon. Everybody should bring a dish to share (such as hamburgers, hotdogs, rolls, beverages, salads, desserts, charcoal/charcoal starter, etc.) Please post what items you intend on bringing in your "will attend" note so we can keep track.
Raffle Drawing:
The raffle drawing will be held at approximately 1pm (following lunch). As always someone of infinite awesomeness will preside as the Master of Ceremonies to hand out all kinds of goodies! For those of you who have attended previous gatherings, you know exactly what kind of great raffle items we have given out in the past.
Raffle Donations - Those wishing to donate raffle prizes, please contact us via email and let us know so we can help coordinate who would like to contribute what. Keep an eye out here for a list of the awesome prizes we will have available!
Group Picture:
Sometime around 2pm we would like to gather everyone together to take a group picture. Please stick around after lunch and the raffle so you can be memorialized as a Letchworth Fall Gathering XVI attendee. Here is the good looking crew from last year's gathering!
Dinner & Dinner Donations:
This year we would like to hold a dinner at 6pm for any attendees who plan to spend the afternoon caching in the park. If interested, please post your “dinner reservation” along with the number attending in your "Will Attend" log. If you have already logged a “Will Attend” – please post another note so we can have get as accurate a number as we can. Finally, to make this possible, we kindly ask for a small donation ($5 per person) towards food so we have enough for everyone to enjoy. If there are any questions, please let us know.
The Fine Print and other Valuable Tidbits of Information:
Pre-Gathering Event - Check back here because as the gathering approaches we'll make sure to let you know where all the pre-gathering events will be!
Post-Gathering Events - Throughout the years, some attendees have hosted bonfires on Saturday night after the gathering is over. Keep an eye out on the cache page notes to see who might be planning what!
Gathering-Only Event Caches - As in the past we will have some great event only caches hidden for the gathering. Event caches will not be available for logging online, BUT will be tied to special raffle prizes that will only be awarded to those that find the event caches! Coordinates for the event caches will be provided at the pavilion the day of the event. Event cache raffles will be done with dinner to allow ample time to find them.
Garbage - Letchworth State Park is a carry in, carry out park, so any garbage etc. that we bring in we must clean up and remove. As visitors to the Park we are responsible for this clean up, so we will have many large black plastic bags on hand for this purpose.
Alcohol - We will allow some alcohol in moderation for adults as with previous events. Keep in mind the Park Trooper Barracks isn't that far away, so please behave!
Travel Bugs - There will not be a formal table for travel bugs. If you do bring them to the event, please do not leave them lying around. Trade amongst one another so none of them go missing!
We can't wait to see you all there!