The Greenburgh Nature Center, located in Scarsdale, NY, features a small live animal museum where kids can interact with and pet a variety of animals, including reptiles, turtles, guinea pigs, and chinchillas, to name a few. The staff is friendly and extremely knowledgeable about the animals they care for. The nature center is also home to several non-releasable birds of prey, including eagles, owls, and ravens. Each animal has been given a name, making the experience even more personal and engaging. They offer field trips, summer camps, and birthday parties, as well as special members-only events such as tie-dye activities and live butterfly releases. Walking the grounds is free, and parking is also free. Admission to the live animal museum is approximately $7 per person, but be sure to check their website, as prices may change from time to time. They have a small gift shop as well if you want to bring a souvenir home. read more

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Lovely, interesting nature center with lots of unexpected things to see and explore. A gem right off of central ave! The back trails also lead to a very nice vernal pond with informative signs. They hold baby weekend events, like a maple sugar day! read more

This spot is great for young kids. You could easily stay on the grounds and pay nothing and still have a great time. There are some lovely trails and a playground that has different age-appropriate spaces. There are also many places to eat in the grass and some tables. You can pay to go inside and see even more animals. This experience is pretty cool, though the space can get tight. You can get pretty up-close-and-personal to various animals with the help of some of the volunteers, which is a fun experience. My kids love going here. It feels like a nice oasis in lower Westchester. read more

Really nice place with multiple well maintained trails, a playground, and animal sanctuary. There is an entry fee to see the animals but everything else is free. Trails are shaded which is nice and my son enjoyed the peaceful walk. Will definitely be back soon. read more

Greenburgh Nature Center - Chickens - Hiking Near Me - Scarsdale, New York

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You'd think this natural escape is located up, up, up in the sticks- but no. Just follow the entrance on Central Ave in Scarsdale and it'll lead you to a parking area. Hubs and I brought my daughter when she was 8 and have her take part in all sorts of children's activities until 11. But this time, hubs and his colleagues volunteered their time and decorated pumpkins the week before Halloween. Since I had that Friday off, I couldn't pass up. But even if you aren't coming with your work crew, Greenburgh Nature Center has so much to offer. The extensive woodsy, foresty and grassland areas are enough reason if you want to leave the hustle behind and truly enjoy sounds of nature. Trails loop and intertwine- so don't worry...they're marked. A lot has changed since COVID, so definitely call or check online to see what activities are available nowadays. A few perks: walking the grounds is $0 from dawn to dusk, visiting the 'Manor House' for adults is $7 and keeps going down for seniors and children. You can most definitely use a walking stick if you feel comfortable- but Greenburgh Nature Center isn't heavy-duty like that. Even if you take a couple of hours to finish soft-hiking these trails, you can always come back for more. read more

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Great place, my kid loves it! Very informative and the staff was extra friendly . I recommend this establishment for anyone w kids obsessed w animals read more

$7 a person to look at a few snakes and turtles in small sad cages. Try explaining to a child why an owl is in a 4x 4 case. The employees just sit around chatting and petting lizards but aren't offering any educational facts or interacting with anyone. There's even a sign that says " don't just sit there" but they did. Then you can got outside and look at a few chickens, a sleeping rabbit and a goat standing on a rock. Wait til spring...wait til your children can climb and enjoy the outdoors and don't bother with the indoor animal exhibit. read more

Really nice place to bring the kids. I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of animals they had inside. Also inside were lots of knowledgeable volunteers who let my son interact with the animals and answered plenty of probably ridiculous questions I had for them. The huge turtles and bald eagles outside were really amazing to see up close. We did the temporary butterfly exhibit which was cool for me but probably meant for kids 6 or 7 and older. There are some snacks and drinks available for purchase. An on-site playground was a nice touch for the kids as well. read more

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We got to spend about one hour here before it started pouring for the rest of the day but we had a really nice time! We checked out the native plants, got chased by some chipmunks for about 5 minutes (honestly we had a blast with this), saw some birds, and the butterfly garden. We didn't pay for the butterfly garden (I think it's like $5 and it looked like they'd just give you a code to the lock) and I'm glad we didn't. There really wasn't much to it (even for $5!) and you can just see everything quickly from outside of it. Maybe we came at the wrong time of year and earlier it would have been more fun. I got to enjoy 'interacting with' this beautiful raven, and then we hung out in the visitor center for a while until we could run back to our car when the rain slowed. We saw on a pamphlet there that you can sign up to walk the Pygmy goats in the spring and we will definitely be back to do that next year! read more

