Projects

PROJECTS

The creation of The Commonwild at Kentucky Trails will begin in 2026 and emerge over the next two years in a series of phases designed to bring 17.5 currently undeveloped acres to life.

Waterways

The Louisville Zoo will transform 17.5 acres of undeveloped land into a space ready for a celebration of native wildlife and beautiful landscapes in this region. The first phase of creating the Commonwild will include preparing this area for all native trees, shrubs, grasses and other flora and fauna. The Zoo will also create a self-sustaining, closed loop water feature – to be known as Kayak Creek.

Welcome Plaza and Guest Amenities

In the next phase of construction, the Zoo will create the Welcome Plaza and key guest amenities. In addition to the guest services building, the plaza will offer a place to launch your adventure in the Commonwild. To the west, guests will take a short walk to the train depot. From the plaza it is also a short walk to the kayak dock – where guests can launch their adventure by water!

Beaver, Otter & Crane

The mighty beaver will habituate at the Louisville Zoo for the first time. Guests will be amazed to witness up close the ingenuity of the beaver building dams in the Commonwild’s waterways. Guests will also be delighted to find river otters in the waterways of our Commonwild. They will amaze and charm guests with their antics. For the first time, Zoo guests will have an opportunity to high five an otter! The tallest – as well as one of the rarest – birds in North America, the whooping cranes will make their nests in wetlands of the Commonwild.

Kentuckiana Conservation Center

The Kentuckiana Conservation Center will be surrounded by animal habitats, a mussel pond, a wildlife tracking tower, and scenery designed with various iconic natural sights from around Kentucky. The building will be designed to mimic a historic Kentucky barn to highlight the Commonwealth’s agricultural heritage. The floor will be imprinted with a river that visually connects to the water outside the building and “flows” into habitats featuring fish native to Kentucky and the surrounding region. Trees and native plants, including pollinators, will be placed throughout the building with native birds living and nesting in the treetops. Animals such as moles, Allegany woodrats, and hellbenders will be featured in habitats designed to showcase their natural behaviors.

Inside and outside the KCC, birds will be center stage. Wild turkeys, turkey vultures, black vultures are all familiar in regional landscapes and will be found in the Commonwild. Guests will also encounter a range of owls native to this region including the great horned owl, the barn owl, the barred owl, the eastern screen owl, the northern saw-whet owl, and the short-eared owl.

Regional Predators

For the first time in the Zoo’s history, black bears will be part of a permanent exhibit at the Louisville Zoo. Guests on the train will see them in one of the rotational exhibits. By foot, guests may find black bears roaming in the Critter Corridor, a network of passages and naturalistic bridges that appear to bring guests and predators closer! Predator Passage will also include the iconic bobcat, a first-time species at the Louisville Zoo, and the coyote.

American buffalo, elk and raptors

The expansive nature of the Commonwild will provide guests in many parts of the Zoo the opportunity to see herds of American buffalo and elk roaming on 6 acres of meadow. The largest of all North American land mammals, herds of bison (or American buffalo) moved through Southern Indiana and Kentucky on the original “Buffalo Trace” creating roads that still exist in Indiana, Louisville, and Kentucky. Elk will roam the Commonwild, ensuring guests from all over the country can see this majestic creature up close. Raptor Holding will house a range of regional hawks, as well as the once-endangered Peregrine falcon and bald eagle.

The Picnic Pavilion

In the Commonwild, groups will find a new place to gather at the picnic pavilion. The pavilion will offer unique views of black bears, bob cats, American Buffalo and elk.