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Exhibits & Outdoor Activities

Tenafly Nature Center has so much to offer visitors! Whether it’s your first or one of many returns, you will find information about activities to enjoy on your next visit.

As an member supported, non-profit organization, membership is critical to our mission. Help us protect this “hidden gem” while enjoying exclusive member privileges. Enjoy the benefits of membership today.

Exhibits to Visit
Bellflower Faerie Trail

The fae of Tenafly Nature Center are excited to welcome you to their forest. They have been super busy enchanting their whimsical houses so that human visitors could see them along one of the Tenafly Nature Center’s trails.

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Birdfeeders
Several different types of birdfeeders are on display in front of the visitors center, outside. These feeders are kept filled October-June and are visited regularly by several native avian species (and the rogue squirrel or chipmunk).
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Birds of Prey Aviary

Visitors are welcome to visit our resident birds of prey at the aviary.

Bird Trail

Along this special trail you will find hidden metal bird silhouettes!

How many birds you can find?
See if you can spot the real ones as you continue your journey along our trails.

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Butterfly House

Walk among free-flying native butterflies ** and other pollinators in the Tenafly Nature Center Butterfly House & Pollinator Garden. See if a butterfly will land on your nectar stick or just watch them fly around you as they move between nectar plants. Observe butterfly chrysalis in the chrysalis box. Maybe you will be lucky enough to see a butterfly emerge!

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Frog & Salamander Pond

Seasonally visitors are sometimes able to get a close up look at our frog and salamander pond. In early spring, members can join a TNC educator for a salamander count as we search for breeding spotted salamanders.

John A. Redfield Building (Visitors’ Center)

The John A. Redfield Building is the visitors’ center at Tenafly Nature Center. It is a small two level facility that houses TNC’s small natural history museum.

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Live Animal Collection
TNC is not a zoo, however it does house a small collection of animals that cannot be released back into the wild. Therefore, these ambassadors help TNC to educate visitors about the needs of our local wildlife and the importance of protecting their habitats.
Nature Playscape

Have you seen our outdoor play area? Created as an Eagle Scout project, a playscape (or natural playground), was placed off of the yellow trail. A playscape is an outdoor play space with minimal man made components. Playscapes are designed with the intent of bringing children and people back to nature.

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Pollinator Garden

Visitors are welcome to explore the nature center's Butterfly and Pollinator Garden.

Stephen Minkoff Memorial Natural History Library
The TNC library can be found inside the John A. Redfield Building. It is comprised of over 1,000 resources on natural history and can help answer environmental questions. 
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Storywalk® Trail

Visitors may enjoy an adventure in reading on our seasonal StoryWalk®, an interactive outdoor exhibit that turns reading into an adventure. Read a nature-themed story while walking in the woods. Designed for beginning readers, stories will appeal to all ages.

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Activities to Enjoy (non-program related)
Explore-a-bag Backpack

Enhance your exploration of nature with our Nature Explorer Backpacks. This self-guided, year round program is designed for families to learn together, at their leisure, as they explore the Tenafly Nature Center trails. To help you on your adventure, we provide a backpack with an easy-to-understand Exploration Guide and an activity kit, which children of all ages will enjoy. 

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Geocaching

Geocaching is an outdoor activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", at specific locations marked by coordinates, shared on the internet, all over the world.

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Hiking & Walking

Tenafly Nature Center is a sanctuary for human visitors - an island of green where bonds with nature can be renewed. Whether you have an hour or a day, our woods offer a peaceful respite from the rush of daily life. We welcome visitors to take a leisurely walk to Pfister's Pond or enjoy a hike along our 7+ miles of trails.

Junior Naturalist Program
Letterboxing

Letterboxing is a “treasure hunt” style outdoor activity. Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes in publicly-accessible places (like TNC) and post clues to finding the box online on one of several Web sites.

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Little Free Library

Take or leave a book and enjoy reading. We ask that all books left be family friendly due to the nature and age range of our visitors.

Picnicking

Individuals and families wishing to enjoy the trails and not reserve a space exclusively are welcome to use the white picnic tables (located near the upper Yellow Trail).

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Photography & Filming
Pokémon GO

Tenafly Nature Center is home to a wealth of wildlife and Pokémon! Introductions to the wild have lead to a diverse group of Pokémon taking residence on the Tenafly Nature Center property. 

