List of nature centers in Texas
# List of nature centers in Texas

This is a list of nature centers and environmental education centers in the state of Texas.

To use the sortable tables: click on the icons at the top of each column to sort that column in alphabetical order; click again for reverse alphabetical order.

| Name | Location | County | Region | Summary |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Acton Nature Center of Hood County | Granbury | Hood | North Texas | website, 74 acres with over 5 miles of trails |
| Armand Bayou Nature Center | Houston | Harris | Texas Coastal Bend | 2,500-acre urban preserve, includes a boardwalk through forest and marshes, live animal displays, bison and prairie platforms and butterfly gardens |
| Austin Nature & Science Center | Austin | Travis | Texas Hill Country | website, operated by the City in 351-acre Zilker Park, includes hands-on educational exhibits, live native animals, an outdoor paleontology exhibit |
| Bay Education Center | Rockport | Aransas | Texas Coastal Bend | Operated by the University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute, ecosystem of the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve |
| Baytown Nature Center | Baytown | Harris | Texas Coastal Bend | Operated by the City, 450-acre recreation area and wildlife sanctuary |
| Bear Springs Blossom Nature Center | Pipe Creek | Bandera | Texas Hill Country | website, 125 acres |
| Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park | Mission | Hidalgo | Texas Coastal Bend | 764 acres, headquarters of the World Birding Center, exhibit hall, observation tower, bird blinds, guided walks |
| Bob Jones Nature Center | Southlake | Denton | North Texas | website, 758 acres, operated by the City |
| Brazos Bend State Park | Needville | Fort Bend | Texas Gulf Coast | 4,897 acres, nature center operated by the state and Brazos Bend State Park Volunteer Organization |
| Canyon of the Eagles Lodge and Nature Park | Burnet | Burnet | Central Texas | website, resort and nature park, located on 940 acres of Lower Colorado River Authority land, includes the Eagle Eye Observatory, nature programs |
| Cattail Marsh | Beaumont | Jefferson | Texas Coastal Bend | 900 acres, located at Tyrrell Park, operated by the city. The area is a constructed wetland with diked cells of shallow water and mud flats. It is located along Hillebrandt Bayou |
| Cedar Ridge Preserve | Dallas | Dallas | North Texas | website, formerly Dallas Nature Center, 600 acres, operated by Audubon Dallas, about 9 miles of trails, butterfly gardens, live mammals, birds, insects and reptiles |
| Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center and Botanical Gardens | Fort Davis | Jeff Davis | Trans-Pecos | 507 acres features 20-acre botanical garden, greenhouse with about 200 species of Chihuahuan Desert cacti |
| Cibolo Nature Center | Boerne | Kendall | Texas Hill Country | website, 100 acres |
| Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center | Cedar Hill | Dallas | North Texas | website, 205 acres |
| East Texas Ecological Education Center | Tyler | Smith | Northeast Texas | website, 82 acres, visitor's center, indoor and outdoor classrooms, wetlands, grasslands and ponds |
| Eaton Hill Nature Center | Sonora | Sutton | Texas Hill Country | website, 37 acres |
| Edinburg Scenic Wetlands | Edinburg | Hidalgo | Texas Coastal Bend | website, 40 acres, part of the World Birding Center, educational exhibits on fish and aquatic life, computer programs about birds and butterflies, telescopes and interpretive audio station |
| Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary | Houston | Harris | Texas Coastal Bend | Operated by Houston Audubon, 17 acres along Rummel Creek |
| Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge | Fort Worth | Tarrant | North Texas | website, 3,621 acres of forest, wetlands and prairie, operated by the City |
| Fredericksburg Nature Center | Fredericksburg | Gillespie | Texas Hill Country | website, 10 acres, located in Lady Bird Johnson Park |
| Gulf Coast Bird Observatory | Lake Jackson | Brazoria | Texas Coastal Bend | website, interpretive center and research center for public education and volunteer-based avian monitoring programs |
| Hana & Arthur Ginzbarg Nature Discovery Center | Bellaire | Harris | Texas Coastal Bend | website, located in 4-acre Russ Pitman Park |
| Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary | McKinney | Collin | North Texas | Exhibits on Texas' venomous snakes, geology, seashells and marine life, North Texas ecosystems, 289-acre wildlife sanctuary with over 6 miles of trails |
| Helotes Creek Nature Center | Helotes | Bexar | Central Texas | website |
| Houston Arboretum and Nature Center | Houston | Harris | Texas Coastal Bend | 155 acres with over 5 miles of trails |
| Jesse H. Jones Park & Nature Center | Humble | Harris | Texas Coastal Bend | website, operated by the County, 312 acres |
| John Bunker Sands Wetland Center | Combine | Dallas County | North Texas | website, Private non-profit, 2,000 acres |
| Kleb Woods Nature Center | Tomball | Harris | Texas Coastal Bend | website, 134 acres |
| Lamar Bruni Vergara Environmental Science Center | Laredo | Webb | Texas Coastal Bend | website, part of Laredo Community College, contains representations of the Rio Grande ecosystem and live specimens of plant and animal life |
| Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area | Lewisville | Denton | North Texas | website, operated by the University of North Texas, Texas A&M University, the City of Lewisville, and the Lewisville Independent School District, over 2000 acres with over 7 miles of trails |
