Visited for the eagle presentation. Very informative, but extremely difficult to hear especially for my elderly father. It would have been exponentially better if the PA system and microphones were used correctly. read more

What a wonderful asset for Springfield to have! I came by to check it out with my family while visiting Springfield recently. We really enjoyed the trails, wildlife viewing windows, and interactive displays. We definitely recommend visiting! read more

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Great place for a fun, informative, free field trip for our homeschool co-op. Trails, beautiful sites, live and stuffed animals. Indoor sites and manipulatives with many gorgeous outdoor views for too hot or too rainy days. I've brought my children here since they were toddlers, and now my "baby" is 17 on a field trip, he remembers it and still likes it! Winner! Note: for groups they have Scavenger Hunts and for families to age 12 they have Junior Conservationist booklets-for free. There is a photo blind trail, a variety of trail lengths/difficulties, and an area you could picnic outside or a lovely park very close by to picnic at. Bonus: the employees and volunteers go above and beyond and are incredibly nice. read more

Springfield Conservation Nature Center - Parks Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

This is FREE and fun and beautiful most days. Easy walks on good trails of various lengths. 'Tis a pleasure to be in the Ozarks. read more

Springfield Conservation Nature Center - American beauty berries - Parks Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

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This is a pretty good spot to go for hiking and nature fun in the city. It has 6 hiking trails, varying in difficulty and distance, so you can have a quick walk or a day of activities. The center consists of eighty acres of forests, fields and creeks, along with frontage on Lake Springfield. My favorite part is the marshland area... I donno, I just like the water walkway. They also have events like 'Toddler Tails' for the kids, Teen activities, and shops on pruning, whittling, bird watching, etc. As great as all this sounds, I am docking a star cause they do not allow dogs to hike with you... it's OUTSIDE! Sheesh... The Springfield Conservation Nature Center, or 'Nature Center' as my family calls it, is open from 8am to 5pm, 7 days a week, year-round. They only close for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. However, from March 31 to October 31, it stays open until 9pm. The nature center is located in southeast Springfield just west of US-65 off the James River Freeway (US-60). read more

Such a neat and beautiful place to go!!! my children lived exploring the inside area while learning more about local animals and playing! We loved taking a walk and pointing out the different animals we had learned and read about! This is an amazing place to bring kids and learn more about local springfield wildlife!!! read more

The nature center is great for those who need to get some exercise in and to see the beutiful turraine and landscape is breath takeing you can hear the frog's see the birds and squrels and if your lucky you might see a deer or two you'll love the nature center read more

Lots of trails and pretty views here. There's short, paved/flat trails, and then there's rocky, more natural trails. Whichever way you go, it's beautiful. read more

I like this place! Sometimes I like to walk or jog here. The trails are easy to walk and you still get to see a good amount of nature! Like birds, deers, turtles. It's great. Sometimes when I haven't been here in awhile I like to come back for a nice walk. Trails aren't that long, nor are they difficult. They don't allow dogs, either! I can't comment on other features of this conservation but if you wanna nice nature walk, this place is good for it. read more

I had no idea that this sanctuary existed! This place is awesome! I could not help but notice at one bridge over the water, there were beer cans in the water. I hate that this has to happen in a nature center. :( Everything else was so beautiful! read more

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Love this gem of a park. I live in Los Angeles and have been visiting my family for a decade, but have only now discovered this place, less than 2 miles away. Great for a peaceful walk (what I did), but I saw plenty of joggers both in the morning and the evening. read more

Springfield Conservation Nature Center - Parks Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

Great place to enjoy the nature, get some excercise and let loose. They have several different trains with varying degrees of difficulties, distance, and terrain. The only downside is that dogs are not allowed. :( read more

Nice trails ! And free! Feel safe when I walked.. Very clean and staff is super friendly. read more

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I've been coming here for years. This place is a gem in south Springfield. Helpful staff and wonderful interpretive features in the building. The trails are well-maintained. My only negative comment is about the runners. Many runners do not respect the posted hours that running is prohibited. Some runners are quite rude and expect walkers to get out of their way. I have been almost knocked to the ground twice. The Center staff have told me that one walker was knocked to the ground and a bone broken by a runner. Center staff tell me they are powerless to enforce regulations about runners. Some of the state's regional nature centers do not permit running. The ones that do permit running either have special trails designated for runners or have a very large area and multiple trails. The Springfield Conservation Nature Center has a very small acreage and narrow trails that are heavily used by walkers. Running has no place on these trails and needs to be prohibited altogether. It is incompatible with the size and purpose of this nature center area. read more

First of all Ive never left a yelp review before but this place is so ridiculous I feel like I have to. I've come here so many times and I love it here. But I will not be coming back. I came here today on this beautiful day with my dog to take him on a walk through the trails, as we have done many times with my dog before. As soon as we got out of the car, we were stopped by a man telling us he "hates to do this to us" but we aren't allowed in because we have a dog. His reasoning? "There's too many people here and it just doesn't work" ????????. I then told him that my dog is my emotional support animal (because he is). He then said "well that doesn't matter, if he's not a service animal then we can't have him in here. Emotional support animals don't count." LOL???? Me and my dog will not be returning to this bullshit place read more

I have not had a chance to walk through the trails, but from what I saw of them, they are very well shaded, which is a plus in the hot Missouri summer! The indoors area has plenty to keep kids, young and old entertained for a good hour to hour and a half. There are puzzles, puppets, a laser shooting game, microscope, and a dark room where you can learn about night animals. I will definitely be back to check it out some more! read more

Great trails with lots to see! If you go at the right time you will see a lot. We saw squirrels, chipmunks, hawks, ravens and lots and LOTS of turtles. The trails are in good condition and pretty easy to traverse. Some of the rocks are slippery so watch for that. Definitely family friendly. read more

Our visit to the Conservation & Nature Center was a nice one, especially since the weather cooperated very well. The nature center is pretty standard with some fun information from the Missouri Department of Conservation and a few neat exhibits with more in progress (several closed for renovation - or construction - displays as of Feb 2016). The trails were a mixed bag. While we really enjoyed hiking every single trail here, there is not a lot of signage to indicate the type(s) of terrain and I feel they could improve upon that. While we're veteran hikers who found all of the trails here very easy and well maintained, I think the lack of explanation could be problematic for some with slight mobility issues. For example, my mother who is a senior with some joint and balance problems, might embark on the Long Trail and do just fine for a very long time and then be unable to continue in some of the areas with rather slippery rocks. Nonetheless, we really enjoyed the short hikes these trails offered and while it was lovely in the winter I am sure this place positively blooms in other seasons, so it will be worth more visits to check it out. read more

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Great place to meet people location wise, just not when it's 9 degrees outside with a wind chill of -10. This place is a lot more fun in the summer. read more

It's really great place for family or friends who attend to have fun :)