118 North Main Street - Alma, WI 54610

Tourism Office: 608-685-3303

Open Daily Year round 10am-5pm. Closed Thanksgiving Day & Christmas Day.

It's unusual for a Nature Center to be located in an urban area, right on Main Street. The memorable experiences available to our visitors are greatly impacted by the natural area that makes up Alma, Wisconsin located in the midst of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife & Fish Refuge. The influences on our local and regional artists are apparent in the exceptional artworks they create. This is the uniqueness of the Wings Over Alma Nature & Art Center. The area hosts hundreds of bald eagles, with many active nests. Herons are abundant. Rieck's Lake offers opportunities to view migrating tundra swans, usually in March and November. Much of the continent's waterfowl population uses the Mississippi Flyway during migration, and half of the world's canvasback ducks stop in the refuge. In addition to the migration of waterfowl, dozens of species of songbirds take advantage of this area with peak spring migration from mid-March to mid-May and peak fall migation from mid-October to mid-November. During the summer months, morning valley fog from the Buffalo River and Beef Slough creeps out onto the Mississippi River and it adds a wonderful mystique to the landscape and waterways. Backroad driving offers beautiful views throughout the year but the autumn color which peaks in October makes the experience unforgettable. Sugar maple, waltnut, birch, basswood, oak and hickory display vibrant colors on the bluffs surrounding the Mississippi River and the many valleys of scenic Buffalo County. Winter reveals interesting ice and snow patterns on the frozen river, along with occasional hoarfrost and active bald eagles. During the coldest parts of winter, the Mississippi River freezes over, except for areas immediately downstream from Lock & Dam #4. Bald eagles congregate around this open pool of water to feed and they can be seen directly from the viewing deck of the Nature & Art Center.