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My kids and I stopped over at Greenburgh on our trip up to Woodstock, got out to stretch our legs (this is late March 2021). The fee is to enter the house property, the grounds are free (at least they are now, as the building is closed b/c of covid). HOWEVER: there's a QR code to their donation page - my kids and I had a nice enough time that I couldn't leave w/o pitching in. Being Westchester, there are plenty of rocky areas to scramble over. If you're not local (like us, from Long Island), that's a big draw. I mean, all the kids were climbing the rocks, who doesn't like climbing on rocks? The playground is lovely, and all wood. There were two picnic table areas, with tents (!) Don't miss the animals, they're to the right as you walk in (check the map that's there). They had a pretty cool raven - I know that ravens are larger than crows but wow that thing was cool. Two bald eagles, too. The chickens looked well cared for, not hen-pecked at all, and there were also some sheep and goats to look at. We had a nice time but I didn't see a single employee anywhere, it was weird. It seemed like the bathrooms were closed, but there wasn't anyone around to ask. I didn't see any porta-potties, or any signs at all about bathrooms. For a place that otherwise looks well run, the no employee / no bathroom situation was weird. read more

Greenburgh Nature Center - playground - Hiking Near Me - Scarsdale, New York

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Fun simple close to home. I'd say the animals could use a better enclosure though. The park is great for kids.

This was such a delightful visit. It really was amazing. They can host birthdays and the kids seemed to live the park. The nature trails were perfect and I really loved how the birds played and the chipmunks ran around. Wonderful place. read more

Greenburgh Nature Center - Hiking Near Me - Scarsdale, New York

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I came here as a child and now I bring other children. It is the sweetest location, and you don't even have to pay for the outdoor exhibits, although I encourage a donation. The nature center does so much for the local community and teaching children about the importance of respectfully interacting with nature and animals. They also have fun events here read more

I absolutely love this place. We don't go as often as we should because life gets busy. It has provided us with a sense of grounding with beautiful nature trails, well preserved land and a very special wooden playground. We have purchased a compost bin after learning how we can contribute on a small level to a greener planet. I even had them speak to my hospital Green committee and teach many newbies how to have less of a carbon footprint. I wish they had volunteer opportunities for families so I could teach my kids about our planet in a more meaningful way. read more

We LOVE Greenburgh Nature Center! My kids have attended camp here and came home every day excited and loved telling me about what they did and what they learned. Everyone on the staff is extremely friendly and knowledgeable. You can tell they love what they do. During COVID they were extremely safe and made sure that everyone's needs were met. The place is huge! It has everything from ponds to playgrounds. The bald eagles are majestic and the butterfly house is so much fun to visit! They also have tons of great nature programs and family events! Thank you to the staff at GNC! read more

A real gem for the community. We stopped by to catch the live butterfly exhibit and we were also pleased to discover a very vibrant, fun, and beautiful place for the family. Aside from the lush landscape and seemingly endless trails, the Greenburgh Nature Center also has lots of animals and a good size playground to boot. The kid loved it. Perfect way to kill a few hours on a lazy sunny day. read more

Discovered this place during covid winter, easy drive from manhattan. Nice location to spread out and explore. Great playground and easy area to picnic when weather is nicer. I have booked two "back to nature" programs for my son and his friends and they have both been fantastic. They were pond exploration and the owl pellet dissection. Nick was the naturalist both times and he did a great job wrangling the 6 year olds. they were extremely flexible and easy to schedule with, especially when weather was questionable the morning of one of the events. We ended up getting a year long membership. read more

Greenburgh Nature Center - Hiking Near Me - Scarsdale, New York

A 33- acre woodland preserve with trails, pond, gardens, and indoor and outdoor animal exhibits. I love hiking there in the early morning hours before the Manor house opens and in the early evening after it has closed. Check out their live Butterfly exhibit! Manor House is closed on Friday. read more

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I appreciate that they reached out to let me know the birds in cages are injured. That actually does help. Thank you for letting me know.

