Rusk Ranch Nature Center — Attraction in Oregon

My daughter (She’s 6 now but we’ve been coming for few years) and I absolutely love spending time here. We have spent many hours playing and relaxing. You enter through the outdoor pollinator garden and you make your donation and get info on butterflies and how to be a butterfly guardian at the gift shop. The last time we visited I saw humming birds in the outdoor pollinators garden. Theres quite a bit to explore. There’s the inside butterfly garden with the two relaxing swinging benches, flowers and butterflies all around you. Then there’s the bunnies and turtles, and carnivorous plants, the play area that’s fun for kids big and small! There’s a fast slide, a hobbit tunnel, music exhibit, sand box, water feature, animal tracks exhibit, and lots more! My daughter could spend all day in their fairy garden. Also the puppet Stage! There’s plenty to do and picnic benches do you can have lunch. It’s a non profit educational gem in our community and I highly...

A gem of a spot, especially for kids of all ages. We will definitely be coming back throughout the season to see what kinds of butterflies are in the pavilion (we saw painted ladies in late May) and how the tadpoles have grown in the Frog Den. The gardening throughout the center is quite lovely and focuses on native pollinator and butterfly-friendly flowers and plants. The nature playground is incredible and is more like an outdoor, hands-on children’s museum. Beautiful, thoughtful play and learn areas include a shaded sandbox, a water cycle play area, a puppet theater with its own handmade life-size wooden dragon prop and cloth puppets, upcycled materials musical instruments, fairy gardens, and a slide and tunnel play area. There was a scavenger hunt and wildlife tracking game for older kids. We could have spent hours there. Can’t wait to return and support this wonderful...

If you love butterflies (especially monarchs!), bees, birds, and flowers, you'll love it here!

UPDATE: I originally visited Rusk Ranch in September 2019 and there were at least a half dozen (but probably more) monarchs in their butterfly pavilion. However, when I visited again in July 2020, there were very few monarchs in the enclosure, most of whom were hidden or sitting on the netting at the top of the enclosure. There was only one or two that occasionally landed on the flowers. I'd suggest postponing your visit until mid August or early September if you're hoping to see a lot of monarchs.

It's still a beautiful and educational center that's worth visiting, and you'll find Swallowtail butterflies outside of the enclosure, as well as hummingbirds, fish, different varieties of...