ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Almost six months after Helene, a facility home to 60 species of wildlife from the southern Appalachian Mountains is open again.

What You Need To Know

  •  The Western North Carolina Nature Center reopened to the public this week

  •  After Helene, the nature center had downed trees and damage to fences and boardwalks

  •  The site's biggest hurdle to reopen was access to the property, because the storm washed away roads and a bridge nearby

The Western North Carolina Nature Center reopened to members and city staff members March 10 and to the public this week. 

The staff and animals were all OK while the WNC Nature Center had downed trees and damage to fences and boardwalks. 

WNC Nature Center Director Chris Gentile said volunteers from other zoos as far as the midwest stepped in to help with the repairs at the nature center. 

“It’s kind of amazing to have a community like that being, being an accredited zoo, to be able to have a community of folks that can help us out in those situations,” Gentile said. 

The damage was much worse in the banks of the Swannanoa River, and Swannanoa River Road washed away. These were two access points to the nature center before the storm. 

“The road has been rebuilt here in the past five months to have traffic again,” Gentile said. 

To accommodate for the bridge loss, visitors now have to take an alternate route on a metal bridge. 

“The biggest thing that kept us from being able to open was accessibility for guests to get to us,” Gentile said. “The biggest thing that kept us from being able to open was accessibility for guests to get to us,” Gentile said. 

Rebekah Thapa, who is a member of the nature center, visited it for the first time since the storm with her family. 

“It’s been a long, cold winter, and we were excited one of our favorite places is open after the hurricane,” Thapa said.

She and her family are regulars at this facility. 

“It feels really relaxing to let the kids roam around and get up close to the animals,” Thapa said. 

The Swannanoa residents have seen the devastation and recovery efforts firsthand. 

“It’s still hard to wrap our minds around to what happened and processing what we went through,” Thapa said. 

They are glad to be back visiting.

“We love supporting Asheville and all the work they are doing for the animals here,” Thapa said. 

Gentile is happy to welcome visitors back.

“The nature center opening is another milestone to show that our community is recovering, and things are getting back to normal,” Gentile said. 

Gentile said up to 200,000 people visit the WNC Nature Center every year, and it may take a while to get back to those numbers. However, they are encouraged to welcome more visitors with warmer weather and school breaks coming up. 

The nature center did some planned renovation work while the facility was closed that will now be completed in the summer. 

The center welcomes visitors from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. except major holidays.