Gulf Branch Nature Center

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Gulf Branch Nature Center Hosting year-round nature programs featuring live animals, pollinator gardens, wooded trails, campfires, streams, ponds, and a 19th century log cabin.

Free and open to the public six days a week! We are currently open Thursday - Saturday, 10am - 5pm. The park is open sunrise to sunset, 7 days/week. Set in a wooded stream valley, Gulf Branch Natural Area preserves and protects wildlife habitat while serving as an educational and recreational resource for the public. Staffed by friendly naturalists, the nature center houses exhibits about local natural and cultural history as well as live animals. Outside, visitors may check in with the barred owl and explore wooded trails, the stream, the pond, or the 3/4 mile trail to the Potomac River. Also located at the park are the Robert Walker Log House and a working forge operated by the Blacksmith's Guild of the Potomac. All of our programs and events can be found in our quarterly publication. Come by to pick up a copy, or access it on-line: https://parks.arlingtonva.us/nature-history/

We're located on ART Route 53A/B if you are coming via public transit (M-F only)! See you soon!

Today is Reptile Awareness Day! 🐍🦎🐢There a lot of misconceptions about these ecothermic (cold-blooded) creatures. This o...
10/21/2026

Today is Reptile Awareness Day! 🐍🦎🐢

There a lot of misconceptions about these ecothermic (cold-blooded) creatures. This often leads to a lot of myths and lack of understanding on the important role they play in our ecosystem.

Reptiles are part of everything we do, as we have our education ambassadors that we can learn from, and all the wild reptiles in the park that we love to observe as well!

To celebrate, here are some photos of reptiles we have captured around the park and what we have in the nature center 💚🤎

Photo 1: Skink outside of nature center on concrete wall
Photo 2: Kids watching a rat snake being fed
Photo 3: Turtles basking on the Potomac River on a rock
Photo 4: Rat snake hiding under leaf litter outside of nature center

Our Preschoolers shared a HOOTING good time learning about Owls! 🦉📚Come Join Our Fun!! We gather our fun facts and quest...
10/18/2026

Our Preschoolers shared a HOOTING good time learning about Owls! 🦉📚

Come Join Our Fun!! We gather our fun facts and questions in a conversation circle, make a simple project to take home and go on an easy trek in the park. Grownups share each program with their young learner. Imagine your conversation on the way home…. 😅

Programs for the young child are offered monthly Gulf Branch Nature Center and Long Branch Nature Center.

Online registration for programs with unique monthly topics - Tiny Tots, for children aged 18months-3years, and PreK kiddos, aged 3 years to 5 years. Visit arlingtonva.us to register

Whoooo… will join us in November? We can’t wait to see you! 🍂

Photo credit: Brittany Diliberto Bee Two Sweet
Thank you for the photo!

We’re hiring! 🍂🐿️We are seeking a Park Naturalist who is passionate about environmental education in schools, communitie...
10/16/2026

We’re hiring! 🍂🐿️

We are seeking a Park Naturalist who is passionate about environmental education in schools, communities, and park settings. The park naturalist will deliver programs, festivals, and other events throughout Arlington county to diverse audiences.

The full job posting can be found at arlingtonva.us/Government/Careers

Spend the night before Halloween with us, learning about the magnificent animals that inspired the wizarding world of th...
10/09/2026

Spend the night before Halloween with us, learning about the magnificent animals that inspired the wizarding world of the Harry Potter series. 🪄🔮✨

We will have live exotic animals, similar to the ones in the stories!

📍 Gulf Branch Nature Center
🗓️ Friday, October 30
⏱️ 6pm-7pm

Program is free, but advanced registration is required. To register, visit arlingtonva.us.

Our annual Festival is on the move! We will be at Fort C.F. Smith Park this year for all the traditional old-fashioned f...
10/02/2026

Our annual Festival is on the move! We will be at Fort C.F. Smith Park this year for all the traditional old-fashioned fun! Free and open to everyone. We will see you there.

If you missed pre-ordering for our native plant sale, we still have some plants on sale!As of September 30, 2026, we hav...
09/30/2026

If you missed pre-ordering for our native plant sale, we still have some plants on sale!

As of September 30, 2026, we have the following available:

• 4 Butterflyweed ($8 each)
• 7 Purple Coneflower ($8 each)
• 6 Little Bluestem ($8 each)
• 4 Culvers Root ($8 each)
• 9 White Wood Aster ($8 each)
• 4 Wild Hydrangea ($50 each)
• 9 highbush blueberry ($25 each)
• 5 Mapleleaf Viburnum ($50)
• 2 Spicebush ($25 each)
• 5 Beautyberry ($25)
• 2 Pinxter Azalea ($50)
• 6 Lady in Red Fern ($8 each)
• 1 Christmas Fern ($8 each)

Come by to Gulf Branch Nature Center to check them out! These sales help fund our programs and care for our animals 🌱🐢🥾

Here’s some of the fun things we find out during our programs in the park! Last week, during a guided hike, we saw a cou...
09/15/2026

Here’s some of the fun things we find out during our programs in the park! Last week, during a guided hike, we saw a couple of these large millepedes. Some of the biggest of these that you’ll find on the east coast! 🌎

Millipedes live on the forest floor, under leaf litter as decomposers. They commonly come out after rain events, where you’ll see them out and about without having to look under logs. 🪵🪲🐜🕷️

Despite the “milli” in the name, these arthropods usually only have a few hundred at most.

Look out for them while on the trails, you don’t want to step on them by accident! 🥾

For some, September marks the end of summer. But that doesn’t mean the fun stops! Check out what we’ve got going on for ...
09/01/2026

For some, September marks the end of summer. But that doesn’t mean the fun stops! Check out what we’ve got going on for the month here at Gulf Branch Nature Center.

🍁Fall Native Plant Sale
Order by September 19, pick up order on September 26 at Fort C.F Smith

🧸Pre: K & Tiny Tots
Thursday, September 3, Thursday, September 10, Friday, September 25, and Saturday, September 26 10am-10:45am and 11am-12pm

🔥🪵Campfires
Saturday, September 5
6pm-7pm

🌱Restore Habitat!
Friday, September 11
10am-12pm

📖Nature Storytime
Wednesday, September 16
10:30am-11am

Walk-ins are sometimes welcomed, but registration is strongly suggested. Programs are cancelled if there is low enrollment. Secure your spot on registration.arlingtonva.us

Monarchs have begun to appear more frequently on the milkweed plants!It’s this time of year that monarchs prepare for th...
08/27/2026

Monarchs have begun to appear more frequently on the milkweed plants!

It’s this time of year that monarchs prepare for their well-known migration. This is where they travel long distances to an overwintering site in Mexico, where they do not mate or reproduce.

We’ve been seeing eggs on the leaves, which can take about 30 days to full adulthood. The adult monarch that grows in this time is the “super generation,” the one that is able to survive through the winter through migration. There is another local butterfly that migrates, called the painted lady. While they are not talked about often, they are actually more widespread than monarchs!

Next time you visit the center, see if you can find all 4 life stages of a butterfly in the garden (egg, chrysalis, caterpillar, and adult)!

Summer is full of memories… and here’s some of ours!Our traveling camp visited different parks around the DMV, hiking an...
08/21/2026

Summer is full of memories… and here’s some of ours!
Our traveling camp visited different parks around the DMV, hiking and learning about local environmental action.

Despite many heat and weather advisories and last minute changes, our campers made the best out of every outing!

☀️🥾⛰️🐟

Address

Arlington, VA

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 11am - 7pm
Saturday 11am - 7pm
Sunday 1pm - 5pm

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