Eastman Nature Center
Nestled in the sugar maple floodplain forest of Rush Creek, Eastman Nature Center is a great place to begin your outdoor journey.
Visitors can walk across the floating boardwalk, explore miles of hiking and snowshoeing trails for some exercise and visit the nature center. Afterward, you can hop on the bike trails of Elm Creek Park Reserve or sit quietly and watch the creek flow by.
You may also see trumpeter swans, wild turkeys, bluebirds, dragonflies and abundant native wildflowers.
Main Number:
763-694-7700Monday–Saturday: 9 AM–5 PM
Sunday: 12–5 PM
Elm Creek Road Trailhead Closure
The small trailhead parking lot on Elm Creek Road near Fernbrook Lane N. has permanently closed. Trail users are invited to park in the paved overflow parking lot accessible from the Eastman Nature Center entrance road. View a map of how to get to the new parking lot.
Interactive Map of Elm Creek
Legend
Trails and Roads
Amenities
Recreation Areas
Natural Areas
Boundaries
Interactive Map of Elm Creek
Upcoming Events
Pond Exploration
May 23, 10 AM–Noon | Mississippi Gateway
Search the pond for turtles, frogs and tadpoles. Put on boots and use a net to catch pond animals, then exercise your nature detective skills to figure out what they are eating and how they survive.
May 23, 2–3:30 PM | Richardson Nature Center
Join us in celebrating the Big Year of Rivers! Walk to a nearby pond to scoop in the water and look for aquatic insects, tadpoles, frogs and turtles. Observe these critters up close and learn how pond habitats connect to rivers in a watershed. Meet one of Richardson's resident pond-dwelling animal ambassadors.
All Programs & Events
See all upcoming programs and events at Eastman.
Nearly all of our program offerings can be adapted or modified. Please call 763-559-9000 (for relay services dial 711) or email access@ThreeRiversParks.org to request free modifications and learn about available options.
More About Eastman
Eastman Nature Center is named after Whitney H. Eastman, an avid birdwatcher and advocate of environmental education, and has something for everyone.
Floor-to-ceiling windows entice visitors to do some indoor birdwatching.
Tip: Use this checklist and guide to record your birding observations!
Children enjoy hands-on activities, dressing up in costumes and putting on a puppet show in our puppet tree. Live reptiles and amphibians add to the rotating interpretive displays throughout the building. The building also has a quiet reading room, a screened in and open air deck, large classrooms and an after-hours restroom.
Opportunities to enhance your experience along the trails are available through trail guide sheets, exploration kits and interpretive signs. Just down the trail, let your children play "wild" in the nature exploration area. Kids can dig, climb, make a fort or dam and engage their imaginations, while adults play along or observe nearby.
Groups
The professional naturalists at Eastman Nature Center offer outdoor education programs for schools, scout troops, senior centers, homeschools and other organized groups.
Virtual Tour
Woodland restoration project
Three Rivers Park District began a woodland/savanna restoration project in the northeastern part of Elm Creek Park Reserve in the winter of 2024. The multi-phase project will continue through June of 2026.
The project will restore 42 acres of oak woods. The first phase will involve the removal of buckthorn and other small trees within the project area. This will be accomplished by a contractor using forestry mowers and hand cutting. Large mature trees will be protected. The second phase will involve a herbicide treatment to control re-sprouts of invasive species, and the third phase will be a seeding of native plants.
Funding for the project is provided by a Conservation Partners Legacy Grant made possible by Minnesota’s Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment, as well as funding from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Rooms in the Eastman Nature Center can be rented to host meetings, retreats, family gatherings, birthdays, small weddings and receptions, and other events.
Indoor room reservations must be made at least seven days in advance and no more than 120 days ahead of time.
Wild Birthday Parties are offered year-round and are appropriate for children age four and older. Nature-based topics range from pond insects to birds, and snowshoeing to live animals.
View or download the birthday party brochure below:
Join other teens in the Naturalist Youth Leader Program or help care for the animals that live at Eastman. Three Rivers offers several volunteer and internship opportunities in the parks.
Volunteering
We rely on the support of volunteers to maintain the high quality programs and operations at our nature centers.
Give to Eastman
Love Eastman Nature Center? Consider supporting its outdoor education programs, displays and animal care with a donation.
Elm Creek PDF Maps
Eastman Nature Center Summer | Eastman Nature Center Winter
Find all printable maps of the park on the Elm Creek Park Reserve page.
#threeriversparks
The Wandering Naturalist
Episodes 276–278: Floods and Floodplains
Floodplains are a threatened and equally important habitat not just for the living things that call them home, but also the people that live around them. Join Brandon and Ellen this month as they discover the unique adaptations of the species that thrive in floodplains, the connection between soil and water quality and how floodplains reduce the impacts of flooding around rivers.
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