CREA’s Ecology Center is located at the 230-acre Cathance River Nature Preserve in Topsham. Learn more about CREA’s beginnings and its relationship to the Preserve here.

The Cathance River Nature Preserve and most trails are open to the public every day from dawn to dusk.

The CREA Ecology Center hosts open house hours every Sunday from 12-2 PM. We have lots to browse through and some child-friendly activities to do on-site or take with you. Come visit!

We have an impressive array of native Maine mammals and birds on display and a nice collection of Maine minerals. The answers to many of your natural history questions can be answered within our extensive library or by the volunteers that are on staff each weekend!

In the winter months, snowshoes are available to loan during the Sunday open house hours to explore the Preserve trails. Youth and Adult sizes are available on a first come first serve basis, free of charge.

The Preserve is on privately-owned land that is protected by a conservation easement. Please respect the landowner’s prohibition on pets, hunting, camping, fires, biking, and motorized vehicles at the Preserve.

Please “leave no trace” of your visit; stay on the marked trails; pick up any trash; pack out everything you pack in; return any logs or rocks to their original location. Please do not remove items from the preserve.

Registration is not required, just stop on by for a visit!