Cope Environmental Center is situated on 102 beautiful acres in Centerville, Indiana.  The property features over three miles of hiking trails meandering through hardwood forests, grasslands, over 12 acres of prairie, three wetlands, and two ponds, and a significant collection of conifers.  The Jim Cope Conifer Trail highlights over 50 different species of these conifers from around the world and was dedicated in 2002. 
 

The property is used by hikers daily and is the outdoor classroom for thousands of school students each year.  The trails also host hundreds of summer campers in June and July and provide a beautiful setting for community groups and events. 

The property is, of course, managed with sustainability in mind.  Areas not needing to be maintained for program purposes are often left to their natural beauty to avoid excessive fuel use and habitat destruction.  Trails are maintained with mulch from area holiday trees chipped by Richmond Power and Light each spring! 

We encourage you to explore our trails, dawn to dusk, everyday of the year!  Trailheads are located at the 4910 Shoemaker Rd. entrance and the 1792 Airport Road entrance.  Maps can be found inside the trailheads- hikers are encouraged to return the maps for reuse by future hikers. 

CEC Spring Wildflower Guide (prepared by 2010 EC Grad and CEC Bonner Scholar Amy Boxell)