VINS Nature Center

We were excited to get out on a sunny fall day and see some raptors. Entry fee was $19. If you're a senior you save a dollar. There are shows throughout the day but we never caught one. Lots of walking trails and the Canopy walk was definitely worth the trip. Very cool. Other than that it was a little underwhelming for us. Sure, seeing the raptors up close was very cool. A little sad too though knowing they had been injured and now must be in an enclosure for the rest of their lives. I understand that it is an educational tool. And speaking of educational, there were numerous groups of kids around who were extremely loud and disrespectful. I heard one tattling on another for spitting off the Canopy Walk. Really?

This is a beautiful nature center with exceptional interactive and exciting educational programs and humane ethics toward the birds they rehabilitate. They offer an array of interesting sculpture, a wonderful gift shop, and an inspiring canopy walk. Highly recommended for everyone, including families with children.

We recently moved to the area and being animal lovers we HAD to check VINS out! What an amazing facility, the exhibits were clean, the birds all looked healthy/happy with plenty of enrichment items in their enclosures. Some of the trails were closed due to the threat of flooding, totally understandable, we already have plans to come back in the fall. The boardwalk through the forest is lovely! Well built and well maintained, the spiders web/net was a blast! My 5 year old loved it! We also really enjoyed the turtle walk and raptor program!

I came here on a dreary day, and I still had an amazing time! They have an area to view the birds - eagles, hawks, owls, crows, ravens, songbirds, and even some gorgeous Bluejays! They have a good amount of walking trails through the forest that are easily maneuvered. Their forest canopy walk is a bunch of fun! They even have an area with fairy homes and have the option to make your own! I love how all of their birds are not releasable - so it truly is an incredible place! I will be returning, and I highly recommend others visit this amazing center!

I thought this place was really fun and a great place for kids. It was fun seeing all the birds and learning about them as well. I’m only giving 4 stars cause there were so many kids that weren’t being respectful and pushed into me while I was going down from the tree top view with my 8 month old son in my hands, as well as other parts of the place we couldn’t enjoy because other children weren’t willing to share the space. Not really the businesses fault though, that’s more a lack of supervision on the parents but still made the experience less enjoyable.