Jerome "Buddie" Ford Nature Center

Jerome 'Buddie' Ford Nature Center in Alexandria, Virginia is a 44-acre natural area run by Alexandria City Parks that quietly earns a 4. 8-star Google rating from 132 visitors — a strong signal for a free, city-run nature center. Open Wednesday through Saturday (closed Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday), it provides a genuine natural experience for Northern Virginia families who want something beyond playground equipment.

The nature center building houses live reptiles, mounted bird specimens, and educational displays about the local ecosystem. Staff naturalists run programs for children that go beyond what most parks can offer — educational sessions about local wildlife, guided walks, and seasonal programming tied to migration patterns, insect emergence, and other natural phenomena happening in real time.

The 44-acre grounds include wooded trails, a stream corridor, and wildlife habitat that supports a genuine diversity of local birds and animals. For families who've been taking their kids to the same playgrounds and indoor venues, a visit here resets the baseline — kids who discover they can find a turtle under a log or identify a woodpecker by sound have a different kind of afternoon than the screen or trampoline version.

For Alexandria residents and Northern Virginia families, the Ford Nature Center is the kind of resource that longtime DC-area residents wish they'd found sooner. For visiting families, it's a quieter, more contemplative complement to the high-energy zoo and museum experiences.

Important: closed Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Plan your visit for Wednesday through Saturday, 10AM-4PM.