The Eagle River Nature Center
You’ll discover the beauty of the Eagle River Valley as you begin your drive along Eagle River Road. Residential areas will give way to breathtaking views of glacially-carved mountains. At Mile 12 you will reach the log cabin nature center – a threshold for connecting to the ever-changing landscape beyond. The Nature Center is operated by a small, grass roots non-profit organization. We hope you'll visit us and take some time to enjoy the trails and programs we offer.
BUILDING HOURS:
October through April: Friday-Sunday, 10am-5pm. Trails open 24/7
May through September: Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-5pm. CLOSED MONDAYS
Video by KTVA about the Nature Center
Contact Information
- Phone: 907-694-2108
- Fax: 907-694-2119
- Eagle River Nature Center 32750 Eagle River Road Eagle River, AK 99577
- 501c3 non-profit #92-0156981. Established 1996.
Parking fee: $5/vehicle. Hiking for more than a day? $10/vehicle for up to 3 days. Limited parking area for RV's and vehicles with trailers. Our overflow parking area is NOT suitable for RV's or trailers and is not open during the winter months. Please DO NOT park along Eagle River Road or side streets where "NO PARKING" is indicated - you may receive a ticket. You may park further down Eagle River Road where there are no signs.
The trails are always accessible. Trail maps are located at the front door of the Nature Center, inside when open, or on our website.
Group field classes (guided and unguided for schools, camp groups, scouts, etc) are available by appointment.
Commercial Tour Operators must have a Nature Center permit to operate here. Contact us for details.
Announcements
- ICY RIVER RAMPAGE FAT TIRE BIKE RACE RESULTS from February 1, 2020. Congrats to everyone and thank you for supporting the Nature Center!
- The Nature Center wishes to announce that Samantha Blumenkonig (formerly
Samantha Russell) has taken on Ute Olsson’s duties as Chief Naturalist in 2020. We congratulate Samantha
on her new role and wish her great success. Ute is still with us, but she is scaling back her time as she anticipates “semi-retirement”.
Ute has served as Chief Naturalist since 2006. Fortunately, we do not bid her adieu, but thank her for all her amazing
work.
- Thank you to our 2019 Volunteers of the year: Lilly Goodman, Susan Spyker and Marc Derosier. The ERNC staff thank you for your outstanding service!
- Volunteer Andrew Fisher has been working hard all year cleaning and making new owl nesting boxes. 2019 turned out to be a successful year. Find out more on our blog page. Thank you Andrew!
- February 2020 Program (pdf format)
- March 2020 Program (pdf format)
- Thank you to everyone who supported the Eagle River Nature Center in 2019. We wish you all the best in 2020 and hope to see you on the trails!
Thank you to our very generous sponsors:
Alaska Airlines**, Alaska Community Foundation and the Trails Trees and Kids Fund**, Alaska Regional Hospital Auxiliary **, Alyeska Pipeline Service Co.**, BP*, CIRI**, ConocoPhillips*, Eagle River-Chugiak Rotary ***, GCI *** , Jeffrey and Rebecca Moore Family Foundation **, Latouche Pediatrics, MEA Charitable Trust**, REI Co-op*, Pick. Click. Give. , Rasmuson Foundation*, TOTE Maritime Alaska** and Walmart***.
* $5000 or more; **$1000-$4999; ***$500-$999
