Spanning nearly 150 acres of wooded hills and grassy fields, the Ansonia Nature Center was once home to a small family-owned dairy farm tucked in New Haven County. Today, this hidden gem off Milan Road in Ansonia is laced with two and a half miles of nature trails zig-zagging through streams, meadowlands, and a two-acre pond serving as a haven for turtles, water fowl, and fish.
You would never know you were in Ansonia. At least that’s how I felt when I first discovered this place seven years ago following a recommendation from a dear friend who gushed over the nature center’s wooden playground.
This former playground I'm speaking about was the most amazing labyrinth of splintery wooden towers, giant rubber tires, and slick metal slides that stood for 25 years. It made for some pretty epic rounds of hide and seek with my then three year old.
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You guys - we could spend four hours at this place. And we did. Pretty often.
In 2016, the playground was demolished and rebuilt entirely by Basement Systems. And let me tell you, the new playground is equally AWESOME. Awesome enough for my now 10 year old to spend four hours racing around the towers, tunnels and ramps playing secret spies, army and yes, hide-and-seek.
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The playground is certainly the cornerstone attraction for the Ansonia Nature Center outfitted with 8-foot tube slides, climbing walls, tire swings, wall towers, a sandbox, and a separate section just for tots. It’s so incredibly different than most playgrounds that we often make the 25 minute trek each way and spend the afternoon there. Even when the temps dip down to just above freezing.
After we’re spent at the playground, there is a lovely loop that circles around the pond, over a wooden footbridge, and through a grassy meadow that my sweet seven year old adores. In the spring, she loves to collect grasses and wildflowers to craft hand-tied bouquets from the meadow, as she has done since she was just toddling along behind her big brother.
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At the top of the hill is a wonderfully unique visitor center, also know as the Schumacher Pavilion, constructed in 1977 from Connecticut stone and glass. The center serves as an educational hub of the park complete with classrooms, rotating exhibits, and a nature store. Admission is always free. *The Nature Center building itself has been closed since the start of COVID-19 but the trails and playground remain open.
The Ansonia Nature & Recreation Visitor Center offers a home for its animal ambassadors—a ring-neck dove named “Chuckles,” a Grey-phased Screech Owl called “Sassafras,” and a bearded dragon from the Beardsley Zoo named “Blaze.” We cannot wait to visit them once the building reopens.
A Ball Python named “E.T.” was discovered slithering down the halls of the Ansonia Middle School—eek!!—and was given to the center. E.T. now serves as a featured creature in weekend programming. Creature Features are held on Saturdays from 12 - 12:30, weather permitting.
There’s also a red eared slider turtle, a water snake, several hundred honey bees, salt water tide pool creatures, a couple dozen crayfish, at least a half dozen walking sticks, three box turtles, a gecko, and a tarantula. We promise, your kiddos will love meeting this creatures once life returns to normal.
Most of the animals exhibited at the Nature Center are there because they are unable to survive in the wild due to an injury or are domestic animals given to the center by their previous owners, like “Cutie” the guinea pig” or “Pepper” the bunny.
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The nature center continues to offer a guided hike at 1pm on Sundays. Previous seasons included specialized programs like snowshoeing, animal tracking, and nature crafts. The center offers drop-off programs on school vacation days, afterschool nature programs, and wonderful summer camps.
While we do miss our regularly scheduled programming, the very best part of this place is the unscheduled time. Time spent with friends and family playing and exploring in the great outdoors.
