Sandy Creek Nature Center

I love this place. My daughter's love it too. Very child oriented. There is a lot for them to do on rainy or sunny days. They have 5 different snakes(rattles, copperhead, corn and 2 other types), fish, turtles, tortoise and more inside the nature center. The back classrooms, when not in use, have activities for kids to enjoy.

They have numerous outdoor trails and a playscape.

I have been here twice now and it is always a pleasure. The nature center is smaller than most paid attractions, but hey it is free! The trails are nice from what I have seen and the staff was also very courteous. It was a great location to practice photography and take in nature.

Great place to walk, hike, bike, and enjoy GA's beautiful scenery! Free!

Neat place for kids and they have a gift shop! Lots of free programs, plenty of parking, hiking trails, access to Greenway, an ADA trail (flat boardwalk, but downhill), and kids playground which is very neat and rustic. A few picnic tables but not many. Apparently, they host kid birthday parties there as well.

Absolute love the trails and nature center here! Definitely a place to visit frequently! Whether you’re going out on a hike or taking the kids on an adventure, highly recommend St least one visit!

First time there. Not very long trails, so if you're looking for some nature but don't have hours, it's perfect. Which is what we were looking for today.

My go to trail! We park here and walk into the trail. Very clean and safe. There's also an awesome kids playground with beautiful flowers. My husband and I have parked here and gone for a bike ride from here.

Go here at least twice a week to walk my dog. Trails are well maintained, staff is extremely friendly, and I see community events here all of the time. They work with homeschoolers, private and public schools to give educational classes about the environment and preservation. Love spending my time here! Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys long walks & nature. Oh also, it is attached to the Greenway Trails.

A true gem for Clarke County! The visitor's center offers educational content for all ages, but is tailored towards children. It also houses numerous animals, from a Loggerhead turtle to various local frogs and snakes.

There are plenty of maps of all the facilities and trails inside and the restrooms are clean.

The trails are fantastic and well maintained. The main trail right off of the visitor's center has lots of information for both children and adults about what you can find along the way.

Sandy Creek is truly a wonderful place to learn about local conservation efforts and a nice place to spend the day.

We have been going here for years and it's always a fun time. We love walking the nature trails and playing in the new play area.

I always love this place!! I updated this review to include pictures of the playground, near the ACC Leisure Services building. There is even a public restroom, which is a rare thing at parks these days!

Really nice path. I’d been meaning to go for a while, and I wish I’d gone sooner! It’s got some easy trails and beautiful scenery.

Had a great time here loves seeing all the different animals in there exhibit love the sea turtle and the Dimond back terrapin it its free it's a great place for children also

Bequtiful trails. It's small but perfect for little ones. We loved the nature center sea turtles and fish. The electricity exhibit was very informative. And we enjoyed the guft shop. Thanks for providing this great spot!

Love taking my kids here! Rain or shine it’s a great place to learn and explore, and free! Such a gem!

Very nice trails nice scenery and a very nice center the center has many different animals and different activities you can do inside.

I enjoyed this nature preserve immensely. There are over 4 miles of trails to hike. There had been

Sandy Creek Nature Center is a real gem for the Athens community! We took our three grandchildren (ages 7,4 and 2) over the Thanksgiving holidays, and they all had a great time. The exhibits are so well done. We had the good fortune of bumping into two SCNC naturalists (Kate Mowbray and Michelle Cash) who took the time to chat and answer questions. Great place, great staff. Highly recommend.

Review is from late May/early June 2018; noticed weird typos and edited March 2019,

We booked there for my son Winston’s fourth birthday party. The overall service, the educational aspects, their presentation of the subject matter (inside-- snakes; outside-- short trail tour with education on healthy vs. unhealthy forests, invasive species, etc) that they provided to these children were all very well executed: these 4YOs were mesmerized, engaged, and comprehending what the guide was saying (subject matter in which I basically majored in undergrad and grad school and always have to stop myself, if my son hasn't already, going into too much detail explaining anything about the environment).

I could not recommend it more for a party. Or for a visit – I was blown away by the aquarium section! I wish we could have spent more time there to explore. For a party you get two big rooms to yourself: one for food, presents and cake, and the other for the program that you choose whether it’s turtles or snakes etc. Then we took a tortoise named Doris on a walk outside, and the kiddos just had a blast! Perfect and exactly what I wanted and way way more! Thank you so much Sandy Creek Nature Center!!!!!

This place is fascinating! So we'll maintained and fun place to learn!!! Even the bathroom was educational 😁 I would highly recommend-fun for all ages!!!