Family & Children’s Programs
Wildflower Walk
Join us for a leisurely one hour walk through the woods and meadows and find out all about the flowers that carpet the mountains and about the conditions they need to thrive.
Evening Beaver Pond Tour
Beavers are one of the animals that define the Rocky Mountains and we are lucky to have a healthy beaver population right here in Vail. Our evening begins at the Nature Center with a brief talk and display about beavers, followed by a short walk to the beaver pond where there are several active lodges. Please bring warm clothes and a flashlight, the mountain air turns cool after the sun goes down.
Morning Bird Walk
Join us for a walk through the meadows and woods along the streamside of Gore Creek to find a great variety of birds. We will look at what birds need and how you can attract birds to your own backyard.
Bright Stars and Flaming Marshmallows
Join us for a short walk along the Vail Nature Center’s trail system, looking for owls and other night creatures. Then return to the campfire to make s’mores and tell stories. This is a fun evening for the entire family. Participants, especially the children, are encouraged to tell their own stories of adventures. Bring warm clothes and be ready to get marshmallow goo all over your fingers!
Camp Eco Fun
The Vail Nature Center joins Vail Youth Services for a unique 2-day per week day camp, that will entice children ages 4-12 into the beautiful alpine environment surrounding Vail. The adventure awaits just steps from our front door. Please call 970-479-2292 for more information or to register your child.
Art in Nature
Hut Trip Landscape Painting Excursions
Get away for two days of intense immersion into the world of landscape painting by joining us for a hut trip with artist Elaine French. Ms. French will ensure that each student receives individual instruction at his or her own level and in the media of choice. Morning and afternoon sessions will be held each day of the trip. Ms. French has worked in pastel, water color and oil mediums. Materials must be provided by the student. See the previous page for Hut Trip details or call the Vail Nature Center for more information.
Art Classes
Students will compose from nature using the techniques introduced and practiced during via many art techniques.
Nature Photography Workshops
We will start by spending time on the basics of photography, from the technical and mechanical aspects of camera and lens to the elements of light, composition, form and texture. After a break we’ll head for the hills to spend the evening shooting and putting all the learned material to use. For interested early risers, we will do the same the next morning at sunrise. Once the film has been processed, we will regroup in the afternoon to critique our work. This critique allows us to see how everyone is doing, where improvements can be made and gives everyone a chance to show off the excellent work they have accumulated. Workshop participants will also be able to have their work displayed in the Nature Center Student Art Show at the Vail Library during the first two weeks of September.
Hiking Programs
Vail Nature Center Hiking Club
Are you here for the summer and love to hike and explore the mountains around Vail? Join the Nature Center Hiking Club and spend the summer with us as we venture into the high country in search of great views, wildflowers and pristine wilderness. Every hike goes to a different destination, and all our hikes are educational, informative and fun. If you plan on going on more than three hikes with the Nature Center, then it pays to join the Hiking Club. Membership means you can go on all of our hikes and have priority placing on our Hiking Club Eco-Tour Hut Trips.
Adult Backcountry Hikes
Every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the summer we meet early at the Nature Center and head for the hills! These all-day hikes take place throughout the Holy Cross and Eagles Nest wilderness areas and are lead by one or two experienced naturalist guides from the Nature Center. Our hikes go at a pace that allow us to enjoy the flora and fauna along the trail. Hikers will get plenty of exercise as well, although we don’t push too hard. Most of our hikes are doable by folks in reasonably good condition and accustomed the altitude.
Please bring extra clothing, rain gear, lunch, trail snacks and water. Don’t forget the camera! All participants should also wear sturdy footwear, broken in and comfortable for a long ramble in the mountains. Transportation is provided from the Nature Center and please, no dogs.
Adult Half-Day Hikes
The Nature Center leads half-day hikes for those folks who don’t have the time or aren’t up for a full day on the trail. These half-day hikes are led by a Nature Center naturalist guide and are just as educational as our full day hikes. These hikes are an easy walk along trails close to town. Bring rain gear, snacks and sturdy, comfortable footwear!
Hiking Club Eco-Tour Hut Trips
Each summer the Vail Nature Center Hiking Club embarks on three-day, two-night trips into the backcountry, staying at one of the 10th Mountain Hut Association huts. These are wonderful adventures providing lots of hiking, fishing, mountain climbing, socializing and relaxing on the hut deck. Huts are a great place to spend a couple of nights miles from civilization, and do it comfortably. Each Eco-Tour Hut Trip is designed around a theme. The cost is $120 per person which covers the hut, food and transportation for the entire trip.
Nature Center naturalists will be on each trip to provide guidance on everything from wildflowers and marmots to fishing and photography. Participants climb a peak or walk a ridge and then head back to a grand dinner at the hut. Hiking club members have priority for reservations. Call the Nature Center for more information at 479-2291.
Classes
Fly Fishing and Stream Ecology
This class has something to offer to beginning and experienced anglers. We spend part of the morning learning the basics of fly-fishing: how to cast, the equipment you need and how to attract those wily trout. We then take a look at the trout themselves: how they live and what the world looks like to them. After lunch we move out onto Gore Creek to study insects, the trout’s food. With what’s left of the day, participants will go fishing and put all this into practice. Bring fly fishing equipment if you have it. If not we can provide a limited amount. You will also need to bring a lunch, extra clothes and rain gear.
Medicinal Plant Seminars
Did you know that many of the plants found near the Vail Nature Center have been used for centuries to treat everything from headaches to stomach ailments? Many of these plants are still used today and can be found on the shelf in your local market. If you are interested in learning how to create your own concoctions then join us for an informative class with plant herbalist Lynn Albers.
Volunteer at the Nature Center
If you like birds, wildflowers, people and the quiet space along Gore Creek, and you have some spare time, why not volunteer at the Nature Center? We can always use help around the place, assisting visitors and helping with our many programs. We will provide the training. Volunteers get a free membership in the Hiking Club, a free Nature Center T-shirt and discounts on all programs and merchandise at the Nature Center. If you are interested in being a Nature Center volunteer give us a call at 479-2291.