Ledge View Nature Center


Ledge View Nature Center is a park and interpretive center. It is located two miles south of Chilton, Wisconsin. The facility is part of the Calumet County Parks system operated by Calumet County.
The park features of hiking and cross country ski trails through field and forest; a observation tower; an arboretum; a butterfly garden; a rain garden; prairie; three natural solution dolomite caves accessible only by guided tour; and a quarry. The Ledge Views caves are one of two publicly owned park systems accessible in eastern Wisconsin with the other being Cherney Maribel Caves County Park in neighboring Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. The nature center offers school programs in caving, sedimentary geology, maple syruping, and winter ecology on traditional wood-framed snowshoes. It also has exhibits which explain the geology of the area, including the drumlins and the Niagara Escarpment. The park is open to the public. The interpretive center has interactive exhibits on lake sturgeon, birds, bats of Wisconsin, honeybees, and the Niagara Escarpment, in addition to some live animals.
The facility's exhibits and educational programming are financially supported by the 501 volunteer group Friends of Ledge View Nature Center. Every spring the group has a fundraiser called Maple Syrup Sunday, where visitors can enjoy a pancake breakfast with real maple syrup. Visitors can participating in tapping and collecting, and view the boiling process. The Escarpment Bicycle Tour in August, Fall Food and Energy Fest in September, and Halloween Candlelight Cave Tours in October also raise funds for the Friends group and nature center.

History

The site was purchased from Zimmermann in 1969. The nature center was built in 1981, and an addition was constructed in 1986. In 1998 the Frisch Family exhibit hall was constructed.