Public Programs

One of the best ways to enjoy a visit to our site is to participate in a guided tour program. Reservations are recommended for guided tours, and they are not offered every day. See the guided tour schedule to plan your visit. If you are not able to come at a time we have a guided tour, self guided tours of both the Aldo Leopold Shack and Farm and the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center are available from May through October each year during our public open hours.

Additional educational opportunities are available year-round, and include guided group tours, brown bag seminar presentations, Aldo Leopold Weekend events, and classes through the Woodland School-- an adult workshop series focused on land management skills and techniques. View all of our upcoming events from tours to lectures, on our Calendar of Events page.

Reservations for tours are not required, but they are appreciated. Please use our online form to make a reservation to attend a guided public tour.

Tours at the Aldo Leopold Shack and Farm

The Shack is a re-built chicken coop along the Wisconsin River where the famous environmentalist Aldo Leopold and his family stayed during weekend retreats. The land surrounding the Shack and farm provided the inspiration for the essays in the conservation classic A Sand County Almanac. Each year, thousands of visitors are inspired through reflection in the same landscape that deeply moved Leopold.

Self-Guided Shack Tours

All ages: $7 per person / Leopold Foundation Members: free
Self-guided tours of the Shack are permitted from May through October, during our public open hours. The Aldo Leopold Shack and Farm is not open for recreational use, and visitors may only access the property on a formal guided or self-guided tour. Visitors must always check in at the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center first for permission to access the Shack. The Shack is shuttered and locked during self-guided tours, but you will follow a brochure that uses historic photographs to illustrate the landscape history and connections to A Sand County Almanac on the trails around the property.

If you would like to visit the Shack on a self-guided tour between November and April, please contact our education staff to make a request. Typically snow cover prevents visitation for much of our off season.

Guided Shack Tours

Adults: $12 / Children & Seniors: $9 / Leopold Foundation Members: free
The land surrounding the Shack and farm provides a living classroom for exploring dynamic ecological relationships and conservation history. Each year, thousands of visitors are inspired by the same landscape that deeply moved Leopold. Public guided tours of the Shack are offered regularly from May-October of each year, and include the history and philosophy of Aldo Leopold, a visit inside the Shack, and a walk through restored prairie and woods. Shack tours last approximately one and a half to two hours. If you are coming in a group of 10 or more participants, we request that you schedule a separate tour date and time in advance.

Register here for a public guided Shack tour.

** Shack Tour routes follow rustic trails which may have occasional obstacles such as tree stumps, exposed roots, or downed branches. The Aldo Leopold Foundation assumes no responsibility for any injury and/or accident to a person or persons while visiting the Aldo Leopold Shack and Farm.

Tours at the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center

The Leopold Center is an educational and interpretive facility near the Leopold “Shack,” located on the very land where Aldo Leopold died in 1948 fighting a brush fire. The Aldo Leopold Legacy Center embodies the philosophy of one of the nation’s great thinkers, the late conservationist and author of A Sand County Almanac. Learn about how features like solar power, geothermal, and sustainable building materials make this one of the “greenest” buildings in the world. It has not only received the US Green Building Council’s LEED® platinum certification, the highest possible level, but it was more highly rated than any other building yet rated in the United States. It is also the first building ever to be certified “carbon neutral.”

Self-Guided Leopold Center Tours

During our open hours, visitors can view our photography exhibit "Changes in the Leopold Landscape: Photography Through Time," and take a self-guided tour of the building. Interpretive signage shares information on green building features. There is no charge for self-guided tours of the Legacy Center.

Guided Leopold Center Tours

Adults: $5 / Children & Seniors: $3 / Leopold Foundation Members: free
Walk through the greenest building in the country with one of our tour guides to get in-depth information about how solar power, geothermal, and sustainable building materials help this facility produce more energy than it consumes. Guided tours for the public are offered regularly from May through October each year. The Aldo Leopold Legacy Center replicates the respectful relationship to land demonstrated by Leopold at the Shack, but through the prism of the 21st century. Let this special place inspire you to explore what the term "land ethic" can mean for people today. Guided tours last about 1 hour. If you are coming in a group of 10 or more participants, we request that you schedule a separate tour date and time in advance.

Register here for a public guided Leopold Center tour.

Combined Tour
On select days throughout the tour season, we lead both the guided tour to the Shack and the guided tour of the Legacy Center. Bring a bag lunch and enjoy a half day experience with us!
Adults: $15 / Children & Seniors: $10 / Leopold Foundation Members: free

Reservations for tours are not required, but they are appreciated. Please use our online form to make a reservation to attend a guided public tour.