Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center is a regional center for environmental education and outdoor recreation located in beautiful Kandiyohi County in west-central Minnesota.   Thanks for visiting our website!!   We provide an exciting array of hands-on learning adventures for all ages, as well as beautiful facilities for meetings and special events.   Give us a call and let us customize a program or event for your group. 

Current information and photos

Current News and Events

Happy January!!! Friday the 17th we are closing at Noon. We will not be open on Saturday the 18th. Ski Trails will be groomed & tracked by the morning of Sunday, the 19th. Trailhead will be open Sunday noon-5. Stay tuned for trail updates...  1/15/2020 We will be out packing trails today following the snowfall in preparation for more snow in the forecast over the next two days. Please call ahead for equipment rentals and trail conditions. Check us out at Spicer Winterfest on Saturday, Jan. 18th.   PWELC will have kicksleds available from 2:30-4:30  (FREE!). Look for us near the ice castle and party tent. Call for Exhibitors for Winter Fun Day!! Sunday, Feb. 9th 2020    11am-4pm Join us for a day of winter fun! Chili feed, live music, winter hobby and craft exhibits.   FREE. Try cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, kicksledding and indoor rock climbing - all for $5/$15max for family. Add to the Fun!  Give us a call if you would like to share a winter hobby, craft or sport during Winter Fun Day.     Click on link for poster.        We are renting skis, snowshoes & kicksleds in the Trailhead 8:30am-4pm Mon - Fri, Sat 10am-5pm & Sun Noon-5pm.  Rentals are just $5 for students or PWELC members, $15 for adult non-members (Cash or check).    Become a new or renewing Prairie Woods member and your first-day ski rental is free! PWELC grooms six miles of xc ski trail and we have over 140 sets of ski equipment for rent, 27 kicksleds and dozens of pairs of snowshoes. The new 7.9kw solar array on the pavilion has been completed and will be putting power out onto the grid within a few days.   Thanks to our Prairie Stars Fund-a-Need donors!   Be sure to check it out when you hit the ski trails this winter.  The recent solar addition brings us up to 40KW total capacity with a combination of wind and solar.  We love sunny and windy days.  Thanks to MNSolar for fitting us into the work schedule before the end of the year! The Mountain Bike Trails have not been groomed at this time.   The Kandi Trail Riders Club has completed 4.5 miles of mountain bike trail.   KTR welcomes volunteers to assist with winter trail grooming.   Please contact the PWELC office if you would like to assist with winter fat bike  trails.  Click on "Programs and Events" above to check out our calendar of interesting and fun programs.    Check Facebook for recent photos and other updates. Prairie Woods on the go!   The Big Canoe, the  Prairie Woods Pinnacle- mobile rock climbing tower, the enviro-puppet theatre and the Yellow Boats Project will be busy throughout the region this summer getting kids up off of the couch and into the great outdoors.   Click on the Facebook link to see photos of some of the planned and past activities and give us a call to schedule a PWELC program for your group or community festival.     Remember.... We Deliver!  If you can't come to us, we'll come to you. Give us a call if you would like to have the big canoe, portable climbing wall, Yellow Boats, xc skis, snowshoes, teambuilding, a variety of environmental ed. programs or the LORAX puppet show come to your school or community event. (ask about discounted Lorax performance due to an anonymous donor)   ***WE WANT YOUR SHOES!   Please donate your gently worn shoes to PWELC for our WorldWear fundraising project.  Ask us about how your school can easily earn Prairie Woods Bucks by collecting shoes for re-use and recycling. Click here for the World Wear Agreement.   Nothing at PWELC "just happens."  Good things happen only when people like YOU help to make them happen.   Please support our work with donations of time, talent or funds and join us for some of the exciting programs and events throughout the year.

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