Did you know that you could perch yourself inside a larger-than-life eagle’s nest, and stand high above the tree tops of the Adirondacks? This incredible experience is possible at The Wild Center, the Adirondacks’ nature epicenter in Tupper Lake, NY. Part tree-top adventure, part immersive art installation, The Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks is a popular and award-winning destination for learning about the wild and wonderful world that makes this spectacular region so beautiful. Read on to discover the Wild Center’s wild backyard.
Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks – The Wild Center
The Wild Center has a 54,000-square-foot visually stunning indoor space that offers live and interactive exhibits. Explore the river otter exhibit, multi-media shows, and many hands-on experiences. Stand nose-to-nose with a northern pike, learn how maple syrup is made, and how generations of indigenous people have lived with and off the land.
Don’t miss the outside animal visitation center, where you can see animals that the center is rehabilitating.
Happy Trails – The Wild Center
Strap on the hiking boots – the Wild Center is best seen on foot. Multiple trails circle the 115-acre campus. The self-guided well-manicured trails reach the river and offer spectacular natural vistas.
Art in the Park- The Wild Center
Artist Patrick Dougherty has created a larger-than-life sculpture that is inspired by childhood and the natural world of the Adirondacks. Dougherty, along with a team of volunteers, bent, weaved, snagged, and flexed sustainably-sourced, local twigs to create a whimsical art piece that is now open to Wild Center guests. Completely immersive, visitors are encouraged to enter and explore the structure.
More art to see! The trees and forests here literally come alive with a music scene in the new art installation called Forest Music that immerses visitors’ senses. It literally felt like we were walking into a magical Disney movie scene, with emotional sounds perfectly placed along a walking path. Do not miss this.
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Pines Play Center – The Wild Center
One of the highlights of our visit for our little guy was the Pines Play Center – a magical play area filled with climbing logs, balance beams, branches, stumps, twigs, and assorted natural objects to engage and amuse children of all ages. Do not miss the fairy garden, a whimsical section where children have created natural fairy homes for woodland creatures. Children who come to The Wild Center regularly make the Pines Play Area their first stop. There’s a nearby area for adults to sit comfortably while their kids explore.
A Walk on the Wild Side – The Wild Walk
The show-stopping centerpiece of the Wild Center is the Wild Walk – an adventurous romp that takes visitors right through the treetops. Part art piece and part tree house adventure, The Wild Walk takes visitors up a trail of spectacular swinging suspension bridges, a spider’s web that freely dangles over the trees, and even a four-story tree stump that is modeled after an actual object found on the premises.
The cherry on top of the experience is the larger-than-life bald eagle’s nest. This art installation is perched perfectly within the leaves, offering jaw-dropping vistas of the forest and surrounding area from above. The nest is spectacular in itself.
Image courtesy Wild Center
Paddle Through – Guided Canoe Trips
Get closer to the real nature of the Adirondacks with a trip through the river that runs adjacent to the center’s campus. Led by a New York State Licensed Guide, this amazing trip takes you through the Raquette River as you explore different marsh habitats and catch a glimpse of native wildlife. You can paddle as a family, with up to 2 adults and 2 children per boat. Book these trips HERE.
The Wild Center
45 Museum Drive, Tupper Lake, NY
Website and tickets HERE
Looking for more to see in the Adirondacks – read our other suggestions HERE.
Thank you Wild Center for sponsoring our experience. As always, all opinions and reviews are our own.
