Eastman Nature Center Summer | Eastman Nature Center Winter

Find all printable maps of the park on the Elm Creek Park Reserve page.

Eastman Nature Center is named after Whitney H. Eastman, an avid birdwatcher and advocate of environmental education. The nature center has something for everyone. Floor-to-ceiling windows entice visitors to do some indoor birdwatching. (Use this checklist and guide to record your 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.

Three Rivers Park District will begin 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.