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Snowshoeing & Cross Country Skiing

Cross country skiing and snow shoeing are among the activities which you may enjoy here, with Mother Nature’s cooperation, of course! Even when covered by snow, visitors are welcome to bring their own equipment and explore the trails of the nature center.

We do not permit ice skating on Pfister's Pond at this time.

Trail Running

Trail runners are welcome to train and enjoy a sprint through our woods along the 7+ miles of trails. In early spring, experienced trail runners are invited to discover the native terrain of the Lost Brook Preserve while participating in our annual Lost Brook Trail Race.

Wildlife Watching

Wildlife enthusiasts can enjoy bird-watching and observe other wildlife on their own or join our educators monthly for guided nature walks, full moon hikes, or any of our other seasonal programs.

Learn more about the Plant, Wildlife and Ecology of Tenafly Nature Center

Learn more about our upcoming guided seasonal programs

Species such as goldfinches, Red-winged Blackbirds, Woodpeckers, Chickadees, and Nuthatches can all be easliy identified using the exhibit display and visitors can pick up a TNC Bird checklist to start keeping track of their annual and life birds. Guests often ask why the feeders are strung up with a number of recycled plastic bottles? These are there to prevent squirrels and other non-avian species from utilizing the bird feeders. The feeders are filled with a variety of seeds so that we may attract an assortment of birds and so those that do utilize the feeders can find appropriate food.

Consider setting up a birdfeeder in your own yard! The experts at Wild Birds Unlimited in Paramus, NJ are always happy to help (Tenafly Nature Center members get a 10% discount at that location).

The John A. Redfield Building is the visitors’ center at Tenafly Nature Center. It is a small two level facility that houses TNC’s small natural history museum. During business hours knowledgeable staff are available to answer questions about the trails, natural history, flora and fauna, and current environmental topics. Throughout the year, a wide assortment of educational programs are held either on the porch or inside the building (learn more about our seasonal programs today).

When programs are not in progress, visitors are welcome to come inside to:
  • Explore interactive exhibits designed to engage a variety of ages
  • Learn from our natural history displays
  • Younger visitors are welcome to play with our educational puppets, toys and puzzles
  • Review and take available program brochures and TNC pamphlets
  • Take a copy of our trail map (available in both English and Korean)
The space features a small play area out of natural materials consisting of a sandbox, a balance/jumping path, and a messy materials area. This area was created with the intention to give young children a safe spot to run, jump and dig. A perfect space for children to play “floor is lava” and get their wiggles out!
The TNC library can be found inside the John A. Redfield Building. It is comprised of over 1,000 resources on natural history and can help answer environmental questions. Whether you want help identifying something, research a school project, learn more about nature, or just sit and relax with a good book, this resource is here for you to enjoy.
 
The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Vermont Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition and the Kellogg Hubbard Library.

Current backpack themes are Rockin’ Geology, Incredible Insects and Forest Explorer.

Rental Fee:
Members: FREE/
Non-members: $5

Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. Tenafly Nature Center has a few geochaches listed at geocaching.com, there you can type in our zip code (07670) to learn more. The caches listed here were not all placed by TNC staff, but are listed here because they maybe of interest to visitors.

Please visit geocaching.com to learn more about and get the coordinates for the geocaches hidden here at Tenafly Nature Center.

However, clues to finding some of the most highly-sought boxes are passed around by word of mouth. Tenafly Nature Center has a letterbox listed on letterboxing.org titled Rock, Paper, Scissors. This and any other letterboxes at TNC were not placed by TNC staff, but are listed here because they may be of interest to visitors.

Please visit letterboxing.org to learn more about and get the clues for the letterbox hidden at Tenafly Nature Center.

The tables located in and/or around the pavilion are not available for public use. A facility rental will be required for any interest in the use of the Pavilion, Campfire Ring or Fireplace.

Learn more about reserving either the Education Pavilion or Campfire Ring.

We encourage all visitors to make a small donation (suggested at $2 per person), which can be placed in one of our donation boxes. Reservations are required for all self-guided groups of 10+ people to avoid conflicts.

Learn more about bringing a group for self-guided use of the preserve

Pokémon have quickly established themselves and are attracting Pokémon Trainers. TNC welcomes you to play Pokémon Go on our trails and enjoy some of our natural preserve! There are tons of Pokestops can be found throughout our trails and a PokéGym at the entrance, which can be accessed from the Nature Center Visitors Center.
Please note: Pokémon are the only creatures that are allowed to be captured on TNC property.