About Cayuga Nature Center

Cayuga Nature Center (CNC) was incorporated in 1983 to provide environmental education to area schools and the general public. The only residential nature center in the Finger Lakes region of New York, CNC is comprised of 45 acres on two adjacent sites (Main Property and Farm). The main property overlooks Cayuga Lake and includes foot trails that take visitors through deciduous climax forest, along gorges and streams, and close to habitats of a variety of native plants and wildlife. The historic lodge (a 1938 WPA Project) houses an exhibit hall, live reptiles and birds, and serves as CNC's primary year round program site and residential facility for camps, programs, and group rentals. Cayuga Nature Center offers five miles of trails, open 365 days a year for walking, birding and nature interpretation. In addition to public programs and camps, local schools and researchers from Cornell University and Ithaca College regularly utilize CNC's properties.

In the past twenty-five years, CNC program participants have increased three-fold and land preserves have grown by 176%. In 1992, Cayuga Nature Center received national recognition from Mutual of Omaha's Wildlife Heritage Trust as one of ten centers nationwide providing outstanding wildlife and conservation education. Cayuga Nature Center welcomes 25,000 visitors to its properties annually. Over the years, CNC has increasingly offered programs off-site, teaching teachers and others how to learn from their own environs, and sharing CNC's environmental message through new media including the internet.

The Nature Center is a well-loved community resource, and has successfully collaborated with many organizations over the years to secure funds for special projects related to environmental education. Cayuga Nature Center properties offer simple interpretive exhibits along the trails, in the lodge and at the farm. Public programs include a weekly nature discovery series, regular festivals and special events. Day-camps run during all school holidays and through the summer for K-high school aged youth. Special programs include environmental forums, PeeWee Naturalists for ages 3-5, adventure-based programs for families and youth, and the TEAM Challenge Leadership program (ropes course) which is popular with business, student, and family groups.

Cayuga Nature Center Brochures
       Available as PDF files

General Brochure

Trail Map