Jamestown, N.Y.
– Audubon Community Nature Center celebrates the first three weekends of spring with Audubon Lights, a half-mile trail of lights that brighten the landscape after sunset.
This year the popular annual event happens Fridays and Saturdays from March 21 through April 5.
Audubon Community Nature Center’s stunning display of Audubon
Lights and enjoy live entertainment and treats around a warm fire.
Walk a luminary-lit trail past ponds that reflect the illuminated trees and stars above. Creative light displays and laser light shows highlight natural features in new ways. The trails look spectacular when lit up in the dark, and Spring Peepers provide the perfect soundtrack to this nighttime nature walk.
Purchase small LED lights at the entrance for additional fun (and to keep an eye on children in the dark), as well as glasses that refract the light to make the trail even more amazing. Bringing cash makes purchasing easier.
The trail ends at the Nature Center with a warm fire, hot drinks, popcorn, and other food for sale, as well as live entertainment.
The Nature Center building will be open so you can play in the indoor nature play area, visit the live animals, and shop in the Blue Heron Gift Shop.
Audubon Lights happens rain or shine, so be sure to dress for the weather. Entertainment may move inside during inclement weather.
Bringing a flashlight is recommended in case you need it on dark sections of the trail. Parking lots have lights, but an un-lit overflow parking lot is used on crowded nights.
Visitors who buy a Nature Center membership at Audubon Lights receive a discount on their event tickets plus four free light gadgets for their family to enjoy.
Audubon Lights hours March 21 and 22 are 8–10 pm; with increasing daylight, March 28 and 29 hours are 8:15–10pm and April 4 and 5 are 8:30–10pm.
Admission is $12 for adults, $9 for Nature Center members and children 3–15, and free for ages 2 and under.
Paid reservations are appreciated by the night before and can be made by calling (716) 569-2345 or going to AudubonCNC.org/events. Walk-ins are welcome.
Business sponsors for Audubon Lights 2025 to date include Courier Capital, Shults Auto Group, and Saxton, Kocur & Associates, LLP.
Audubon Community Nature Center is located at 1600 Riverside Road, one-quarter mile east of Route 62 between Jamestown, N.Y., and Warren, Pa. You can visit the nearly 600-acre nature preserve, check in on the live birds of prey, enjoy the natural play space, and hike, snowshoe or cross country ski over five miles of trails dawn until dusk daily for free.
To learn more about Audubon and its many programs, find Audubon Community Nature Center on Facebook and Instagram, or visit AudubonCNC.org. Check out AudubonCNC.org/about for a quick fly-by visit.
Audubon Community Nature Center builds and nurtures connections between people and nature by providing positive outdoor experiences, opportunities to learn about and understand the natural world, and knowledge to act in environmentally responsible ways.