Long Beach California
El Dorado Nature Center
7550 E Spring St
Long Beach, CA 90815
longbeach.gov
RW57+R6 Long Beach, California
Between the San Gabriel River and the 605 Freeway in Long Beach, an urban oasis awaits. El Dorado Nature Center offers an escape from city life in the middle of bustling Long Beach.
The Nature Center is set on 105 acres, providing an urban sanctuary for a variety of Southern California plant and animal life. Explore two lakes, a stream and a forest as you make your way down nearly two miles of dirt trails and a quarter mile of paved trail.
Cross a wooden footbridge to an island in the middle of one of the lakes, and visit the park’s Visitor Center, housing an art gallery, a gift shop and educational displays.
Until the late 1960’s, the land where the park sits was known as the “municipal weed patch”. It had been part of the San Gabriel River’s flood plain, and was farmed as a bean field after the river was channelized.
When the San Gabriel River Freeway was built, the area was turned into a park. The hills of the wildlife refuge were actually built with dirt displaced by the freeway construction.
The Nature Center is part of the larger El Dorado Regional Park, which offers everything from disc golf to archery to fishing. The park has basketball courts, cross country running, playgrounds, a roller hockey court, a skate park, tennis courts, volleyball courts and soccer fields.
Listed as #1 on TripAdvisor for “Things to Do in Long Beach”, the El Dorado Nature Center is truly a special place, and one of the most beautiful parts of the city.
Trails are open Tue-Sun 8am-5pm. The Museum is open Tue-Sun 8:30am-4pm. Vehicle charges are $5 Mon-Thu, $6 on Fridays, and $7 Sat-Sun. Annual vehicle passes can be purchased for $60.
