Western North Carolina Nature Center

This is one of my absolute favorite places in the world. especially in Western North Carolina. this place is a true gem in the mountains that nobody even recognizes. there's a huge collection of animals.... they're friendly , they're out to be viewed almost all the time, and there's great picture opportunities it's just a very very well taken care of zoo and anything you do now really helps them after hurricane Helene so let's all support the nature center. it's a great great place and I hope everybody gets a chance to visit!!!

We stopped here as a place for the kids to stretch their legs during a long car ride. It was so good! Nice shady, paved pathways. Fun animals. Can't wait to go back and experience the updates they have planned.

Very impressed with how well the animals are taken care of and their habitats were larger than others I’ve seen at zoos. The otter was very interactive and playful. Most other animals were napping or lounging in the sun. Red panda was beautiful as well as the red wolves. Definitely worth checking out and supporting this business after the damage from hurricane Helene.

Definitely a great place to take the family the kids will really love all the animals and all the other activities they include the animal enclosures were designed perfectly for the animals and the layout of the Nature Center was done thoughtfully thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Western North Carolina Nature Center

Great way to spend a few hours. The habitats are spacious for the animals and there are a lot of covered pathways. It was nice and cool in the shade and so interesting to see all the animals running around. There are a few play areas for kids as well.

First time visiting from the Atlanta area and we fell in love! The park is quiet and exhibits well designed. Got wonderful views of the black bears, grey wolf, red wolves, vultures and more! Will definitely be another spot to visit again on our annual Asheville trip!

Fun for the whole family. See a variety of animals and learn about their habitats. Lots of activities for younger active children such as puppet shows and climbing activities. Beautifully landscaped.

I enjoy coming here with my family. It's a nice shaded walk to each of the animals. It's a good-sized zoo with several different animals. I usually get to see most of the animals when we visit.

The WNC Nature Center has reopened. Their website has alternative directions to get there as Gashes Creek Bridge was lost with the hurricane. Once there, work is still being done. But the fences are boardwalks are good to go. There is a section about Helene that overlooks Swannanoa Rd. Then so many other zoos stepped up to help rebuild and were recognized. The parking lot was full when I arrived but some folks were leaving so I just waited for a spot. It is a popular place. Even though the parking lot was full, the Nature Center is large enough that people are spaced out so I was at most of the exhibits without crowds. The animals are free to do as they like here so you never know whether they will be active or sleeping. The walk around the center is relaxing in itself. The Nature Center is celebrating its 100th year. I highly recommend visiting the WNC Nature Center when in Asheville.

An absolute must in Asheville! Especially the Bears & Brews nights! Beautiful walking trail with nothing too difficult to trek around! Plenty of shade which is much needed as we get into the warmer months. I was also in love with the stuffed animal vending machine LOL!

oh my gosh! this place was so fun for our 3 & 1.5 year old. they had a bunch of animals and it was clean and well taken care of of. they are doing to work to clean up since helene but everything was open besides a few short trails. they had restrooms and a small gift shop. there were a few vending machines for drinks and snacks! it was about 1.3 miles to walk the whole center. we got there at 10:25 (they open at 10) and there were already very few spots! we left closer to noon and people were parking almost a mile away and walking. definitely get there early!

Had a great time here. Seeing all of the destruction in the surrounding area from Helene was heartbreaking. Glad this place seems to be doing well

A great place to spend an afternoon! Tickets weren't very expensive and the facilities themself are well kept. Nice walkways, clean bathrooms, and a small gift shop nestled right at the front. They have a few playgrounds and interactive portions for kids. The animals all seemed happy and content- large enclosures and lots of enrichment pieces for them. We had a great time observing the animals and reading the informational posts on each of them. They also feature quiet areas and multiple restrooms throughout the center.

What a natural and well taken care of nature center. Upon entry there is a wonderful little gift shop that sells coffee, tea, and merchandise. The staff were very nice. It would definitely be a good place to bring kids since there were several interactive areas to play and explore. Please be advised it will be a little walking. A lot of the animals were up on a cliff side and you have to walk up a ramp to get there. All exhibits were well maintained. The only downsides was how small the park actually is mixed with my friend had a service dog who was restricted from almost half the park, but we paid the same price. If they are gonna restrict them maybe lower the price. Sadly the bears were off exhibit which didn't help either. Overall, I would definitely recommend a membership or something if you are from the area due to the activities, but not much to do for a tourist just coming through. Great park though for the animals!

