Welcome…

The White Mountain Nature Center connects people to the natural beauty of the White Mountains. We do this by providing information, close-up and personal wildlife experiences, a central location for exploration, and a convenient meeting place for nature-focused organizations and events.

We encourage responsible action to better steward and protect the resources and beauty all around us, and advocate sustainable use of our lands and resources.  We serve the community by attracting visitors to the White Mountains and guiding them to explore and enjoy nature as we do.

We are located at 425 S. Woodland Road, in the heart of Pinetop-Lakeside, just 1 mile south of White Mountain Blvd. (Hwy 260).  Our store is open Wednesday – Saturday from Noon – 4:30. The Raptor Show is on the same days at 3PM. You must have tickets which are available by clicking Raptor Show > Raptor Show Tickets on this website.

White Mountain Nature Center

What to do…

Get Out! Explore!
Experience Nature and Wildlife!

We are here to inspire and educate, plus give you unique opportunities to interact with nature. We are all about hiking, learning, watching animals, helping out, and teaching kids to love nature.

Get involved! Take a look at our events calendar and join us. Most hikes are free. Educational events are free to members or $10 for non-members.

Raptor Show

The Nature Center in collaboration with Land On Sky Wildlife Experiences is bringing a world-class free-flight Raptor Show to the White Mountains. It features Simon and Garfunkel, Eurasian Eagle Owls, and other amazing species trained by Certified Professional Trainers to perform natural behaviors on cue. Daily training exhibitions are free to the public. Infrastructure to house more animals and a 250-seat arena are being planned now. Your donations are critical to making this a reality as soon as possible.

Events

This year we hosted several weeks of Camp! It was exciting, fun, and perfect summer experience for kids. Other events throughout the year feature guest speakers who are avid nature enthusiasts, film makers, authors, and subject experts. We co-host nearby Town events such as the annual balloon festival, carnival, and many other community family-focused events. And there are Raptor Training Exhibitions in our new Raptor Center every day at 3 PM (Except Mondays).

Get Inspired

Nothing inspires conservation action and appreciation of the nature around us than experiencing it first hand with an expert at your side. Weather it is holding a gigantic Eagle-Owl on a glove, or seeing a dam built by beavers, or watching millions of butterflies leave their cocoons and fly in a gigantic burst of color exploding in the sky above you; we can provide the inspiration if you will simply come to the Nature Center and partake. Like to hike? Trails are all around us, and we have experts to point out the birds, trees, frogs, and sights that you might miss otherwise. We love to pass along our enthusiasm and thrill others, so join us, and learn to love nature that is right here for all of us to enjoy.

RAPTOR SHOW

World-Class Raptor Free-Flight Show

The new Raptor Center for the daily Training Exhibition is directly behind the existing Nature Center with a beautiful indoor mural of the Big Springs Meadow and surrounding forest.

Raptor Show

Meet Our Friends

Learn about our Animal Ambassadors…
Simon and Garfunkel the Eurasian Eagle Owls are our most famous Ambassadors.  RTH Speedwagon, or Speedy, is a Red Tailed Hawk. Azul is an American Crow.  And our amazing Aplomado Falcon, Astro, flies through a forest of trees at 65 MPH! They are unforgettable once you meet them in person!

Read more

Week of Events

View Calendar

To view all our events visit the EVENTS PAGE!

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