Minna Anthony Common Nature Center — Attraction in Town of Orleans

My kids and I love visiting here and hiking on the trails. The staff is always knowledgeable and helpful about both the nature center and the hiking options. They have an excellent paper map with precise distances for every trail portion plus the nature center has a 3D topographical map that shows the elevation change for every trail.

In April we always enjoy lots of bird activity (easily spotted through the bare trees), dozens of baby snakes on the trail, and barely any insects. Gorgeous time to hike here. The river looks beautiful, and there aren't too many noisy boats in April.

Updated in August 2023: the trails are in excellent shape. We completed the full loop today which is just under five miles. Most of the footing is easy, but there are lots of rocks and roots to pay attention to. Bugs weren't bad today. The views at the halfway point are specifically spectacular, but we loved...

Beautiful park! The Minna Anthony Nature Center has bathrooms, a gift shop, exhibits about the park, as well as resident live animal exhibits. Be aware that the he trails are largely not handicap or stroller accessible. We saw turtles, osprey fishing, white tail deer, butterflies, moths, caterpillars, a variety of different trees and plants, beautiful flowers, and an array of different stone ,(a feature of the Frontenac Arch glacial history of the region). We've visited the park twice, within two weeks, for hiking, and we plan to make it a regular...

I went to the nature center to hike. It was a very easy hike depending on what trail you pick at is a loop. We did the largest loop and if you take it going in the woods past the butterfly house first you will have to go upstairs, but if you take by the water path first, you’ll only be going down some stairs. Very easy and enjoyable hike with beautiful water views and trails that go in the woods and spots to look out would highly recommend for family’s kids...