"We're just asking for (guests) to have some respect for our property and for the rules that we have set up here," Lions Park Director Tom Price told Current in August.
The key words are "our property." Many people in Zionsville use Lions Park as though it were a Town park, the same as Elm Street Green or any other spot in the Zionsville Parks system. It isn't one. The Zionsville Lions Club has owned Lions Park privately since 1940 and runs it with donations and volunteers. That ownership explains all three changes at the park this fall: a vehicle rule stricter than the Town's, an expansion paid for by a fundraising campaign rather than a municipal budget, and a Town path being built to meet the park at its edge.
A Park the Town Doesn't Run
The size of the place makes the private setup surprising. The Lions Club says more than 100,000 visitors come to the park each year. Zionsville Little League has played there for nearly 75 years. The park also hosts the Lions Club's Fall Festival, which ran September 11 through 13 this year.
That's a lot of traffic for a volunteer group to manage. Because the club owns the land, it doesn't need a Town Council vote to change a rule, and it doesn't wait for a parks budget cycle to start a project. It decides, raises the money, and builds. Each item below follows from that.
Why the E-Bike Rule Changes at the Park Boundary
In August 2026, the Lions Club banned all motorized vehicles at Lions Park. The only exception is ADA-compliant mobility devices. Price said park officials had seen more children riding electric bikes and scooters through areas with heavy foot traffic. Visitors had reported worries about collisions, since many of these devices can reach 20 to 30 mph and young children often ride them.
The Town has a different policy, and a family biking from home to a ballgame will pass from one set of rules to the other.
| Town of Zionsville parks and trails | Lions Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | Town of Zionsville | Zionsville Lions Club, privately, since 1940 |
| Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes | Allowed, up to 20 mph | Not allowed |
| Electric scooters | Not covered in the reporting | Not allowed |
| ADA-compliant mobility devices | Not covered in the reporting | Allowed |
| Pedal-powered bikes | Not covered in the reporting | Allowed; signs planned asking riders to keep to 6 mph |
Current reported that the club can set stricter policies than the Town because it owns the park. The difference is large. A rider can go 20 mph on a Town trail, and the posted guidance for pedal bikes inside Lions Park will be 6 mph.
Enforcement starts gently. Anyone riding a motorized device gets a reminder and is asked to leave with it, and they're welcome to come back without it. Repeat offenders may be barred from the park, depending on how many violations there are and how serious they are. The reporting didn't give an effective date, and it didn't say whether golf carts count. Anyone with a specific question should contact the club.
Paying for the Park Without Tax Dollars
The same ownership determines how the park grows. In 2024, the club bought five more acres north of the pickleball courts. The club credits Greg and Kim Storen with helping Zionsville Lions Park, Inc. make the purchase. To develop the land, the club started a $2.6 million capital campaign at this year's Fall Festival. By September 16, it had raised about $1.3 million, roughly half the goal.
The way the money is split shows how a private owner plans ahead. About $1.6 million is for park upgrades. The other $1 million goes into a legacy fund at the Community Foundation of Boone County. Capital Chair Sue Bowron-White said the fund should earn about $40,000 a year in interest to pay for regular maintenance. A Town park can count on a public budget for upkeep. Lions Park needs a fund that pays for its own maintenance, and that's why nearly 40 percent of the campaign goal is for upkeep rather than new features.
According to the club's campaign page, the expansion will include:
- A Great Lawn for groups to share, with several small landscaped areas for relaxing and reflection
- A nature playscape for children
- Tiered hillside seating for socializing and for watching games and fireworks
- A storage building, which the club calls much needed
- The finished refresh of the shelter house
The club also lists an open-air pavilion in the master plan, and it says more amenities are planned for later phases. Fall Festival Chairman Tim Reinhart described the Great Lawn as a place for picnic tables, walking paths, and activities like flying kites. He said the plan also includes clearing invasive plants from the new land and planting trees.
The design came from residents. The club held input sessions, and a needs assessment found that park users want the park to serve people of all ages and abilities. Respondents asked for more programs, events, and amenities for teens and adults, especially adults without children. For a park best known for Little League, that's a real change in direction.
"It was important the master plan reflect the desires of the community." That was Sue Bowron-White, the campaign's capital chair.
Some of the work is already done. Earth-moving equipment has leveled and graded the Great Lawn site. The terraced seating below the Elm Street plaza, which looks over some of the ball diamonds, is expected to start this winter. Bowron-White called that plaza "a popular place for people to eat lunch or gather."
Where the Town's Projects Meet the Club's Land
The Town can't build inside Lions Park, but it can build right up to it, and two Town projects now point toward the park.
The first is a path. On September 24, the Zionsville Board of Parks & Recreation approved putting a path out to bid. It will connect Elm Street Green, at 165 N. Elm St., to Lions Park. The path is meant to tie into the new walking paths the Lions Club has planned for the park. Parks Superintendent Jarod Logsdon said the Town has worked closely with the Lions on the project for five years. Construction is expected to start in February 2027 and finish in August, and the path will become part of a 1.9-mile walking trail. The reporting calls it a trail, not a loop.
The second is Main Street Momentum, the Town's project to rework traffic through the Village. It includes a peanut roundabout where Main Street meets Sycamore Street and First Street, new pedestrian crossings along First Street and over to Lions Park, and a traffic signal at First and Oak. Mayor John Stehr explained the need this way: "Zionsville's current traffic grid was designed for trains, before cars were even invented."
The timeline for this project is less firm than the path's. In March, the Town expected design to be finished by summer 2026. The project website still says Main Street Momentum is in design. It says utility relocation may begin in fall 2026, most construction will happen in 2027, and a detailed schedule will come once design is complete. For now, the crossing to Lions Park is a planned improvement without a firm date.
Taken together, the Town is building the ways to reach Lions Park, and the Lions Club is building what's inside it. Each side pays for its own part.
The Calendar From Here
Here is what's scheduled and what's still a forecast, in order:
- October 23. The Zionsville Parks Foundation, which supports the Town's parks rather than Lions Park, holds its third annual Parks & Pastries breakfast at 8:30 a.m. at the Club at Holliday Farms. Jim Carpenter is the keynote speaker, and tickets are $60.
- November 27 through December 24. Christmas in the Village runs downtown. The holiday parade and tree lighting are November 28, and the parade starts at 5 p.m. at Eagle Elementary.
- This winter. Work is expected to begin on the terraced seating below the Elm Street plaza in Lions Park.
- February 2027. Construction is expected to start on the Elm Street Green to Lions Park path.
- August 2027. The path is expected to be finished.
- 2027, schedule to be announced. Most Main Street Momentum construction, including the pedestrian crossing to Lions Park, is expected this year.
Signs in Lions Park have QR codes that link to the campaign page, and the club's site at zionsvillelions.com/park has a video about the project. Our guides to everyday life in Zionsville and the walkable Village cover the rest of the neighborhood around the park.
At Homes of Worth, we follow changes like the Great Lawn and the Elm Street Green path because they shape daily life on the streets around Lions Park. If you live near the Village and wonder what a new path or a reworked intersection could mean for your home, Stacy is happy to talk it through. Book a Free Consultation whenever you're ready.
