Wilder Forest offers an oasis of trees, lakes, meadows and farmland near Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota, less than an hour away from most Twin Cities locations. The area also contains a working educational farm, complete with livestock, poultry, gardens, cropland and a year-round farm interpretive center. Other resources include a swimming beach, outdoor recreation areas, the May Farm historic site, Hmong and Native American Village sites, an outdoor team-building course, and a climbing tower. A central village area includes four lodges that can accommodate up to 102 people, a meeting house for groups of 40 to 60, a central food service building, smaller meeting rooms, a library, craft studio and community kitchen. All facilities are designed to blend naturally into the environment while offering comfort, accessibility, and energy efficiency.
More remote sites are also available for overnight and day camping experiences.
Wilder Forest is operated by the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation and is available for use by nonprofit organizations, schools and public agencies. The central focus of Wilder Forest is youth development and community building. For that reason, priority is given to organizations that serve residents of the Saint Paul area,particularly those that serve youth and families in the city s central urban neighborhoods. The Forest encourages programs that explore the links among natural, social and human environments and that seek to strengthen self-sufficiency, cooperation and leadership capabilities of individuals and organizations. To use the center, arrangements must be made in advance with Wilder Forest staff, who can help organizations choose the facilities and programs that best meet each group s goals, interests, budget and other unique circumstances.