Cayuga Nature Center Summer Camps

Cayuga Nature Center Summer Camps take place at a site that includes indoor and outdoor programs and exhibits focused on the natural history of the Cayuga Lake Basin as part of regional and global ecosystems. Camp days can include time in a six-story treehouse, seeing live native animals, exploring more than 5 miles of walking trails, and visiting exhibits on local forest ecology, wildlife, climate, and the fish life of Cayuga Lake past and present.

• Schedule: General public hours are Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10am to 5pm, with closure on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The program setting includes 100 acres of woodland and old field, a gorge and waterfall, and a historic main lodge built in 1939 that houses the largest public aquarium in the Finger Lakes and exhibits on the ecology of the Cayuga Basin. The Cayuga Nature Center was founded in 1981 and later merged with the Paleontological Research Institution, with board approval for the merger in 2011 and completion in 2013. The Cayuga Nature Center is affiliated with Museums4All, Blue Star Museums, the Discovery Trail, and Cornell. The mission of the Cayuga Nature Center is to provide indoor and outdoor programs and exhibits that encourage visitors to explore and understand the natural history of the Cayuga Lake Basin as part of the regional and global ecosystems.

Last updated February 6, 2026.