So I'm not a big fan of zoos, but I think I can get behind this one. We arrived on Valentine's day & had paid for our tickets without realizing that the bear exhibit was closed.. Bummer. The whole park took about an hour to get through & I would say that we took our time. The layout was not confusing & I feel it's easy to get around. We saw cool cougars, grey & red wolves, lots of snakes & turtles, owls, vultures, otters, goats, sheep, deer, ADORABLE red pandas, & towards the end, a bear came out!!! Honestly, the wolves & coyotes looked super sad... my only complaint/negative observation. This is a great spot for people of all ages, so happy to have found this! No one in my group was under 18, but there were lots of spots to stop for kids to run around on playgrounds & different climbing things! Can't wait to be back!!

This was our second visit to the nature center. It's a lovely zoo/park with a great mission. If you go during winter, it is a lot less busy. Unfortunately the bears were hibernating. Some notice online or outside would be nice for anyone really hoping to see them. One other difference in winter - the songbird garden is not very active. When we previously visited in the fall it was teeming with birds and chipmunks, even woodpeckers and indigo buntings were flitting around during fall. I really missed seeing the birds and especially chipmunks. I loved seeing the bobcat sunning on its perch and the owls sleepily looking out of their warm nest boxes. The indoor exhibit with reptiles is also a favorite spot! The new red pandas were also adorable and easy to observe. We will definitely return again during the warmer months.

A lovely little nature center with a fun variety of animals to see. LOVED getting to see the red pandas. But it was still a fun time seeing all the animals. Easy to get a good view of all of them, and some even have interactive presentations that were cool to watch. We came with a kid, and she had a great time. Areas to play in, lots of interactive opportunities, and fun times seeing all the animals. Not big enough to spend a whole day here, but we spend a good couple hours here. Tickets are decently priced as well. A fun activity to do with kids.

This is a cute nature center/zoo in the Asheville area. It is very clean and well-maintained, and the animals seem to be well cared for. We came here after reading positive reviews from TripAdvisor and Yelp. Also, we had reciprocity with our local science museum, so our visit here was free. They have more than just local animals (red pandas?!?!), but that is the predominant theme of the place. The animals are supposedly all rescues, which is nice. There's a lot of information available, which the kids liked. The location is close to the public pool and sports fields, so there's plenty of free parking. The line to enter is fast, even with many people coming in with memberships and/or reciprocity from other museums. There is a gift shop in front, and there are areas where you can buy drinks or snacks or fill your water bottle along the walk ways. Most of the walkways are shaded. All in all, we spent a nice two hours here. I don't know that this is a travel destination, but as we were in Asheville already and wanted to do something outdoors (and we didn't have to pay to go), it was great for our family.

It's nice to have an accredited nature center (zoo) here in Asheville. The animals were sleeping around noon when I visited so I suggest attending earlier or later in the day. The walkways are paved or wooden boardwalks and motorized wheelchair accessible. The scenery was beautiful on this late fall day.

Great exhibits and friendly staff! The animals all look super healthy and have a great amount of space to move around in. We liked the goats.

This is a nice little nature center to take the small children. Once again let me say little. You will see everything in 2-3 hours max.

I've visited a few times over the years and have always enjoyed myself until today. The animal enclosures were very unkept and several of the animals appeared emaciated. The staff feeding animals were not friendly and acted as if we were bothering them by asking questions. The worst part was the gift shop. We had a large group and we're understanding of the small space so we waited quite awhile for others to leave for us to be able to go inside. However once allowed in we had one too many people in our party and I was asked to leave. I informed the staff that my children were inside and that I needed to be with them. She told me to get them and wait outside. I suggested setting time limits so that all families had a chance to enter instead of allowing children to play with toys inside and cause extended wait times for others. She agreed but continued to tell me and my children to leave. We left, did not continue to wait, and will not be back. The nature center clearly needs financial support from visitors. Staff should recognize that and be more welcoming and friendly to their visitors.

We really enjoyed our time here at the WNC Nature Center! It was definitely worth the admission price, but something to keep in mind is that we were able to complete the whole zoo in about an hour. Good news is they are working on expanding and introducing some new exhibits! The animals have plenty of space to roam and hide, the pathways for us were well marked, and there were plenty of animals to see. The highlights were the otters, red pandas, and red wolves for me. I do wish there had been zookeepers around so we could've learned more about certain animals, but I wonder if due to COVID-19, this was cut back. During COVID-19, you do have to wear a mask when walking around. However, there was no one around to enforce this once you got past the gate and I really hope they fix that, as I saw several parties walking around unmasked even as they stood right next to other people.

