Indoor Exhibits Reopen at The Wild Center

Guests can hike the indoor living river trail

Tupper Lake, N.Y. – As of today, Jul. 1, 2021, The Wild Center has reopened its indoor exhibits to the public. Visitors are welcome back inside the main museum building and invited to hike The Living River loop trail while enjoying indoor amenities. The Living River is a dynamic walking tour with 12 stops that take guests on a journey from the highest heights of the Adirondack mountains all the way down to the bogs and marshes of the lowlands. The experience is enhanced with audio content, available by downloading The Wild Center mobile app.  The Living River Trail begins at the summit of an Adirondack High Peak, then takes visitors past forests, waterfalls, rivers, streams, bogs and lakes. Along the way, more than 900 live creatures can be seen. This one-way loop through The Wild Center’s indoor exhibits provides appropriate social distancing while encouraging visitors to stop at 12 points along the path, where they can observe different habitats and wildlife. One can also hear how nature infuses the Hall, including the sounds of cascading water from the plunge pool at the dramatic 20-foot high Otter Falls. At this water playground, visitors can watch The Wild Center’s resident otters show off their curiosity, energy and overall playful behavior. Living River Trail at The Wild Center As visitors follow the one-way loop out of the Main Hall, they will be taken through an expanded Wild Supply store experience. This permits safe, socially distanced shopping for a greater number of shoppers, so guests can commemorate their visit on the way out of the building. July 1st also signifies the expansion of The Wild Center’s food service. Guests are now able to pre-order fresh brown bag lunches from The Waterside Café for pickup and consumption outside. This offering is in addition to the Snack Bar already available outside at the Wild Walk Kiosk with simple, healthy pre-packaged foods and canned beverages. Guests are still encouraged to explore The Wild Center’s outdoor experience, including the award-winning Wild Walk and hiking trails across the 115-acre campus. Over a dozen sculptures by Adirondack-based artist Barney Bellinger are on display as part of his first exhibition of large-scale steel sculptures, Welded Steel: Shape, Form and Light. A handful of sculptures can be found around the immersive Forest Music experience, accompanied by a newly commissioned five-piece instrumental composition, entitled “Iron Harvest,” by musician and educator Eric Sturr, who publishes music under the moniker Whatever Penny. Returning for another summer, naturalist-led canoe trips take guests through the Raquette River’s Oxbow as they explore different marsh habitats. Canoe trips will run daily through Sep. 6 and are available by reservation for an additional fee. The Wild Center is open seven days a week from 10am to 5pm. Timed reservations are still required for all guests, and may be made online, by phone or email prior to arrival. For unvaccinated visitors, face coverings are required indoors, when interacting with staff, and when unable to maintain six feet of social distance from other visitors.  Visitors may access digital maps, audio tours and self-led scavenger hunts through their Wild Center mobile app. For more information on visiting The Wild Center, visit: www.wildcenter.org/visit/.