Shipley Nature Center Huntington Beach, CA

The Friends of Shipley Nature Center are pleased to provide small group tours for students and adults based upon their desired areas of interest.

Please send us an email to info@shipleynature.org with your request to schedule a tour with our trained volunteer docents who enjoy sharing the history of the area, our diverse habitats and unique nature aspects in an urban setting.  School field trips are age-appropriate from preschool through college.

Free parking is available at 17851 Goldenwest Street, Huntington Beach which leads to the 200-yard paved-walkway to enter the visitor gate.  Decomposed granite walk-ways surround the interpretative building, demonstration gardens and the facility areas containing the restrooms and the cold-filtered water station.  The Interpretative Building contains inter-active exhibits, books and gift shop.  Please do not bring food inside the nature center.  Outside the gates there are picnic tables for lunching.  No pets are allowed; except ADA service animals.

The nature center is managed by The Friends of Shipley Nature Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.  Scheduled tours cost $5.00 per person.  Tour donations are accepted through our account at PayPal.

Your tour will include walking the nature trails while learning about the flora and fauna of the Oak Woodland, Redwood, Coastal Sage Scrub, Riparian, Meadow and Blackbird Pond habitats. The Interpretive Building offers areas for creative, interactive learning for young children using puppets, books, and poetry for dramatic play. You will also find a diorama and taxidermy specimens of birds and animals that live at or visit Shipley. The history of the area is told through historical panels beginning with the Ice Age to present day Huntington Beach.

Volunteer Docent Carolee

Some tours may include visiting the conservation yard to learn about composting, vermicomposting, water conservation and rainwater harvesting. Rain barrels, water hogs, composting bins, and a man-made stream are on display. Information regarding home use is available.