About
Hudson Highlands Nature Center Programs include weekend nature programs, summer camp, school programs, a preschool program, and the Young Naturalists program. Children take part in science and nature-based preschool activities, nature play in Grasshopper Grove, and hiking on trails. Programs take place on trails at both the Outdoor Discovery Campus and the Wildlife Education Campus, and use living collections of native animals, natural habitats, and nature play spaces like Grasshopper Grove.
• Schedule: Hiking trails and Wildlife Education Campus trails are open daily from dawn to dusk, Grasshopper Grove is open Saturdays and Sundays from 10am–4pm from mid-April to mid-November, the Center is open on weekends from 12–4 unless otherwise noted, the Outdoor Discovery Campus is open Monday–Friday 8:30am–4pm, and the Wildlife Education Campus is open Monday–Friday 9am–3pm and Saturday and Sunday 12pm–4pm.
The Hudson Highlands Nature Center began in 1959 as a summer environmental program for young people called the “Summer Science Workshop.” By 1962, the program had moved to a new facility on the Boulevard in Cornwall-on-Hudson, the 1200 square foot Ogden Gallery was added in 1978, and in 1984 the Nature Center renovated the Hall of Animals by adding 1500 square feet of habitat exhibits, which was renovated again in 2023 and named in honor of Joseph Maloney, a longtime supporter and participant since 1960. In 1993, the Nature Center, in cooperation with Scenic Hudson, Inc., acquired the 177-acre Kenridge Farm property, now known as the Outdoor Discovery Campus, and Grasshopper Grove opened in 2013. The mission of Hudson Highlands Nature Center Programs is to connect children with nature through hands-on education and play, and to inspire active stewards of the shared environment. The Nature Center is a nonprofit (501c3) center for nature that reaches over 30,000 people each year through its programs and has been voted “Best Place to Take Kids in the Hudson Valley” and “Best Nature Center” two years in a row by Kids Out & About, as well as a 2019 Winner: Best Museum. The program features the Hall of Animals habitat exhibits at the Wildlife Education Campus, the Young Naturalists program as a science and nature-based preschool, and states that the natural world does not discriminate and that everyone belongs and everyone is welcome, with no dogs allowed on the preserve.
Last updated May 28, 2026.
• Schedule: Hiking trails and Wildlife Education Campus trails are open daily from dawn to dusk, Grasshopper Grove is open Saturdays and Sundays from 10am–4pm from mid-April to mid-November, the Center is open on weekends from 12–4 unless otherwise noted, the Outdoor Discovery Campus is open Monday–Friday 8:30am–4pm, and the Wildlife Education Campus is open Monday–Friday 9am–3pm and Saturday and Sunday 12pm–4pm.
The Hudson Highlands Nature Center began in 1959 as a summer environmental program for young people called the “Summer Science Workshop.” By 1962, the program had moved to a new facility on the Boulevard in Cornwall-on-Hudson, the 1200 square foot Ogden Gallery was added in 1978, and in 1984 the Nature Center renovated the Hall of Animals by adding 1500 square feet of habitat exhibits, which was renovated again in 2023 and named in honor of Joseph Maloney, a longtime supporter and participant since 1960. In 1993, the Nature Center, in cooperation with Scenic Hudson, Inc., acquired the 177-acre Kenridge Farm property, now known as the Outdoor Discovery Campus, and Grasshopper Grove opened in 2013. The mission of Hudson Highlands Nature Center Programs is to connect children with nature through hands-on education and play, and to inspire active stewards of the shared environment. The Nature Center is a nonprofit (501c3) center for nature that reaches over 30,000 people each year through its programs and has been voted “Best Place to Take Kids in the Hudson Valley” and “Best Nature Center” two years in a row by Kids Out & About, as well as a 2019 Winner: Best Museum. The program features the Hall of Animals habitat exhibits at the Wildlife Education Campus, the Young Naturalists program as a science and nature-based preschool, and states that the natural world does not discriminate and that everyone belongs and everyone is welcome, with no dogs allowed on the preserve.
Last updated May 28, 2026.
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