Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center
Environmental ServicesMinnesota, United States11-50 Employees
Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center is a private, nonprofit nature preserve and environmental education facility based in Hastings, Minnesota, serving Minnesota and Wisconsin. Established in 1981 through an endowment from the Thomas and Edna Carpenter Foundation, it expanded into Wisconsin in the late 1980s after a land donation south of Hudson. Today the center spans about 725 acres across both states, with roughly 10 miles of self-guided trails and 3 miles of wheelchair-accessible paths. Its Minnesota visitor center offers hands-on educational exhibits, live animal displays, and raptor mews featuring species such as the bald eagle, red-tailed hawk, great-horned owl, and peregrine falcon, while the interpretive center functions as a classroom for its programs. Trails and buildings are open year-round, seven days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., free of charge, with most educational offerings on weekends or evenings and requiring reservations. In 2026 the organization launched a Sustainable Agriculture & Orchard Skills Series for Youth.