Richfield, MN

As Richfield’s Wood Lake Nature Center turns 50 on May 5, the complex can officially be labeled as a silver fox. Come to think of it, it actually does have dozens of resident foxes…

“The Wood Lake Nature Center has served area residents faithfully for the past half-century,” asserted Mayor Maria Regan Gonzalez. “It is a place where I go to de-stress, get away from the hustle and bustle of daily life and recharge. So many of our residents tell me how special Wood Lake is not only to their quality of life and wellbeing, but also as a crown jewel of the Twin Cities.” 

Wood Lake was molded by glaciers 12,000 years ago. Originally, the lake was at least 20 feet deep. The first people to inhabit the area were members of the Dakota Sioux Nation.

Lt. Zebulon Pike was the first white settler to call the area home in 1805. He purchased 100,000 acres from the indigenous peoples to build what would eventually become Fort Snelling.

Over the next 100 years, more settlers arrived to establish farms. Eventually, the area was named Richfield due to its black, fertile soil.

Up until the early 1900s, Wood Lake was used for watering cattle, fishing, swimming, and ice cutting, with a city growing around it over time.

In 1969, the Richfield City Council, backed by the support of thousands of residents, decided to build a nature center to serve the area. The building opened in 1971.

Today, the Wood Lake Nature Center sees more than 100,000 visitors annually.

Due to the center’s central location in the Twin Cities metro and its close proximity to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, you never know who you will meet as you traverse the miles of trails at Wood Lake.

“Just the other day, I met a woman who was on a layover from Dallas who had a couple of hours to kill and decided to take a hike here,” mentioned naturalist Brianna Rodgers. “Only about a third of our visitors are from Richfield. The rest come from other cities in the metro, greater Minnesota, different states and even other countries.” 

One of the pillars of the Wood Lake Nature Center is its commitment to student environmental education. From the day it opened its doors through the present it has partnered with the Richfield Public Schools to welcome every student from preschool to fifth grade at the center for field trips at least twice a year.

Numerous other schools from around the region also visit Wood Lake on field trips where the center’s naturalists tailor programming to what they are learning in their classrooms.

“The Wood Lake Nature Center is a critical bridge to the natural world for students throughout the metro area and beyond,” said nature center manager Paul Smithson. “Living in a high-density urban area limits the opportunities for our youth to access nature. At Wood Lake, we act as a refuge for those who want to learn something new and get active, at the same time.”  

Community events, classes or field trips take place at the nature center on a daily basis. However, the nature center has truly endeared itself to the Twin Cities metro through its larger events that attract thousands of attendees.

These larger annual events include December’s Candlelight and Ice, October’s Half-Haunted Halloween and July’s Urban Wildland races.

“Wood Lake’s bigger events are like additional holidays on my calendar that I look forward to every year,” explained Jamie Carver. “I live in Rosemont, so it is close to a 30-minute drive, but when you have an opportunity to take part in something that brings so much joy to so many people, you do not even think twice about the time you spend on the road.”  

The work of the center’s naturalists is not confined to the 150 acres of space it calls home. They regularly provide wildlife assistance to residents throughout the area, including last winter when naturalist Scott Ramsey partnered with a Minnesota Department of Transportation plow driver to rescue an injured snowy owl by the side of Interstate 494.

Nature center staff, in partnership with the City of Richfield, is looking to secure the center’s future for another 50 years by exploring the possibility of replacing its current building with a new, state-of-the-art learning center that will meet the needs of regional students, residents and visitors.

“Right now, we are limited by our current building for how many people we can serve, having new designated teaching spaces will allow for continued program growth and further outreach with our underserved communities,” remarked former naturalist and current Recreation Services Director Amy Markle. “It is important that all people we serve have a high-quality experience that allows for curiosity of the natural world and space for learning, exploration and wellness.”

To learn more about the Wood Lake Nature Center, visit: richfieldmn.gov/naturecenter