The Claytor Nature Study Center encompasses 470 acres of rural country in Bedford County, Virginia, offering a commanding view of the Peaks of Otter in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The property is located on the western edge of the Piedmont Region of Virginia within the Roanoke River Watershed.
The Center offers open fields, woodlands, riverside cliffs, wetlands, a wide variety of flora and fauna, and over two miles of trails.
Historically managed as a farm since the late 1700s, some sections are now managed for environmental conservation and restoration as part of agreements with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
A few areas are still managed as farmland. In 2007, the Claytor Nature Study Center was awarded the Bedford County Conservation Farm of the Year!
Natural features of the Center include:
- 470 total acres under Virginia Outdoors Foundation conservation easement
- 240 acres of upland and lowland forests
- 70 acres of wetland and riparian habitat
- Two small lakes, a pond, and several intermittent streams
- One mile of the Big Otter River
- More than 800 species of flora and fauna!!