NASHVILLE — The 35th Tennessee Sandhill Crane Festival is set for Jan. 17-18, 2026 (Saturday-Sunday) at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge, Cherokee Removal Memorial Park, and Birchwood Community Center. The festival celebrates the thousands of sandhill cranes that stop over or spend the winter on or near the refuge. It is also an opportunity to focus attention on the rich heritage of the state and the Native American history of the area.
The free event runs 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (ET) each day and includes free shuttle transportation from the Birchwood Community Center to the Cherokee Removal Memorial Park and the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge and parking is available at the Birchwood Baptist Church. Visitors will notice a change this year regarding parking. A parking map can be found on the festival webpage.
Volunteers will be on hand, with spotting scopes that allow for an up-close view of not only sandhill cranes but also many waterfowl, bald eagles, songbirds, and possibly a glimpse of the endangered whooping cranes at the refuge, and the overlook at the confluence of the Hiwassee and Tennessee rivers.
Special programs will also be available, including Nashville recording artists, Second Nature, featuring the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s (TWRA) Don King and retirees Brant Miller and Dave Woodward, who will perform on Saturday. The Mount LeConte Jug Band will perform on the second day, with the American Eagle Foundation returning this year with two live performances each day at the Birchwood Community Center. Along with the musical guests and new this year, authors of the Children’s Book “Fam,” a tale of sandhill cranes raising a Canada Goose, will read from the stage.
Vendors and educators will also be available at all locations. The cafeteria, which opens at 7 a.m., will be in operation at the community center.
Beginning in the early 1990s, the recovering population of eastern sandhill cranes began stopping at the Hiwassee Refuge on their way to and from their wintering grounds in Georgia and Florida. TWRA has been managing the refuge for more than 60 years for waterfowl, and it provides sandhill cranes with a combination of feeding and shallow water roosting habitat. Thousands of birds now spend the entire winter at the confluence of the Hiwassee and Tennessee rivers. The Hiwassee Refuge comprises about 6,000 acres.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is responsible for protecting, managing, and conserving fish and wildlife species for the benefit of Tennesseans and visitors. The Agency also maintains public safety through law enforcement and safety education on waterways.
Tennessee Wildlife Federation photo.