Indian Creek Nature Center
Get away from it all anytime at the Indian Creek Nature Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Whether during the bright green of spring, lush bloom of summer, autumn's brilliance or the stark, crisp beauty of winter, the Indian Creek Nature Center welcomes you to reconnect with all that nature has to offer.
Explore over 200 acres and 4 miles of trails. Be inspired by changing vistas, splashing streams and up-close wildlife at every turn.
Cultivate your child's curiosity about the wonders of industrious honey bees and wiggly backyard bugs.
Learn how you can grow your own food, conserve precious resources and tread more gently on the earth.
Engage with others in preserving and restoring Iowa's waterways and native habitats.
Visit the barn Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 4 PM and Saturdays from 11 AM to 4 PM. The grounds & trails are open daylight hours every day of the year. And remember...it's FREE to visit the Nature Center so bring the family and have some fun!
Not A Lot Of Plot
Registration is now open for our 3rd backyard sustainability workshop scheduled for January 12, 2013. Learn tips and ideas for living sustainably and responsibly on your plot of Earth. Learn more
NOW in the Creekside Shop
Don't get cabin fever! Visit the Creekside Shop to find lots of fun things to do on a cold winter's day- cookie cutters, finger puppets, books, games, science kits and more! Pick up a pocket Night Sky Guide and take a romantic stroll under the stars. The Creekside Shop will keep you happy, healthy and entertained in 2013!
You can also give a membership to the Nature Center! Purchase a new individual or family membership as a gift and your recipient gets to take advantage of "free" months of membership (renewal date is March, 2014). It's truly a gift that will be enjoyed all year long! Ask at the front desk for membership information (or sign up online).
Remember, shopping at the Creekside Shop is an easy way to support the Nature Center's mission!
The Indian Creek Nature Center sits on land previously occupied by two farms that were established in 1849. The land changed hands several times before Milo Wolfe purchased what is known today as the Bena Farm. The farm remained in the Wolfe family until 1899, when William Christle purchased it. For twenty years the Christle family owned the property, then sold it to Wencil and Carrie Bena on March 1, 1920. Cary was William Christle's daughter. The farm remained in the Bena family until it was sold to the Indian Creek Nature Center in 1994.
Penningroth Dairy Farm
In the mid 1920s Charles Penningroth, a Cedar Rapids attorney, purchased other land bordering Indian Creek. For the next 25 years, under Penningroth ownership, the land was in various forms of agriculture. Construction of the Penningroth Dairy Barn was completed in 1932 in the midst of the Depression. The remodeled barn is currently used as the hub of many Nature Center activities.
In 1968 the City of Cedar Rapids used Federal Housing and Urban Development funds to purchased about 1000 acres of floodplain along the Cedar River. This land, known as the Greenbelt, stretches from southeast Cedar Rapids to Indian Creek; then extends north through the lower Indian Creek valley. The Penningroth farm was part of this purchase.
Creation of the
Indian Creek Nature Center
In 1970 B.B. Stamats visited a nature center in the Twin Cities and became an advocate for an environmental education center in the Cedar Rapids area. B.B. and Jean O'Donnell shared this vision and recruited a steering committee of about forty community members. The Indian Creek Nature Center was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1973 but a physical site had yet to be found. Studies found the best was the Penningroth farm, now owned by the City of Cedar Rapids. A lease for the barn and 120 acres of land was arranged and the Indian Creek Nature Center became the first nature center in Iowa. The first public program was held on Groundhog Day in 1974. An exceptional and unexpected opportunity came in 1994 when the Bena family offered to sell their farm to the Nature Center. The resulting transaction increased Nature Center land 210 acres.
BB Stamats' and Jean O'Donnell's dream of a nature center for their community materialized into green prairies, teeming wetlands, and protected woodlands that are enjoyed by thousands of visitors each year.
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