Ledge View Nature Center
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ledge View Nature Center is a 105-acre (0.42 km²) park and interpretive center. It is located two miles south of Chilton, Wisconsin. The facility is part of the Calumet County Parks system operated by Calumet County.
The park features 2.5 miles of hiking and cross country ski trails through field and forest; a 60-foot observation tower to view Chilton and the surrounding countryside; an arboretum; a butterfly garden; a rain garden; three natural solution dolostone caves accessible only by guided tour; and a quarry. The caves are the only caves in eastern Wisconsin. The nature center offers school programs in caving, sedimentary geology, maple syruping, and winter ecology on traditional wood-framed snowshoes. It also has exhibits which explain the geology of the area, including the drumlins, Niagara Escarpment and other post-glacial features. The park is open to the public. The interpretive center has interactive exhibits on lake sturgeon, birds, bats of Wisconsin, honeybees, and the Niagara Escarpment, in addition to some live animals.
The facility’s exhibits and educational programming is financially supported by the 501(c)(3) volunteer group Friends of Ledge View Nature Center. Every spring the group has a fundraiser called Maple Syrup Sunday, where visitors can enjoy a pancake breakfast with 100% maple syrup. Volunteers demonstrate tapping, collecting, and boiling the syrup. In summer the group hosts a fundraiser called the Escarpment Bicycle Tour. There are bicycle tours from 10 to 100 miles. Every autumn the park hosts the Fall Spectacular near the peak of the fall leaves.
[edit] History
The site was purchased from Zimmermann in 1969. The nature center was built in 1981, and an addition was constructed in 1986. In 1998 the Frisch Family exhibit hall was constructed.