$7 a person to look at a few snakes and turtles in small sad cages. Try explaining to a child why an owl is in a 4x 4 case. The employees just sit around chatting and petting lizards but aren't offering any educational facts or interacting with anyone. There's even a sign that says " don't just sit there" but they did. Then you can got outside and look at a few chickens, a sleeping rabbit and a goat standing on a rock. Wait til spring...wait til your children can climb and enjoy the outdoors and don't bother with the indoor animal exhibit. read more

We just had an at home Animal Birthday Party with the Greenburgh Nature center. It was AWESOME and exceeded my expectations. The entire process from start to finish was terrific and Megan made booking the party so easy. Then Noah came as our naturalist the day of the party - he was a tremendous show man! He was so nice and was really excellent with the kids and so knowledgeable about the animals. My son was so happy. I highly recommend them. read more

The playground and real nature/rock climbing/hiking experience here is worth the trip alone. If you don't have time to go to the indoor exhibits, the outside grounds are perfect for an hour of fun or longer. read more

Greenburgh Nature Center - Giant awesome swings everywhere. - Hiking Near Me - Scarsdale, New York

It used to be a must go for my family and myself but this place could use a major update. The habitats are super small for the animals they hold. The employees seem to be stuck in a time zone not linked to our current one and do not communicate very well. The outside playground is pretty amazing and the kids really enjoy that. I hope they focus on updating the entire place for the sake of the animals confined. read more

We checked this place out while visiting family and the kids loved it! The playground isn't huge, but it has awesome climbing structures, large rocks to run up, and pretty short, easy hikes through the woods. We didn't pay to go into the museum itself so everything was free and a real joy! Worth a stop if you are looking for something to do outside with the kiddos. read more

A short drive from nyc to this nice little nature center with indoor and outdoor exhibits. Everything is small and sweet here. The staff was so nice. The trains very easy to hike around. The exhibits were awesome a great array of animals. I can get depressed at zoo's but the feeling here was way cheerier. Great with kids but also fun for adults. They have a lot of programs check out their website to plan a trip. read more

The cost is a bit high for what you get but it can be a fun experience with your kids. There are hikes, animals to view and literacy integration. My three year old enjoyed walking around and playing in discovering. read more

A great place to bring your kids for an hour. It's charming and fun, the staff makes the kids feel very at home.

I've been here 3 times altogether. I like the convenience of the parking and the proximity to my home (just 12 mins drive). However, the last visit here made me decide to never come again. I had a 6 month old baby with me and I went over to the area where the turkeys, sheep and goats are kept. I had literally just arrived and took my baby out of the stroller (thank God) to look at the turkeys. Before I knew it, one turkey had jumped high over the fence and onto the wooden fence above, right next to where we were standing. It then jumped down to the ground close to where we were. I moved away as I feared for my baby. A minute later, 4 other turkeys jumped the fence and came out of their confinement. They sniffed and pecked at my stroller and started pulling at things inside the bottom of the stroller carrier. I wondered how I would get to my stroller and get my baby back in safely. Finally I shooed them away and they left so I hurriedly put my baby in the stroller and rushed out of there. I should have gone to the main office and complained but I just wanted to get out of there. Those turkeys are dangerous! I won't be returning. read more

Absolutely love the nature center! It's a great place to bring a family, and the staff is wonderful! The butterfly garden is amazing! Be sure to check out the animal exhibits on the second floor. When we were there a guide named Elena took a variety of animals out for us to see and pet. She was most helpful! I will be becoming a member shortly. LOVE The GNC. read more

Greenburgh Nature Center - Butterfly at the Butterfly Garden, Greenburgh Nature Center - Hiking Near Me - Scarsdale, New York

Great place outdoor! Pleasant reminder of the plentiful outdoor activities in the area when it's not freezing cold. The main house is smelly though but then you don't really need to walk into it. read more

This is a great place for anyone who has kids or like nature. The nature center is right off of a Central Ave but you would think you were in the middle of rural upstate New York. You can't hear anything that would lead you to believe you are right near a major urban thoroughfare. For the kids they have reptiles and mammals you can pet. The staff encourages then to touch the animals. The nature center is like the zoo and botanical gardens combined but at a much more reasonable price. read more

My 6-year-old son has come to GNC a few times with school and he also loves their winter break camp and summer break camp! It's a great place for field trips, camps and even just a short visit. read more

My family and i attended their annual Fall Festival and were looking forward to lots of fun and activities. Unfortunately we were sadly disappointed. For $15 per person, I'd expect a lot more than 2 vendor booths and a turn at churning apple cider. It was nothing close to a festival. No games, no rides, and any activity required extra fees like the tractor ride. The nature center itself is nice but I'll never come back to this festival and won't recommend it to anyone. Earthplace's Fall Festival in Westport, CT is 100x better. read more

Glad to live near GNC! Wonderful place for kids and families. I can just take a walk on the trails (for some reason I always feel like I'm gonna get lost but never do) read more