Unplug and Reconnect With Nature at This Family-Friendly Twin Cities Spot
Address: 365 Marie Ave W, West St. Paul, MN 55118
About Dodge Nature Center
One of Dodge Nature
Center’s core missions is to foster an environment where everyone can enjoy and experience nature. That sentiment comes alive across the park’s hundreds of acres of woodlands, prairies, and wetlands. Dodge Nature Center comprises four separate locations in three different cities, and each destination offers a unique experience for visitors.
Families can spend the entire day hiking the vast trails across the Center’s four properties. The main property in West St. Paul houses most of the “hustle and bustle” as the home of nature programs, Dodge’s nature preschool, a working farm with farm animals, and a bee apiary. Over at the quiet Marie Property, visitors can enjoy native woodland flowers. Shepard Farm is located in Cottage Grove and features hundred-year-old farm buildings, community gardens, and animal pastures. The Lilly Property has been undergoing habitat restoration to ensure their insects and plants are here for generations.
Nature Programs
Dodge Nature Center boasts a robust calendar of events that will capture the interest of nature-obsessed toddlers to teens and their families. Kids can brave the outdoors and meet Shepard Farm’s cows, sheep, and baby chickens during spring farm tours. The fun doesn’t stop when the sun goes down, either. In May, the Center will host a UV Light Night, where all ages can discover how animals glow and explore the woods with UV lights. There is also a wide variety of weekly offerings, like 6-week-long Nature Tots for caregivers and toddlers and Pride Outside, an after-school program for kids in grades 5-12 of any sexual or gender identity, and LGBTQIA+ allies.
Seasonal Camps
Enjoying every second of sunshine and warmth is essential with our short summer seasons in Minnesota. Dodge Nature Center allows kids to do just that and continue their learning outside the classroom with weekly summer camps tailored for elementary-aged children. The “Nature’s Rainbow” offering will enable kids to let their inner artist shine and discover the natural dyes that exist throughout the Center’s forests and prairies. At “Naturalist 101”, young people can get closer to nature by experiencing the Center’s vast flora and fauna.
Related Article: Eastman Nature Center Is the Perfect Nature Escape for Kids
Dodge Nature Center Highlights
- Expansive nature preserve with four different destinations featuring wetlands, woodlands, prairies, and a working farm
- Year-round nature programs for all ages (pre-registration required)
- Summer, fall, and spring break camp offerings
- Nature-based preschool
Know Before You Go
- Website
- Trails are open across all four properties 365 days a year at no cost from sunrise to sundown
- The Indoor Visitor Center is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is closed on major holidays
- Special events and activities updated on their website: dodgenaturecenter.org/activities
Mary McGuire is a mother of two young girls and freelance journalist based in the Twin Cities. Her current interests include searching for lost pacifiers, cleaning up crushed Cheerios, and sharing everything our great state has to offer with other families. Born and raised in Edina, Mary has worked in broadcast television for more than a decade at TV stations across the country.
