Discover Programs, Wildlife, and Family Activities at Ruffner Mountain Nature Center

Our newly refurbished patio is a great place to relax after a hike and watch our feathered friends flutter from tree to tree. If you stay long enough, perhaps you’ll be able to help us identify the woodpecker that’s been making a home in one of the pine trees. Feel free to visit us throughout the year to keep track of the forest canopy changes depending on the season. 

The patio isn’t all we have to offer. We’re also excited about the Nature Center reopening because we can welcome members of the public and school groups back into our exhibit hall where they can meet 12 of our 19 Wildlife Ambassadors. In 2025 we hosted over 600 students on field trips and upwards of 1,000 visitors at our Nature Center. We hope to welcome even more this year! We are also excited to announce that while we were closed for renovations, we welcomed three new Wildlife Ambassadors to our collection! You can read more about them below.

The Ruffner Mountain Nature Center has stood as a testament to environmental education for  over 15 years and we look forward to remaining a place where children, families, and adults can explore the natural world around them. So, feel free to stop in the next time you’re here to fill up your water bottle, meet a snake, or just say hello. The Nature Center is open Tuesday through Sunday. And if you come at the right time, you may even be able to meet one of our new ambassadors. See the Ruffner Mountain webpage to plan your trip.

Events and Programs at Ruffner Mountain

Events 

If you’re interested in connecting with us beyond just a visit to the Nature Center, please explore our events calendar to find what’s going on at Ruffner Mountain (don’t miss our upcoming Native Plant Sale every Saturday in April), and our other greenspaces —Red Mountain Park and Turkey Creek Nature Preserve.
Events fill up quickly, so register early.

Summer Camp

If you have children (seven to twelve years of age) who are passionate about nature, we encourage you to explore our annual summer camp hosted at Ruffner Mountain - Junior Naturalist Academy! 

Welcoming Our New Wildlife Ambassadors Grits, Pharaoh, and Kittyhawk while Saying Goodbye to Zea

Even though the Nature Center was closed for renovations, we remained busy quarantining and training our three new wildlife ambassadors: Grits, Pharaoh, and Kittyhawk. Unfortunately, we also had to say goodbye to one of our oldest snake residents, Zea.

In Loving Memory: Zea

Corn Snake, Pantherophis guttatus

Zea educated thousands of people during her eight years with us as a wildlife ambassador. She even had a dedicated fanbase who would come to the Nature Center regularly, specifically to visit her. She passed from colon cancer in October 2025 at an estimated 18 years old. She will be remembered as a calm, curious, and gentle animal who inspired countless people to love and respect snakes. Zea, you were the best girl. May your spirit watch over us, finally free and wild.

‍

‍

Welcome Pharaoh

Pharaoh is an Eastern Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula. Kingsnakes are a very important part of the ecosystem because they eat venomous snakes and are immune to their venom - that’s why they are the king of the snakes. Kingsnakes keep the venomous snake population balanced, and without them, venomous snake populations would increase. Unfortunately, kingsnake populations are decreasing due to intentional harm from humans, and they are now a protected species in Alabama. We would love for you to come visit Pharaoh and learn more about kingsnakes and how to protect them!

‍

‍

Welcome Grits

Grits is a Corn Snake, Pantherophis guttatus. Corn Snakes are beautiful, multicolored snakes with showy red, orange, yellow, black, and white markings that mimic the kernels of decorative maize. They are often also found in cornfields because they are a species of ratsnake. Rats are granivores and love to eat corn, and the cornsnakes are attracted to cornfields to eat the rats. Without cornsnakes, we would not have food on our tables! Corn Snake populations are declining due to people misidentifying them as Copperheads and harming them. Come by the Nature Center and thank Grits for protecting our wheat and corn!

‍

‍

Welcome Kittyhawk

Kittyhawk, known to her trainers as “Kitty”, is a Red-Tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis. Kitty is our newest ambassador and lives outside next to Beaux, our resident Barred Owl. Her name honors the state where she was born, North Carolina. Kitty used to be a falconer’s bird, but she was hit by a car during a hunt, causing her to lose sight in her left eye and impairing her flight. Due to her injuries, she is now unable to be released into the wild but has adapted quickly to her new life as an educator. We are looking forward to our visitors meeting her and learning more about how to protect raptors from car strikes.

All three of our new ambassadors will be featured in upcoming events at Ruffner Mountain and our Junior Naturalists will have the opportunity to spend time with them during the summer camp. 

We hope to see you soon on the mountain!

Emily Hutto, Lead Naturalist and WIldlife Care Specialist, and Hunter Meadows, Teaching Naturalist with Jefferson County Greenways

‍