Founded in 1966, Chippewa Nature Center (CNC) has grown from a 198-acre parcel staffed entirely by volunteers into one of the most recognized nonprofit nature centers in the United States.
Today, CNC encompasses more than 2,000 acres along the Pine and Chippewa Rivers in central Michigan, with over nine miles of river frontage and 19 miles of maintained trails. The center is staffed by 28 full-time and 50+ part-time employees, supported by hundreds of volunteers. More than 100,000 people visit each year.
Part of Michigan’s Great Lakes Bay region, CNC is less than 30 miles from Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay. The nature center features a diverse landscape of forest, fields, rivers, and wetlands, all within a vibrant cultural area.
For Summit participants, CNC offers an opportunity to explore a multi-faceted institution that has navigated decades of growth and community partnership.
Features
Visitor Center
CNC's Visitor Center will serve as a hub for Summit activities, offering a close look at how CNC engages its community and interprets its landscapes.
The Visitor Center includes:
- Ecosystem Gallery — Guides visitors through CNC's four ecosystems using interactive stations. Live native reptiles and amphibians are on display near the entrance.
- Wildlife Viewing Area — One-way glass and speakers let visitors quietly observe wild turkeys, squirrels, and songbirds at outdoor feeders.
- River Overlook — Frames direct views of the Pine and Chippewa Rivers, where bass, muskrats, bald eagles, and deer make regular appearances.
- Nature Discovery Area — A hands-on space for younger visitors with games, puppets, books, and furs.
- Nature Center Store — Field guides, nature-themed gifts, and locally crafted items for sale.
Nature Education Center
A recent $5.2 million project, the newly-built Nature Education Center serves as a dedicated program space for CNC’s popular Nature Day Camp, Nature Preschool, and school programs. The Nature Education Center opened in May 2025, and will serve as a second hub for Summit activities.
Nature Preschool
The CNC Nature Preschool serves 3- and 4-year-olds in the LEED Gold Certified Margaret Ann (Ranny) Riecker Nature Preschool Center and CNC’s new Nature Education Center. Using the evidence-based HighScope® curriculum, the program integrates art, music, social-emotional development, and natural science exploration, with regular excursions to wooded areas, ponds, fields, and the Homestead Farm.
Homestead Farm
The Homestead Farm area features an 1870s style farmstead with a log cabin, timber frame barn, root cellar, wagon barn, chicken coop, garden, and (modern) outhouse. From May through November, visitors can see chickens, sheep, pigs and a cow and calf.
Nature Play Area
CNC’s "The Woods" is an open-ended outdoor space where visitors of all ages can pump water, build forts, and explore freely from dawn to dusk, year-round.
Arboretum
The 16-acre Howard L. Garrett Arboretum offers more than 100 species of Michigan-native trees and shrubs. Un-mowed areas are filled with wildflowers and native grasses, making it an ideal location to look for butterflies and other pollinators.
