Cayuga Nature Center

Wildlife refuge · Tompkins County

Cayuga Nature Center

Wildlife refuge · Tompkins County

3

1420 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca, NY 14850

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Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null
Cayuga Nature Center by null

Highlights

An educational site with trails and a six-story treehouse overlooking Cayuga Lake.  

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1420 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca, NY 14850 Get directions

cayuganaturecenter.org
@cayuganaturecenter

Information

Static Map

1420 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca, NY 14850 Get directions

+1 607 273 6260
cayuganaturecenter.org
@cayuganaturecenter
𝕏
@CayugaNature

Features

crowd lgbtq friendly
crowd trans safespace
wheelchair accessible entrance

Last updated

Aug 6, 2025

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@onthegrid

On the Grid : Cayuga Nature Center

"Go for the treehouse. The Center, which is housed in a gorgeous old lodge on a bluff over looking Cayuga Lake, has a lot of old world charm with it's big windows and stone fireplace. Built as a Preventorium for children during the Tuberculosis era, it is now an educational center for learning about local wildlife and native plant and tree species. With miles of trails to walk, gorges to explore, and a permanent collection of animals to visit, you can spend an entire afternoon here soaking up the atmosphere. For many, the big draw is the 6 story treehouse. Built in the woods in a creek bed, as you climb you become a voyeur in the active world in the treetops, spying on the birds and squirrels as they go about their business." - St. John Design Group

https://onthegrid.city/ithaca/the-hills-east-south-west/cayuga-nature-center
View Postcard for Cayuga Nature Center
@onthegrid

On the Grid : Cayuga Nature Center

"Go for the treehouse. The Center, which is housed in a gorgeous old lodge on a bluff over looking Cayuga Lake, has a lot of old world charm with it's big windows and stone fireplace. Built as a Preventorium for children during the Tuberculosis era, it is now an educational center for learning about local wildlife and native plant and tree species. With miles of trails to walk, gorges to explore, and a permanent collection of animals to visit, you can spend an entire afternoon here soaking up the atmosphere. For many, the big draw is the 6 story treehouse. Built in the woods in a creek bed, as you climb you become a voyeur in the active world in the treetops, spying on the birds and squirrels as they go about their business." - St. John Design Group

https://onthegrid.city/ithaca/the-hills-east-south-west/cayuga-nature-center
View Postcard for Cayuga Nature Center
@onthegrid

"Cayuga Nature Center, The Hills East South West. Go for the treehouse. The Center, which is housed in a gorgeous old lodge on a bluff over looking Cayuga Lake, has a lot of old world charm with it's big windows and stone fireplace. Built as a Preventorium for children during the Tuberculosis era, it is now an educational center for learning about local wildlife and native plant and tree species. With miles of trails to walk, gorges to explore, and a permanent collection of animals to visit, you can spend an entire afternoon here soaking up the atmosphere. For many, the big draw is the 6 story treehouse. Built in the woods in a creek bed, as you climb you become a voyeur in the active world in the treetops, spying on the birds and squirrels as they go about their business."

Ithaca
View Postcard for Cayuga Nature Center

I F

Google
The treehouse is beautiful, and my child really enjoyed it! However, the nature center was closed, and the animal enclosures were empty. Additionally, there was no access to bathrooms. On a positive note, we did enjoy walking along the trails.

Tracey C (Fabhiker58)

Google
The treehouse itself is amazing. What a shame the rest of the nature center is closed and looks more like a scene out of Jurassic Park 28 years later. 😢 was really hoping for the whole experience but we made the most of treehouse. So many nooks and grannies for kids to climb into, up, and down!! What a great project this must have been when it was built by the local high school students. Since the center is closed you need to use the garden gate/door around to the left to access the pathway to the treehouse. A short walk up the hill toward the right

Kim Crowley

Google
There's no animals here anymore. They couldn't afford to care for them, so they were rehomed. It's still a beautiful place to visit to see the 6 ft treehouse the students of 2020 built. It's an amazing site to see and there's trails and a few small waterfalls.

Pug Mama

Google
Hmmmmm.... well, the treehouse is really cool, as is the small waterfall that is near it. However, the nature center itself looks rundown and needs attention. Here are some pictures of the Pollinator and Vegetable gardens. Keep in mind these pictures were taken in mid-June. Also, there were no animals in the cages. It was unclear what happened to them. Sad to see this in such a beautiful area.

Nichole Oliver

Google
Easy to find the three house, it was really fun even as adults to climb inside! 10/10 reccomend and there were a few other trails you could check out. Plenty of parking. No dogs allowed.

Emerald Moon

Google
Incredible trails to hike, open dawn to dusk. The meadow was a retreat away from everything and it was lovely to sit and watch the bees work. Lodge is currently closed because of funding, I hope I get to see it open in the future.

Heather Yeaw

Google
The treehouse is amazing. Very impressive. Kids spent about 30 minutes here. My kid said, “I liked that there were several “secret” passages. It had rained so there were small creeks they could wade in. Nature center unfortunately closed. To go to the treehouse, go around to the left of the building to the gate then straight ahead up the hill.

