Cool Creek Park & Nature Center

09/14/2026

Celebrate Halloween with your family at Little Haunt on the Prairie, sponsored by Hallmark Orthodontics! 👻🎃
This evening event is perfect for preschool and elementary-aged children, offering a safe and fun environment to trick-or-treat, play games, and explore the outdoors. Highlights include a hayride, nature-themed activities, live animals, a cozy campfire with marshmallows, live entertainment featuring a DJ and fire-breathing performers, and a chance to meet your favorite characters from A Nightmare Before Christmas! Costumes are welcome, and food will be available for purchase.

Date: October 15, 2026
Time: 5:00 – 8:30 pm
Ages: Families
Location: Cool Creek Park
Cost: $5 per person; kids 2 and under are free. Every person attending the event, kids included, need a ticket. Tickets are available online or at the gate the day of the event

Get tickets: https://secure.rec1.com/IN/hamilton-county-in/catalog/index/48633594efa7140220033fe9c2b6d62e?filter=c2VhcmNoPWxpdHRsZSUyMGhhdW50

09/12/2026

Upcoming Senior Walking Club dates! 🚶‍♂️👟
Join us at Cool Creek Park or Strawtown Koteewi Park for a summer walk! Hikes are relaxed, go-at-your-own-pace activity and range from 1 to 2.5 miles. Registration is not required.

Cool Creek Park - Meet in the Nature Center: September 21 at 9:30 am
Strawtown Koteewi Park - Meet in the Taylor Center: September 24 at 11:00 am

09/11/2026

Our FALL NATIVE PLANT ORDER has arrived!

Currently all listed species have a quantity of 6 or more as of 9/12/26 at 10am unless otherwise specified below.

Please note, the plant sale is near the parking lot where park vehicles are located. Please come inside the nature center with questions and to pay. All activity is monitored by security video.

Trees: 3 gallon $30.00
Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

Shrubs/Vine: 3 gallon $25.00
Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia)
Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea)
Missouri Gooseberry (Ribes missouriense)

Flowers/Grasses: 1 gallon $10.00
Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Common/ Virginia Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum)
Common Tussock Sedge (Carex stricta)
Dense Blazing Star (Liatris spicata)
Early/False Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides)
Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea)
June Grass (Koeleria macrantha)*
Heart-Leaved / Blue-wood Aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium)
Lance-leaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata)
Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)
Obedient Plant (Physostegia virginiana)
Plains Oval Sedge (Carex brevior)
Prairie Phlox (Phlox pilosa)
Purple Love Grass (Eragrostis spectabilis)
Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea)
Pale Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pallida)*
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)*
Short's Aster (Symphyotrichum shortii)
Showy Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida)
Smooth Blue Aster (Symphyotrichum laeve)*
Swamp/Rose Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
Sweet Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia subtomentosa)
Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
Yellow /Gray-headed Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata)
Whorled Milkweed (Asclepias verticillata) SOLD OUT

Our naturalist staff is happy to help to answer questions about the native plants for sale. Our inventory is subject to change based on species availability and customer's input.

Our plant sales will continue through October or while supplies last. No new orders will be done for trees and shrubs. We recommend checking out the Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District Tree and Plant Sale for their great sale. https://www.hamiltonswcd.org/treesale.html #/

We accept cash and check. There is a small extra fee for debit/credit purchases.
Planting native species is easy and one of the more beneficial things each of us can do for ecology diversity and pollinators.
Hours: Monday-Saturday 10-5 / Sunday 1-5. Call us at 317-774-2500
*Indicates a species not technically native to Hamilton County, but native to Indiana or Midwest. Many were historically documented just a few counties away.

09/07/2026

Our Administration Office, the Cool Creek Nature Center, and the Taylor Center of Natural History will be closed on Monday, September 7 for Labor Day.

09/06/2026

Room with a View - Adult Social Gathering at the Cool Creek Nature Center
Enjoy a sweet treat and a warm cup of coffee at the Wildlife Viewing Area inside the Cool Creek Nature Center - a simple, peaceful way to connect with both people and the natural world.

September 14 at 1:30 pm
Cool Creek Nature Center
18 and up
Registration is not required

09/03/2026

A huge THANK YOU to these incredible volunteers from Community Health! They planted native trees at multiple locations in Cool Creek Park! We appreciate all of their hard work! 👏👏

08/31/2026

Homeschool Hikers: Arrowheads
The best way to learn about nature is to be immersed in it! Join us during Archeology Month to learn about arrowheads!

September 8 at 10:30 am OR 1:30 pm
Cool Creek Nature Center

Register here! https://secure.rec1.com/IN/hamilton-county-in/catalog/index/724f52fca6307140856ece003765dd3a?filter=c2VhcmNoPWhvbWVzY2hvb2wlMjBoaWtlcnM=

08/29/2026

Monarch Migration Open House 🦋
Monarch butterflies are on the wing, migrating through Indiana and onto their overwintering grounds in central Mexico. To celebrate them, we invite you to the nature center to participate in a variety of activities throughout the day. Activities include education displays, migration and monarch games, crafts, and the ability to take home a milkweed plant to provide food for next year’s caterpillars. We will also be hosting several specific programs listed below.

September 12 at the Cool Creek Nature Center
9:00 am | Fall Flowers for Butterflies Hike
10:00 am - 12:00 pm | Monarch Lifecycle Craft
11:00 am - 1:00 pm | Swamp Milkweed Giveaway and Support Booth
11:00 am - 2:00 pm | Outdoor Games
1:30 pm | Make a Butterfly Puddling Station (Registration Required)

Find out more here: https://secure.rec1.com/IN/hamilton-county-in/catalog/index/3421e5354f28f2010807a32ee348dd14?filter=c2VhcmNoPW1vbmFyY2g=

08/28/2026

Put on your cutest pair of pajamas, grab your favorite teddy bear, pack a blanket, and join us for Pajama-Rama! Families looking for a fun program to enjoy with their toddlers and preschoolers will love the music educator from Moriah Music, who will lead us in songs and stories about some of our favorite animals. This program is best for children ages 1 - 8.

September 4 at 6:30 pm
Cool Creek Nature Center
Registration: Not required.

08/26/2026

REMINDER! ‼️
Blood Drive happening TOMORROW at the Cool Creek Nature Center from 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm!!
Some communities are unable to currently host blood drives due to the recent flooding, so please consider donating if you are able!

Blood Drive at the Cool Creek Nature Center!
Donate blood in August to receive a $20 Amazon Gift Card!

August 27 from 12:00 - 5:00 pm
Cool Creek Nature Center Auditorium | 2000 E 151st Street Carmel

Make your appointment here! https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?city=&dt=WB:PL:DR:PM&ed=09%2F03%2F2026&order=DATE&range=10&sd=08%2F21%2F2026&state=&zipSponsor=coolcreek