Make an
impact today

Support our mission by becoming a member, donating to our capital campaign, or funding the future through our new endowment.

BECOME A MEMBER

Woodchuck (Individual) - $12

A great proliferation of woodchucks gave John Burroughs’ Woodchuck Lodge its name. Join at the Woodchuck level, and help support our mission.

Naturalist (Family) - $25

John Burroughs is celebrated for his many books and essays on the natural world. Your contribution at this level entitles you and your family to a year-long membership. Come enjoy Woodchuck Lodge’s fields and trails.

Expeditioner - $50

In 1899, Edward Harriman assembled an elite group of scientists, photographers, and naturalists––John Burroughs among them––to explore and document the Alaskan coast. 

Vagabond - $100

Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and John Burroughs called themselves the Four Vagabonds (camping and traveling buddies). Sign on as a Vagabond and your membership will sponsor one of our programs.

Treasury Clerk (Business Member) - $250

John Burroughs worked as a clerk at the Currency Bureau of the U.S. Treasury Dept., where he met and befriended Walt Whitman. Your business membership is a tribute to John’s legacy. 

Roxbury Club (Life Member) - $500

Burroughs wrote of his childhood home, “These hills fathered and mothered me. I am blood of their blood and bone of their bone, and why should I not go back to them in my last years?” Join at this very generous level, and you’ll be a friend of John’s for life.

Woodchuck Lodge is a member of 1% for the Planet. 

Join US

Why give?

  • ✽

    Burroughs was a literary naturalist and essayist from the Catskills of New York who wrote almost exclusively about the Catskill Mountains.

  • ✽

    Woodchuck Lodge is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, the New York State Register of Historic Places, and is a U.S. National Historic Landmark.

  • ✽

    Burroughs accompanied Muir on the Alaska Harriman Expedition and other trips, including visits to Grand Canyon and Yosemite.

  • ✽

    Boyhood Rock, which sits atop a ridge behind the main lodge, is the final resting place of Burroughs.

  • ✽

    John Burroughs was one of America's foremost nature writers. He was a biographer of Walt Whitman and is famous for his love of birds.

  • ✽

    The timeless work of Burroughs continues to inspire nature writers and enthusiasts throughout the country and abroad.

“Beautiful views. A very moving, emotional place for naturalists.”

5-Star Google Review

“Burroughs' special identity was that of a literary naturalist with a duty to record his own unique perceptions of the natural world.”

Biographer Edward Renehan

“We walk a narrow line between maintaining a museum as-is and taking care of Mr. Burroughs house the way he would.”

Author - Bill Birns

WAYS TO DONATE

Make a donation TO RESTORE THE HOME OF AMERICA’S GREAT NATURALIST.

We are currently raising funds for an estimated $500,000 in repairs desperately needed to maintain John Burroughs Woodchuck Lodge's future integrity.

The John Burroughs

Woodchuck Lodge ENDOWMENT

In 2024, we established the John Burroughs Woodchuck Lodge Endowment Fund. As we grow this fund, we help ensure that future generations of Catskillians and lovers of all things John Burroughs will be able to enjoy this unique piece of history and monument to the life of America’s great naturalist.

 FAQs

  • Memberships are valid for the calendar year in which they were purchased.

  • Yes, donations and membership dues are tax deductible.

  • Donations to our endowment will not be used towards capital improvements to the lodge.