Recreation Center of Highland Park: The City of Highland Park begins Phase 2 of the Recreation Center parking lot project. This new construction phase will focus on the west lot, the building turn-around drive, and the west ADA parking area. Learn more.

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Heller Nature Center
Heller
Nature Center
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2821 Ridge Rd | 847.433.6901

TRAIL HOURS:

  • Every Day
    7:30am - Dusk

BUILDING HOURS:

  • Sun-Mon
    Closed
  • Tue
    11:30am-5pm
  • Wed, Thu, Fri
    10:30am-5pm
  • Sat
    9am-3pm

Adventure is Out There

the opportunities are endless

Heller Nature Center is not only home to 97-acres of beautiful oak-hickory forest, tallgrass prairie, oak savanna, natural wetlands, and three miles of trails, but it is also home to incredible nature programs and adventures. Our Heller staff plans seasonal nature excursions and educational programs, including canoe trips, nature lectures, amazing nature adventure summer camps with rock climbing, and white-water rafting. Every August, you can participate in harvesting hundreds of pounds of Heller Honey produced by our famous Heller bees. If you are looking for a quiet escape to the woods, enjoy a picnic in our woodlands, visit our nature exhibit, participate in a program, play in Wander Woods, and cross-country ski our trails.  Heller also has a teams course for groups and a self-guided StoryTrail. Heller’s red, green and blue trails are crushed stone and wheel chair accessible. Our yellow trail is woodchipped.

View Trail Map

Registration

Winter Session

  • Wed, Nov 6: Resident Registration
  • Wed, Nov 13: Non-resident Registration
Register Now for Fall Programs
Youth Nature Programs
Adult & Family Nature Programs
School Programs
Teams Course
Scout/Custom Groups
Constance’s Story Trail
Cross-Country Ski Rentals

Heller Honey

2024 Heller Honey is Sold Out

Heller Honey is 100% natural and produced in hives at the Heller Nature Center. Heller bees gather nectar from local plants, including bee balm, linden, acacia, honeysuckle and other fragrant blossoms to make this flavorful honey. In addition to producing hundreds of pounds of tasty honey, the bees play an essential role, pollinating many flowering plants.

Heller Nature Center staff and beekeeping volunteers extract the honey in late August. 

We offer public education programs at Heller’s apiary or we can come to you with our new portable observation hive. If you would like to discover more about bees and beekeeping, call us at 847.433.6901.

Wander Woods Nature Play Space

Heller Nature Center’s Wander Woods Nature Play Space is a free play natural area designed to nurture a child’s sense of wonder and discovery.

Wander Woods provides an unstructured play area limited only by the imagination. Nestled in the trees and solitude, children can climb a tree house, create in a mud kitchen, experiment with ramps and much more. Let the creativity and messiness begin.

Notes from the Trail Blog

10.8.24
Let It Grow!
10.8.24
Wild Insights with Mark Bryant: Let’s Go Birding!
6.10.24
Nature Programs: Not Just for Kids!
Read More

Rentals & Parties

Reserve a date for your next group meeting, family gathering or birthday party at Heller Nature Center.  The unique, natural, and comfortable surroundings of Heller Nature Center make it a great choice for celebrations!

Learn more

Art Exhibit

Artwork by Victoria Elizabeth will be on display in the Prairie Room during the months of September and October 2024.

Using watercolor, Victoria explores the delicate, fragile beauty in the death of cut flowers.

“The rose is one of the most meaningful flowers there is. It is given to celebrate love, friendship, even sympathy, and is prominent at weddings and funerals. Roses follow us through the circle of life, and each has a circle of life of its own.

The flowers grow on a bush until they are ready to be cut, then we place them in water in an effort to preserve them. However, their death is inevitable. They wrinkle and shrivel up when they get old just like we do, and there is beauty in that process.

The roses each have a uniqueness to them. Every petal I paint is different, just as each of us have our own individuality.”

We recommend calling ahead (847.433.6901) to be sure the room is available for viewing, since the room is often used for programs and rentals.

Heller Nature Center is proud to feature artists who explore nature through their work and passion. If you are an artist who would like to display your work at Heller, please contact Cara Wren at 847.579.4181 or [email protected].

Learn More About Victoria

Questions?

Contact Us

Meghan
Meredith
Program Manager
847.579.4183
Mark
Bryant
Naturalist Teacher
847.579.4184
Kerrick
Goodman-Lucker
Naturalist Teacher
847.579.4182
Cara
Wren
Office Coordinator
847.579.4181