Dan Hartz

Google
Drove 3 hours to check out the lodge and the tree house. When we arrived at 2:30pm the lodge was closed. When the lodge is closed, there is no path to the tree house from the lodge parking lot. All the trails were overgrown and did look to be maintained at for quite some time. We had to drive up to Houghton road to find the access to a trail that could reach the treehouse. When we got to the Houghton road parking area, that too was unmaintained and overgrown. Unfortunately we decided to not venture through the brush and left to go hike somewhere else.
google avatar

Shelby A.

Yelp
This stop was definitely on the way out of business or not really sure the status. It is a donation based visit so you can give what you are able to and/or want. When exploring it was very difficult to navigate as there was little to no signage for the trails. We explored around back as the lodge was closed. All of the animals were relocated elsewhere, which I prefer personally seemed very small of an establishment to maintain any animal life. There is a short walk to the back field and there is an awesome 6-story treehouse that you can go in and climb around. We explored for a bit and went on our way. Definitely a neat feature to check out for a quick time kill.
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Valentina D.

Yelp
We arrived after hours, so we weren't able to check out the interior, but we visited the 6 story tree house (a short walk from the back of the nature center), which was as awesome as it sounds. It was impressive that a group of students built the structure, and my kids had fun running around and scaring each other at each turn. :) There is a lovely field near the nature center with a pollinator garden, so if we had more time, we would've spent time running around there too. I was sad to see that the animal habitats were empty with signs that this was due to a lack of funding. Please support this awesome nature center!
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Marissa C.

Yelp
Unfortunately, the center itself is closed this summer, but we were driving past anyway so we decided to check out the treehouse we had heard about. It can be accessed by going around behind the building and following a trail to Denison Falls. The treehouse is six stories with plenty to explore. There are nearby benches and a good view of the waterfall. The treehouse was a big hit and only getting hungry for lunch had us moving along! There's a small parking lot available in front of the building. There was no admission charge just to visit the treehouse.
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Sabrina Z.

Yelp
Went to the tree house in the back of the Cayuga Nature Center. The information desk is closed, but there was sign and a worker told us they are closed but can go to the treehouse.
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Linda O.

Yelp
Great place to take the whole family. Lots of trails to hike. Quite a few rescued animals to view ( red Fox, Turkey buzzard, hawk, one eyed squirrel and owl) The 6 floor tree house is awesome and a favorite of both adults and kids.
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Adam D.

Yelp
$5 admission for adults. They gave my dad a $1 seniors discount. Lots of stuffed and live animals inside. A 1000 foot trail out back leads to an apparent tree house past a butterfly garden and cages of owls and a fox. We never bothered to check out the tree house, but apparently people love it. The indoor experience is informative, offering descriptions of each of the animals on display. They also had a climate change exhibit during our visit. The lady at reception was helpful and friendly. Plenty of parking out front.
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Lauren R.

Yelp
The nature center is only open on weekends and I believe they offer different exhibits at those time which is sad for the ones going during the week. They did have some places to fill water jugs on the property along with a few native animals to observe. It a great place if you wanna hike just a little on trails that are kid friendly
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Carey H.

Yelp
CNC has been a favorite go to for us for short fun family outings since 2006! We've been there for several birthday parties both children and adults throughout the seasons, sledding in winter, autumn walks and educational presentations in the animal room; butterfly season and climbing to the top of the community built tree house (Our personal favorite!) Featuring a great annual maple festival, a small Indoor reptile room and a few resident creatures both winged and four Leggeds! Cayuga Nature Center offers a Low key gentle Down to Earth adventure!
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Jessica P.

Yelp
We were on day 9 with a toddler and we needed an activity stat. We decided to check out the Cayuga Nature Center after finding mention of it on a blog about activities in the area. We set out in hopes of finding a good time and maybe a fun walk. We headed inside to check out the exhibits. They have a pretty fun toddler room with tons of books and loads of stuffed critter puppets to make your own show. They also have a room full of animals that look really well cared for, including all sorts of reptiles. If you go outside they have a fox that is super fun to visit. She isn't afraid of humans so she gets really close to the fence. We decided to go for a walk on the property and try to find the tree house. The six story tree house is gorgeous and although there isn't much on the inside, it's still fun to climb to the top. There is a little waterfall behind it which just adds to the charm. We followed a path out to a cute little pond and back. There were tons of grasshoppers out and my daughter was just in love with watching them jump and picking them up. We had an absolute blast walking around and discovering at the nature center. I would recommend walking the trails and visiting inside at least once.
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Nanette M.

Yelp
The highlight is the treehouse...a large six story structure with stairs, ladders, and "secret passageways". My eight-year-old and five-year-old spent at least an hour playing hide and seek and running around in there. Very cool and I have not seen anything like it anywhere. A must-do if you're in the area with small kids.
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Maggie B.

Yelp
Well, this was disappointing. The website made the center sound like so much fun, but all it was was taxidermy. The "live animal exhibit" was on a tv...which didn't work. There was no one working there. Short story short, my kids were bored. Would not recommend.