Small place to see couple of good animals. 1hour tops for children. You can add to your itinerary to the lady.

This center is in the middle of a transition with many animals either not arrived, sadly passed, or sequestered due to new babies. I didn't think it was worth the stop. Highlights include red pandas and the highly rare red wolf. Skip it until they are complete with their makeover unless you have very small children. There are farm animals and playgrounds they will enjoy.

WNC Nature Center is rather cool! I don't know what I was expecting but immediately I was surprised to receive a 50% discount because they're an affiliated zoo with my home zoo membership! Not that prices here are expensive but it was a pleasant surprise because that immediately told me they were part of AZA which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. It really is beautiful and tranquil. WNC is one of those places that have integrated with nature. The facility was extremely walkable. It has a simple loop path so no matter what way you go you'll see everything. There's no confusion which is really nice. The animal exhibits were impressive. Majority were multilevel allowing the animals plenty of places to rest, hide, and explore. Most had water features like waterfalls that were super cool. Each exhibit was very large with plenty of room for the animals to roam. It also was one of the more active zoos. There wasn't an exhibit where I couldn't find the animal - except for the red wolves - and the vast majority of the animals were rather active. We were able to watch a black bear tear up a log, a bobcat stalk a squirrel, and the grey wolves howl. Even when the animals were sleeping like the red panda and foxes they still were easy to see. It isn't a very large zoo. At most for adults it will take a couple hours to walk around if you walk a leisurely pace and stop and look at the animals. It is a lovely location, though, with enough to see to be relaxing and enjoyable.

My grandson and I spent a delightful couple hours here - it is perfect for young children with places to play and explore, fascinating animals to watch (the river otters were a favorite) and very relaxing and beautiful. I liked it so much I got a membership (you can use your entrance fee towards it). But the price is very reasonable anyway - children under 3 are free and military folks are free too. Senior citizens are only $12.95!

Took my son to the center, him and I loved it! It's a perfect place for kids of all ages. The employees are amazing. They have small playgrounds throughout the center. They are wheelchair & stroller friendly! Also have a nice picnic area inside the center.

This is a lovely place to come for a while. It's relatively small compared to large city zoos, but that also means it isn't an overwhelming place and any small humans you may have brought won't get totally worn out by the experience. You can get through most of it in about an hour, so it's a good diversion. The animals are mostly those that occur regionally, cougars, bears, wolves, foxes, otters. Definitely not regional, but the red pandas are a very cute complement. We were here in the summer and then again early April. It was nice and quiet in April, and we were very fortunate that most of the animals decided to come and wander right past the front of their enclosures giving us excellent views.

Good local wild life center. I am here for the red fox collection. The day we have visited is a bit cold. But the animals stay outside. We were able to see many animals including the red panda. The area requires 2 hours of visit. It has some wheel chair access. The animals collect is good enough. They have a few bird of pray. Mainly grey wolf, fox, black bear, red wolf. My favorite is red panda and red fox. The petting zoo has goat, donkey, sheep. The also have some beautiful chicken.

This place is great! We used our sylvan bird park membership to get in free. I didn't have my membership card with me, so I called the bird park and they sent me an email verifying my membership, and used that (with ID) to get in. Trails are easily walkable but somewhat sloped. (We are in the mountains so i didn't expect flat!). Animals were mostly active, habitats looked clean and interesting for the animals. Interactive exhibits/play areas were well maintained, and my kids had a blast playing on them. Bathrooms were clean (family restrooms available), gift shop was small (but adequate). Parking was ok. Snacks and drinks available by vending, we took sandwiches and ate them in the parking lot afterwards. Spent about 3 hours in the park, would definitely like to go back again soon.

The facility is small which is totally walkable by all ages. There was stroller/wheelchair access everywhere. The animal areas were smaller but well kept. Most animals had a friend (i.e. no one was alone) including the bears. They had lots of types of animals, and most seemed to be previously injured so they must be a facility that takes animals who cannot be reintroduced to the wild. Overall good. There wasn't really food that I noticed other than a vending machine. Good playground facilities.

This place was so much fun to visit. All of the staff members and volunteers were friendly and helpful. We walked around the entire nature center based on the recommended path when entering. Our favorites were the red pandas, cougar, bears and otters! A trip to WNC Nature Center is a must if you are in Asheville.

