Most nature centers are operated by a city or non-profit, so admission to these nature centers is usually free, except for special events, and special programs are either programs are free or low-cost.
Maplewood Nature Center
The Maplewood Nature Center is operated by the city of Maplewood. It's free to visit, and has a packed calendar of nature programs for children and adults, some free, some have a small charge.The visitor's center has a library and resources about the natural world, and also about green gardening and housekeeping. Outside, there is a natural play area with logs and boulders to climb and balance on.
Gardeners will find Maplewood Nature Center of interest too, with their demonstration gardens: raingardens, woodland and wildflower prairie butterfly gardens and a small constructed pond with waterfall.
The nature center is open year-round, you can hike or stroll the trails in summer, and snowshoes are available for rent in the winter months.
Dodge Nature Center, West St. Paul
Occupying a wooded area just south of St. Paul, the Dodge Nature Center is a private, non-profit organization, created to environmental education to our urban area. The visitor's center has trail maps for the miles of hiking trails which really feel like you have gotten out of the city.As well as wild animals, a small demonstration farm has barnyard animals to see, and there might be eggs from Dodge's chickens for sale at the visitor's center.
Dodge Nature Center is well known for it's popular pre-school, and a large selection of programs and day camps for school age children - a great resource for local parents.
Tamarack Nature Center, White Bear Lake
Recently opened, the Tamarack Nature Center in White Bear Lake is operated by Ramsey County Parks.The Nature Center's visitor center has resident bees, snakes, turtles and other live animals, and is the location for regular nature programs for children and adults.
Outside the nature center is a nature-themed play area, with logs, caves and a sandy-bottomed stream to play in.
The grounds has several miles of trails through forest, meadow and prairie. A unique feature is the permanent orienteering course. For a couple of dollars, you can borrow a map, compass, and punch card to track down several control points around the nature center. There's beginner, intermediate, and advanced courses.
Wargo Nature Center
Wargo Nature Center, in Lino Lakes, is operated by Anoka County Parks. The location, on a peninsula in a lake, makes it a destination for spotting birds and other wildlife, and the trails have a great wild feel to them.It's open year-round, with reduced hours in the winter, and visitors can rent kayaks, canoes in the summer, and snowshoes and kicksleds in the winter.
Harriet Alexander Nature Center, Roseville
The Harriet Alexander Nature Center is in Roseville's Central Park, so not quite as wild a location as some of the other nature centers in this list, but it's easily accessible, has plenty of interesting exhibits and programs, and perfect for introducing children to nature.Inside the visitor's center, families will find a library of nature books, specimens, live animals like frogs, and bees who live and make honey in a see-through hive. And outside, there are trails through marsh and woodland, plus the play areas in Central Park.
An annual Earth Day celebration and several other annual events are held at the Harriet Alexander Nature Center, all free to the public.
