The Nature PlayScape is located on 1.6 acres of forest, field, stream, and wetland habitat within Rowe Woods. It is a short walk from Rowe Visitor Center and is adjacent to restroom facilities with an outdoor rinse-off shower and parking lot.

The Nature PlayScape is intentionally designed—primarily for ages 12 and under with adult supervision—to provide children with opportunities for unstructured play in a resilient version of local natural habitats. Native plants, fallen logs, boulders, rocks, water, and soil create forest and field habitats for children to explore. This environment contains very few man-made structures (swings, slides, etc.), and strives to re-create the kind of childhood experience many parents and grandparents had in nature when they were young.

This is an environment where families can interact with nature together. Parents are solely responsible for their children at all times.

Dogs are not allowed in the Nature PlayScape.

Cincinnati Nature Center seeks to enrich the lives of children by inspiring a passion for nature. Children need to play, touch, build, and create special spaces and structures, supporting individual autonomy, initiative, and industry. These are the foundations of healthy psychosocial development. What better place to master these challenges than outside in nature?

The Nature PlayScape helps fulfill our mission by giving children the opportunity to explore and play freely in nature. Research indicates that children who play frequently in nature may develop a comfort and familiarity with the natural world that reaches into adulthood. Because children are not permitted off-trail elsewhere on the Nature Center’s property, and few families have a diverse natural setting in their own backyards, the Nature Center provides a place where children can explore nature without compromising the rest of our 1,022 acres of habitat. The Nature PlayScape concentrates the impact of play to one small area and protects the more pristine parts of the property.

When visiting the Nature PlayScape with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, you'll find a special area created just for them.

The early childhood area has materials and digging pits sized for the smallest visitors and is enclosed for easy adult supervision. This space has digging pits, tree stumps, and a bird blind. The natural playthings provided by the surrounding woods will also add to your child's play.