Located in Asheville, North Carolina, The Western North Carolina Nature Center connects people with the plants and animals of the Southern Appalachian Mountains by inspiring appreciation, nurturing understanding, and advancing conservation of the region’s rich biodiversity.
Today, the Nature Center is one of the primary facilities in Western North Carolina offering school children and adults opportunities to learn about and develop an understanding of their responsibility for this area’s native wildlife and habitats. The WNC Nature Center is home to sixty species of wild and domestic animals and hundreds of species of plants, all representative of this unique bioregion, the Southern Appalachians.
Site Sciences:
BiologyEcologyEntomologyEnvironmental ScienceHeritologyMammalogyNatural historyOrnithologyVeterinary MedicineZoology (invertebrate and Vertebrate)
TIP: Drive to the Nature Center as normal, turning from Swannanoa River Road onto Azalea Road. Instead of turning right to cross the bridge as usual, continue straight for half a mile. This is a narrow two-way traffic pattern, so please use caution and drive carefully. At the roundabout, take the first right. A traffic signal has been installed on either side of the one-way metal bridge. After crossing the metal bridge, turn left on Gashes Creek Road and enter the Nature Center’s parking lots. Guests will depart from the Nature Center in the same way.