If you don't have crazy expectations you will enjoy this place. Keep in mind, this is NOT the San Diego Zoo, this is a small nature center. Parking is easy and the entry fee is low. The day we visited was quiet and we loved not having to deal with crowds or people being right next to us all day. We enjoyed walking around looking at the different animals. Unfortunately the bears were not out and a few of the others were not too visible but that is always a possibility at a place like this. My favorites were the wolves, red panda, fox, and otters.

If I had to rate the Nature Center in two words, they would be "exceeds expectations." They are back up and running, as the pandemic slowly fades, with only the reptile house not yet ready for visitors. The very natural enclosures for the large mammals allow wonderfully close viewing - literally three steps (and a pane of glass of course) separated me from a magnificent grey wolf as he strode by, and I could clearly observe the texture and beautiful shading of his coat. I enjoyed the extensive boardwalk system built into the mountainside - very well done. So much more to say but I'll leave you with this: do not miss the red pandas. These guys are adorable - just next-level cute.

This place was amazing! The otters were my favorite part! They were so happy and the windows were so fun to look through and see them swimming. I loved the bridge walking over the bears as well. The entire place was incredible and very well kept. I will definitely be returning.

BUY THE MEMBERSHIP! (I'll explain.) Nice little nature center in the Asheville area of NC - my kiddos (10,8, and 5) had a wonderful time seeing the animals and playing at the different play/learning stations around the park. The presenter who taught about turtles was energetic, knowledgeable, and seemed to truly enjoy teaching the children. The membership is an absolute steal! $69 for a family of up to 6 people and it includes free admission to tons of other places including the Greenville Zoo, the NC Science Center, and a whole list of others around the nation and even some internationally. You can also use it for 1/2 price admission to another list of places as well. Even if this place weren't that great (which it is), it would be worth it just for the membership reciprocity that it offers at other locations. Just go for it!

This was a really fun place that my family and I stopped in to on Sunday afternoon to see all the animals and the different things that they have to offer. It has a nice walking pass nice opportunity to take photo ops and some really cool animals. Unfortunately it's winter time so like the Bears and a few other things were hibernating in asleep so we did not get to see them. But overall we had a good time my daughters get the slide on some slides take pictures on tractors climb up on some things and play a lot of different game so it's fun and worth checking out

Tucked away in a lush park, WNC Nature Center focuses on wildlife native to the region. Black bears, deer, raptors, otters, and cats were all in large, forest-like exhibits. Unfortunately, the Reptile House was closed when I visited which was a shame. I loved seeing their two red pandas, which are indigenous to China and Nepal not NC, who also have a historic link to a long-extinct, local animal. I never miss a chance to see reds and this pair was active while I was there and the exhibit allowed for fairly close viewing. WNC Nature Center has an adorable gift shop with all sorts of nature and animal themed items. I purchased a photo of one of their red pandas taken by a local photographer and a red panda face mask because it was too funny to pass up. All the staff and volunteers (which I saw many) were very friendly and helpful during my visit.

A wonderful nature center. Bought a members pass and will definitely be back. Most of the animals were napping but could still see them. Black bears and gray wolves were not out the day I visited, they were in hibernation. I loved the birds and cougar.

We were in Asheville and this popped up as a local attraction. Tickets are decently priced and they are accredited by the association of zoos and aquariums. We came later in the afternoon so some animals were asleep; however, we were still able to spot most of them. It is also extremely kid friendly with different stations found throughout the park for kids to interact with.

Nice little zoo. Very shady. Good for short visits and place to stretch your legs. Not crowded on a Thursday afternoon. Not a lot of animals. Several exhibits were closed when we visited. If local would give a higher rating. We are not local and we're able to use our zoo reciprocal discount. Without the discount would have found the zoo too expensive for the experience. No postings of demonstrations, no zoo workers around to answer questions. No petting or feeding. Windows on viewing ports were very smudgy and full of finger prints. For out of towners we checked it off our list. Will likely not be back for a couple years till more improvements are made.

Went on a Friday morning at opening and it was already packed! I can only imagine the weekends! It's definitely a popular spot for families, and I totally understand why! We loved seeing the bears most of all. If you have a library card in one of the local counties, they have a Zoom pass program that can get you free tickets if you reserve in advance, so be sure to look into that!

Great place to go for lower intensity between the amazing hikes and Biltmore. I've been to many nature centers while raising my boys but this by far is the best one I've visited. This place is huge for a nature center and really more like a mini zoo. Very well maintained, clean and a perfect opportunity to learn about the history and local wildlife.

This place is so great! Our 4 and 1 year old loved it. Lots to see and do. We would definitely come back another time!