| Matagorda County Birding Nature Center | Bay City | Matagorda | Texas Coastal Bend | website, 34 acres |
| McAllen Nature Center | McAllen | Hidalgo | Rio Grande Valley | , 33 acres, two miles of trails, operated by McAllen Parks & Recreation Department, This is an important site, both for wildlife, and for people, as less than 3% of the native habitat remains in the Rio Grande Valley. |
| McKinney Roughs Nature Park | Bastrop | Bastrop | Central Texas | website, 1,100 acres, operated by the Lower Colorado River Authority, includes the Mark Rose Natural Science Center |
| Meadows Center for Water and the Environment | San Marcos | Hays | Texas Hill Country | Part of Texas State University, features glass-bottomed boat tours of the San Marcos Springs, a discovery hall and aquarium exhibit; formerly the Aquarena Center |
| Miller Springs Nature Center | Lake Belton | Bell | Texas Hill Country | website, A 260-acre scenic natural area located between the Leon River and nearby 40 foot high bluffs with 10.7 miles of hike and bike trails through prairie, wetlands and forests. |
| Mitchell Lake Audubon Center | San Antonio | Bexar | Central Texas | website, 1,200 acres including the 600-acre Mitchell Lake |
| National Butterfly Center | Mission | Hidalgo | Rio Grande Valley | 100 acres, butterfly conservation, habitat conservation, native plant sanctuary, trails, butterfly center, and educational tours |
| Oso Bay Wetlands Preserve and Learning Center | Corpus Christi, Texas | Nueces County, Texas | South Texas | website |
| Rio Bravo Nature Center | Eagle Pass | Maverick | West Texas | website, environment of the Rio Grande |
| River Bend Nature Center (Texas) | Wichita Falls | Wichita | North Texas | website, 18 acres |
| River Legacy Nature Center | Arlington | Tarrant | North Texas | website, adjacent 1,300-acre River Legacy Parks |
| Riverside Nature Center | Kerrville | Kerr | Texas Hill Country | 9 acres, arboretum with wildlife and native plant sanctuary, located on the Guadalupe River |
| Sabal Palm Sanctuary | Brownsville | Cameron | Texas Coastal Bend | Owned by the National Audubon Society and operated by the Gorgas Science Foundation, 557 acres, guided tours of the late 19th-century plantation house |
| San Angelo Nature Center | San Angelo | Tom Green | Edwards Plateau | website, operated by the City, collection of native animals |
| San Marcos Nature Center | San Marcos | Hays | Texas Hill Country | website, operated by the City in the 6-acre Crook Park, focus is the San Marcos River watershed ecosystem |
| Sea Center Texas | Lake Jackson | Brazoria | Texas Coastal Bend | website, marine aquarium, fish hatchery and nature center operated by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department |
| Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center | Orange | Orange | Texas Coastal Bend | 252 acres, includes themed gardens, children's garden, wetlands demonstration garden, Victorian greenhouse, exhibit hall |
| Sibley Nature Center | Midland | Midland | West Texas | website, located in the 49-acre Hogan Park |
| Sims Bayou Urban Nature Center | Houston | Harris | Texas Coastal Bend | website, operated by Houston Audubon, 1.1 acres, includes a log cabin, barn, gazebo, boat dock and seasonal wetland trails, open by appointment |
| South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center | South Padre Island | Cameron | Texas Coastal Bend | website, 50 acres of dune meadows, salt marsh and intertidal flats, part of the World Birding Center |
| South Padre Island Dolphin Research and Sea Life Nature Center | South Padre Island | Cameron | Texas Coastal Bend | website, focus in bottlenose dolphins and their marine environment |
| South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center | Corpus Christi | Nueces | Texas Coastal Bend | 180 acres, includes a butterfly house and bromeliad conservatory |
| Spring Creek Greenway Nature Center | Spring | Montgomery | East Texas | website, adjacent to the 25-acre Peckinpaugh Preserve |
| Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center | Athens | Henderson | East Texas | website, includes a production fish hatchery, aquaria and exhibits, Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, Richard M. Hart and Johnny Morris Conservation Center |
| Trinity River Audubon Center | Dallas | Dallas | North Texas | 120 acres with 5 miles of trails |
| Twelve Hills Nature Center | Dallas | Dallas | North Texas | website, urban preserve and outdoor classroom |
| Valley Nature Center | Weslaco | Hidalgo | Texas Coastal Bend | 6 acres, focus on getting children outdoors, environment of the lower Rio Grande Valley |
| Westcave Outdoor Discovery Center | Round Mountain | Travis | Texas Hill Country | website, 75 acres, exhibits on area geology, water, weather, and energy and their connection to the Preserve's plants and animals |
| Wildcat Bluff Nature Center | Amarillo | Potter | Texas Panhandle | website, over 600 acres, 5 miles of trails, 5 acre accessible trail with pond, spring, and paleontology exhibit. Education building, visitor center. Focus on prairie ecosystems, outdoor education, and natural and human history of the Texas Panhandle. |
| Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve | Austin | Travis | Texas Hill Country | 227 acres with an environmental education center, operated by St. Edward's University, open to the public for trail hiking and events |
