Carpenter Nature Preserve Is Having Its First Fall, and Most of It Is Still Growing In

Years before the trails went in, Jim and Nancy Carpenter walked the closed Wolf Run Golf Course with then-Mayor Emily Styron. By then the course had been closed for a few years. IndyStar reported that the club shut down in 2017. "Nature was already starting to reclaim the once manicured golf course," Jim Carpenter told Current in Zionsville at the preserve's unveiling in May. "Me and Nancy said that place has to be preserved."

That walk is why 215 acres along Eagle Creek at 601 S. 900 E. are now Carpenter Nature Preserve, which is spending its first autumn open to the public. The paved paths and the new pavilion are the finished part. Most of the acreage is a restoration still underway. Old fairways are turning into prairie, woodland and wetland, a second phase is still being designed, and a stretch of creek restoration hasn't started yet. This October, a walk out there means walking through a landscape halfway through a change, and the reason it looks that way goes back to how the land was saved.

The land was saved on the bet that it would grow back

When the Wolf Run property went up for sale, a proposal called for a mixed-use development with 360 single-family homes on the acreage along Eagle Creek, according to Current's September profile of the Carpenters. The couple, both biologists and the founders of Wild Birds Unlimited, have lived in Zionsville since 1987. Current reports that they bought the property for $5.5 million of their own money. "Jim and I got very excited about it and said, 'OK, we'll buy it before developers buy it,'" Nancy Carpenter told Current.

Then, mostly, they waited. Nancy described those years to Current:

"We kept trails mowed throughout the property. We chainsawed trees that fell on the trails. We put up bluebird boxes. We just tried to encourage nature, with pollinator meadows and things like that. Well, you know, Mother Nature took her course, and it just grew and grew."

Later they sold the land to the Town of Zionsville for $4.52 million, about $980,000 less than they paid, on the condition that it stay a public park in perpetuity. State money came in after that. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources awarded a $3 million grant through the Next Level Conservation Trust, which Current called the largest single infusion of conservation funding in state history. The DNR added $500,000 from its Land and Water Conservation fund. Locally, the Zionsville Parks Foundation, which Nancy Carpenter and Styron founded, had raised more than $1 million for the preserve as of September, and it's still raising money.

The Lions Club recognized all of this by naming the Carpenters grand marshals of the Fall Festival parade on Sept. 12. Two and a half weeks later, Accelerate Indiana Municipalities named the preserve its 2026 Community Green Project of the Year. The group cited its "innovation and scope, thoughtful planning and incorporation of schoolchildren."

What the finished part looks like this October

The built pieces sit lightly on the land, and that was intentional. "We have a lighter touch as you meander into the preserve, but we still wanted to provide that access," Zionsville Parks Superintendent Jarod Logsdon told Fox59 after the preserve opened. "You can see what a native prairie looks like and what a wetland should look like in Central Indiana."

Here's what's in place today:

• Two miles of trails, some paved and some natural surface, with views over Eagle Creek
• A pavilion with restrooms and a nature playground built from natural materials like wood and water
• An outdoor classroom and an amphitheater
• Two scenic overlooks and a wildlife blind
• 1,500 newly planted trees, along with several acres of restored prairie and wetland

The trees are the easiest way to see how young the place is. Fifteen hundred saplings planted this year won't read as woods for a long time. The fairways also have a history all their own. Fox59 noted that the course once hosted golfers including Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.

At the May 21 unveiling, some guests walked the paved path with the Merlin Bird ID app open, letting it name birds from their calls. Jim Carpenter told the crowd, "Today, you might see a blue bird or you might hear a meadowlark." He said the preserve will be home to hundreds of bird species, along with pollinators and rare and endangered bats in summer.

The entrance is off 900 East, just south of State Road 32. We couldn't confirm posted hours, dog and leash rules, or whether bikes are allowed on the trails. The Town's park rules say each park's hours are set by the Parks Board and posted on site, so check the signs at the entrance or the Town of Zionsville's preserve page before you head out.

The fall programs are built around what's living there

Zionsville Parks and Recreation is programming the preserve for the wildlife it's being restored for. The two fall dates on the calendar are a night hike and a birding walk.

The Night Hike is this Friday. The Town's listing describes it this way: "It may be spooky season, but there is nothing to fear on our trails!" Kids learn how native nocturnal animals find their way in the dark and get to test their own senses on the trails after sunset. You can register through the Zionsville Parks registration page. Questions go to the nature center at 317-873-8950 or [email protected].

If the birding walk stays full, the Merlin app and the wildlife blind give you a do-it-yourself version on any morning the preserve is open.

The parts you can't walk yet

A large share of the 215 acres is still waiting for its next phase. Current reported in May that the old golf clubhouse and bunkhouse will be replaced with a nature education center. The plans also call for boardwalks through the wetlands, more trails and overlooks, and a tree canopy. The Zionsville Parks Foundation is working with the parks department to study and design Phases 2 and 3.

The creek work is separate. The Indiana Stream and Wetland Mitigation Program plans to restore up to 10,000 linear feet along Eagle Creek and its tributaries inside the property, and the DNR will help maintain that area for 10 years. None of the reporting gives a start or finish date for any of this. Current describes the work as continuing "in the coming years."

Back in the Village, Lions Park is following the same pattern

Carpenter isn't the only Zionsville park being rebuilt by the community this fall. The Zionsville Lions Club launched a $2.6 million capital campaign for Lions Park at its Sept. 11-13 Fall Festival. Current reported in mid-September that about $1.3 million had already been raised. The money pays for park upgrades and for developing 5 new acres on the north side, where the centerpiece is a circular Great Lawn with walking paths and seating. Earth-moving equipment has already leveled and graded it, and work on terraced seating below the Elm Street plaza is expected to start this winter.

The Lions Club also built in long-term upkeep. About $1 million of the campaign goes into a legacy fund at the Community Foundation of Boone County. Capital Chair Sue Bowron-White told Current the fund should earn about $40,000 a year for regular park maintenance. "Lions Park has been the heartbeat of Zionsville since it opened in 1940," she said. Jim Carpenter called that park "just fabulous" in his own interview with Current.

The Town is also connecting the two ends of the Village. According to Current's Oct. 2 news brief, the Town plans to bid a path linking Elm Street Green to Lions Park. Construction is set to start in February 2027 and finish in August 2027, creating a 1.9-mile walking route. Like Carpenter, Lions Park is open this fall while it's still being built.

The quickest way to see Carpenter Nature Preserve in its first autumn is to drive to the entrance off 900 East just south of State Road 32, take the paved path toward an Eagle Creek overlook, and check the posted signs for hours on the way in.

If you're a Zionsville homeowner and want to talk about how new parks like Carpenter and Lions Park figure into the way buyers see your street, Shelly Walters Realty Group would love to hear from you. Let our family help your family. Contact us today.