- Opened
- 1973
About Western N.C. Nature Center
The Western North Carolina Nature Center is a 42-acre (17 ha) zoological park in Western North Carolina operated by the City of Asheville. It was originally opened in 1925 and known as Recreation Park Zoo, Craig Park Zoo, and Asheville City Zoo and housed a wide variety of native and non-native wildlife. It was then renamed the Children's Zoo and Nature Center in the mid-seventies and was converted to a native wildlife zoo. In 1975, a non-profit charity later named the Friends of the WNC Nature Center was established to develop and fundraise for the improvements which ultimately opened in…