Great little place to get up close to animals. The red wolves and bear were amazing Volunteers are informed and ready to answer questions or show samples of items to kids and adults

I like this place. The animals seem happy. I like the bears, wolves and coyotes a lot. It's not huge but worth it.

A nice range of wild animals. There is a small farm area also. Found a stuffed animal vending machine. That was cute!

We decided to stop here on our way back home to Wake Forest. Overall, it was a nice place to visit, although a bit pricey considering we walked the entire center in under 45 minutes. We got there at 10 am, thank goodness. The crowds were flooding in when we left at 11. Some exhibits were difficult to enjoy as there were many (like 10-15) little kids running rampant with very little supervision. I'm a mom, I know kids love the zoo and animals but, these kids were quite noisy, yelling and running all over. The animal exhibits all looked very clean and the animals looked very well taken care of. Parking was easy for us as we arrived at 9:55, but when we left, the lots were full and people were parking along the (ridiculously!) narrow Asheville streets (streets are crazy skinny there). Two adult tickets was about $23 or so. We skipped the souvenirs. Definitely a family-friendly animal center, just a bit too short and not enough animal variety for us. Very good option for young families, the exhibits and some of the interactive items were definitely geared towards children, not adults. We've been once and that's enough for us.

Very inexpensive and totally worth the very cheap price! They have goats and bears and otters and red pandas! My kids loved it and we as adults also had a lot of fun. This is a beautiful nature center and really recommend bringing your kids here if you are in the area! It was an easy walk around all the pathways. Fun little play area and good "rest" spots in between. Very shaded on a hot day! We loved it all!

Very cute nature center! Not too big so you aren't walking for hours, and I saw a lot of animals here I've never seen before. Red panda, black bear, and cougar were my favorites. The gift show is also cute with stuffed animals and jewelry. This nature center does not sell any food or have concessions, just some vending machines with snacks and drinks. Near the exit there's a cute vending machine that sells stuffed animals for $9 so I purchased my favorite, the black bear. Overall for the price I'd recommend checking out the nature center it was adorable!

Very cool outdoor nature center. I have been wanting to check it out for years and we decided spontaneously to go visit when we found out that we get in free with our children's museum family membership. Our toddler had a wonderful time and so did we. So much to see and fun activities along the way. Lots of beautiful and unique animals. We will definitely be visiting next time we're in town! It's a must see for the kiddos and animal lovers alike!

Super cute little wildlife center! We were the most excited about the Red Pandas and the River Otters (who doesn't love otters?) but all of the exhibits were interesting. Educational signage everywhere, I definitely learned a few new facts. Practically all of the walking paths are shaded-it was comfortable even in August. There are tons of benches for resting and the paths are stroller and wheelchair friendly. I used the restroom in the little reptile and amphibian building, it was very clean and well-stocked. I like that practically all of the animals are native NC wildlife...there were the exceptions of a few wild species and of course the farm animals. The gift shop had a good variety of reasonably priced souvineers. There were several activities for kids scattered throughout as well-a fort building area, a climbing playground, and more. The animals all seemed relaxed and well cared-for. Many were sunning themselves or just napping, a few were a little more active. Overall a great little center that I'd come back to again!

Definitely geared toward kids, but it was a nice stop on my way in to Asheville. The otters specifically were so fun to watch.

We just moved to western NC and decided to visit this "zoo" as part of our exploration. We spent $40 for 2 adults and 1 child. We won't be returning. We don't need to pay $40 to see box turtles. We can see those in the ponds at local parks (free). We came from Maryland, an area where white tailed deer were prevalent. I did not see that exhibit as zoo worthy. The 2 black bears were cool to see so close, but we also live in black bear country now, so ‍. This zoo feels like an after thought. All in all, this zoo is lacking and not worth the money we spent. In comparison, the Plumpton Park Zoo in Rising Sun, MD has been the best zoo we've been to. Better than DC and Baltimore zoos! Maybe we will venture out to Charlotte to see if the zoo or wildlife parks out there are any better.

Great way to kill an hour or two with the kids. I have an almost 4 year old and he thoroughly enjoyed himself. He remembered some of the rings that we read about the animals. It's nice that they had little outdoor nature activities along the way, those really enhanced my sons engagement with the center. Play activities include building a log fort, drums, a slide, and climbing ropes amongst other things. Since the center isn't that big, I felt that it was appropriately priced.

Congratulations. It is a must to go place in Asheville. Perfect for kids all ages , easy walk , black bear, wolves, turtles , chicken ... Superb !