Oliver’s Woods

Overview

Situated along the White River, Oliver’s Woods Nature Preserve offers a nature immersion in the midst of a bustling commercial district. This urban nature preserve encompasses 16 acres of woods, 37 acres of prairie-savanna restoration, and a mile of White River frontage.

Many volunteers have helped us build trails, plant native plants and trees, and remove invasive species from the woods. This special care is allowing native species like wild ginger, Virginia bluebells, waterleaf, wild hyacinth, and trillium to flourish.

The southern half of the popular Town Run Trail Park is encompassed within this property. The trails are used by mountain bikers, joggers, and walkers, and they remain in place, as was agreed upon by Indy Parks and the original landowner, Oliver Daugherty.

History of the Property

A generous benefactor named Oliver Daugherty, who passed away in 2009, left this property to CILTI. Its restoration and eventual opening received a boost in 2017 when CILTI was named one of the nonprofits receiving support from Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust’s Partners for the White River. Many other donors have made this preserve possible, including the Glick Family Fund, Central Indiana Community Foundation, and PK Partners, as well as thousands of hours of volunteer support from businesses like Charles Schwab, Eli Lilly, REI, and other local community businesses and groups.

Planning Your Visit

Oliver’s Woods is located at 8825 River Road Indianapolis, Indiana. Please park in the parking lot adjacent to I-465. Accessible parking by the Daugherty House allows access to a crushed gravel trail along the river.

The canoe launch is available for any craft legally allowed on the water in the city of Indianapolis that you can carry to/from the river from the drop-off area in front of the Daugherty House.

Be sure to stop at the Chronolog station along Carmel Creek to participate in a citizen science project! You can help monitor creek conditions by contributing your photo to a timelapse of the waterway. More information on this project can be found here.

While you can visit anytime, there are specific days when friendly volunteer docents will be onsite. Docents will be present from 10am to 1pm on the following days:

May 8

May 25

June 12

June 29

July 10

July 27

August 7

August 24

September 4

September 21

October 2

October 19