Start Your Adventure

Get Outdoors

​The Jay C. Hormel Nature Center features over 500 acres of prairie, forests, and wetlands.
Keep eyes and ears open for many kinds of wildlife as you explore the 9 miles of trails! 

Upcoming Events

Tree Removal Work on Trails

Tree removal work will be ongoing on the trails. Trails are still open but sections of trails may be closed. Closed trails will be posted with signage.

Cross-Country Skiing

Cross-Country Ski Rental is closed until further notice. Trail conditions are quite poor, icy, and thin due to recent melt and freeze. In order to groom trails again there needs to be more snow.

About Us

Interpretive Center Hours:
Monday thru Saturday:
9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Sunday: 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
(Closed City Holidays)
​​
Trail Hours:
6:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. daily

Trail Map
Jay C. Hormel Nature Center building in the summer.

Quick Facts

  • Trails and Interpretive Center are FREE to explore!
  • No dogs/pets on trails.
  • No picnic/camping area. 
  • No bikes on our trails.
    • Shooting Star Bike Trail starts on the west side of parking lot.

“In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught.”  — Baba Dioum

Come Explore

Female teacher holding seeds and showing them to students around her outside.

Programming

Female cross-country skier standing on groomed ski trails outside in winter.

Equipment Rental

  • Cross-country Skis
  • Snowshoes
  • Kayaks
  • Canoes
A woman in a accessible track chair and a man walking next to her in the woods.

Get Outdoors

Friends of the Hormel Nature Center

Friends of the Hormel Nature Center's logo in blue. Shows an outline of the Nature Center building with a sun behind it, a river in front of it, and a tree on the side.

The mission of the Friends of the Hormel Nature Center is to enhance and encourage environmental education, scientific opportunities, and the enjoyment of nature at the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center.
The Hormel Nature Center depends on generous donations to continue to carry out the mission of the Friends.
Learn more about becoming a member and membership benefits on the Friends of the Hormel Nature Center page.

Membership
Donate
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January Nature Note

Black-capped chickadees may be one of the most easily recognizable birds both by their look and by their call: “chicka-dee-dee-dee”. However, did you know that chickadees are one of the…
Read Nature Note

December Nature Note

A few weeks ago, I found myself gazing at the night sky, parked on the edge of a cornfield in my flannel pajamas. It’s not every day that something so…
Read Nature Note
Sola Fide Observatory sign hanging with the northern lights behind it.

November Nature Note

As fall and winter approach, we are seeing an increase in bird migration. Many of these birds are going to warmer areas, like Arizona, Texas, Mississippi, etc. But did you…
Read Nature Note
Bald Eagle with blood on its beak.

October Nature Note

Minnesota boasts incredible coniferous and hardwood forests in the northern part of the state as well as plenty of deciduous forests in the south. In amongst the deciduous forests, lay…
Read Nature Note
Hand holding two different stages of the walnut seed. One seed has large green covering over the seed. The other is the hard brown ridged walnut seed. The green seed is larger than the brown seed.

September Nature Note

Every evening this summer, the sky above Main Street fills with small, fast moving birds darting and chirping above the buildings. While they are unnoticed by most, it only takes…
Read Nature Note

August Nature Note

It’s time to understand these tiny, sly bugs that often result in breaking out the bug spray or heading back inside. No-see-ums, also referred to as…
Read Nature Note

Contact

1304 21st St. NE, Austin, MN 55912
507-437-7519
info@hormelnaturecenter.org
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