An Old Fashioned Nature Center

How long has it been since you heard the wind sighing through the tall grass, thrilled to the joyous songs of wild birds, wandered deer trails as they wind through thickets, or simply sat in quiet contemplation amid the stillness of a forest?

If you long to rediscover nature or to continue a life long love affair with her, visit the Rancocas Nature Center. Nestled amid the soaring height and majestic girth of ancient trees, a mid-nineteenth century farmhouse is the vibrant heart of an old-fashioned nature center.

The Center contains nature displays, live reptiles, a classroom, a nature store, and offices. The Center serves as a focal point for environmental education programs as well as society activities and field trips.

Trails radiate outward from the farmhouse through a variety of ecological communities including old fields and thickets, conifer plantations, upland oak-pine and floodplain forests, and a fresh water tidal marsh along the Rancocas Creek. These varied communities provide a diverse population of plants, animals, and fungi making the Rancocas Nature Center an ideal destination for anyone who wants to study nature including families, school groups, adult groups, and the general public. Step out our front door into your own adventure.

Facilities

Visit a bright and cheery classroom, capable of holding thirty people. This is the site for school and adult programs, lectures, film and slide presentations, as well as workshops.  Contact the Center staff to obtain a program brochure or to schedule an organized program.

Investigate the nature store filled with a variety of field guides and other natural history books, children’s nature books, binoculars, hand lenses, other naturalist’s tools, bird feeders, bird seed, stationery, and gift items in all price ranges.

Discover displays that interpret the natural history of New Jersey and the Rancocas watershed with exhibits, live reptiles, and hands-on-objects.

Explore nature trails that meander through the fields and woodlands surrounding the nature center. A trail guide is available  in the nature center.

Enjoy a snack at a small carry in/carry out picnic area provided on the center grounds.  Please be sure to leave the area just how you found it.

Note that dogs, bicycles, and motorized vehicles are not allowed on the trails.

Kids and bugs are welcome!

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