Parks in Greater St. Louis

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Parks in Greater St. Louis are administered by a variety of state, county, and municipal authorities. The region also is home to Gateway Arch National Park, site of the Gateway Arch, the only National Memorial in the state of Missouri. Among the largest municipal parks is Forest Park, which is 1,293 acres (5.2 km2) and is located in the city of St. Louis, although both Greensfelder County Park and Creve Coeur Park in St. Louis County are larger, at 1,646 and 2,114 acres (6.7 and 8.6 km2) respectively. St. Louis County is also the location of two large state parks, Babler State Park with 3.8 square miles (9.8 km2) and Castlewood State Park with 2.8 square miles (7.3 km2). The largest state park in the region is Meramec State Park, located near Sullivan, Missouri, with 10.8 square miles (28 km2) of parkland.

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Parks in the city of St. Louis

The city of St. Louis owns and maintains more than one hundred parks, ranging in size from the 1,371 acres (5.5 km2) of Forest Park to less the than 1-acre (4,000 m2) of Aboussie Park. Parks are administered by the city of St. Louis Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry, the National Park Service, or a separate private board, such as Tower Grove Park, which is maintained by a Board of Commissioners but remains city property. Compton Hill Reservoir Park is owned by the city but maintained by the St. Louis Water Division.

Parks owned by the city of St. Louis [1]
North CityCreated †Central CorridorCreated †South CityCreated †
Amherst Park1970 Aloe Plaza 1931 Aboussie Park 1981
Barrett Brothers Park1947Aloe Plaza West1969Alaska Park1995
Beckett Playground1959 Citygarden ‡‡2009Amberg Park1963
Busche Park1913 Forest Park 1876Bellerive Park1908
Chambers Park1966Franz Park1915Benton Park1866
Columbus Square Park1980Gateway Mall Plaza1970Berra Park1945
DeSoto Park1908Greg Freeman Park1980Buder Playground1912
Dickman Park1938Kaufmann Park1932Carnegie Park1899
Eugene "Tink" Bradley Park1958 Kiener Plaza 1962Carondelet Lions Park1929
Fairground Park 1908Kingsbury Square Park1980 Carondelet Park 1929
Father Filipiak Park1980Lucas Gardens Park1857Cherokee Park1924
Fountain Park1889 Memorial Plaza 1932Chouteau Park2008
Fourteenth Street Mall1976Phillip Lucier Park1980 Christy Park 1910
Frank Williamson Sr. Park (Parkland Park)1968Poelker Park1986Clifton Heights Park1912
Gregory J. Carter Park1951Samuel Kennedy Park2007 Compton Hill Reservoir Park ‡1867
Gwen Giles Park1959Serra Sculpture Park1981Eads Square Park1979
Hamilton Heights Park2002Taylor Park2008Fanetti Plaza1979
Hickey Park1947Washington Square Park1840Fox Park1917
Hyde Park1947 Francis Park 1916
Ivory Perry Park1961Francis R Slay Park1926
Jackson Place Park1816Fremont Park1963
Jet Banks Park1963Gravois Park1812
Loretta Hall Park1842Joe Leisure Park2000
Marie Fowler Park1981Laclede Park1812
Murphy Park1962 Lafayette Park 1838
Norman Seay Park1936Lindenwood Park1947
North Riverfront Park ‡1980Lyon Park1868
O'Fallon Park 1908Marquette Park1915
Penrose Park1910McDonald Park1928
Rumbold Park1945Mestres Park1937
Russell Park1950Minnesota and Hill Park1924
Ruth Porter Mall1975Minnie Wood Memorial Square1925
Sherman Park1917Mount Pleasant Park1812
St. Louis Place Park 1850Pontiac Square Park1908
Strodtman Park1924Ray Leisure Park1958
Tandy Park1918River Des Peres Extension1954
Turner Playground1937 River Des Peres Park 1926
Unity Park2004Sister Marie Charles Park1982
Vivian Astra Park1921Soulard Market Park1908
W. C. Handy Park1941St. Louis Square Park1882
Walnut Park1974St. Marcus Commemorative Park1977
Windsor Park1947Sublette Park1915
Yeatman Square Park1906Terry Park1945
  • † Dates based on city ordinance date establishing park. [1]
  • ‡ Parks owned by the city and maintained by the St. Louis Water Division.
  • ‡‡ Citygarden is owned by the city and maintained by the Gateway Foundation.
  • ± Tower Grove Park is owned by the city and maintained by a Tower Grove Park Board of Commissioners.
Tiffany Park1980
Tilles Park1957
Tower Grove Park ±1868
Willmore Park1947

Non-municipally owned parks

The city of St. Louis is also home to several public parks that are owned by other entities. Among these is Baer Plaza, owned and maintained by CVC/Sports Authority, Gateway Arch National Park, owned and maintained by the National Park Service, Kiel Triangle Park, owned by the Bi-State Development Agency, and Luther Ely Smith Park, owned and maintained by the National Park Service.

Parks in St. Louis County

St. Louis County owns and maintains more than forty parks, including playgrounds and nature preserves. It also operates several recreation centers, the National Museum of Transportation, and the Affton Community Center. In addition to parks owned by St. Louis County, several municipalities in the county also own and maintain their own park systems.

Parks in St. Charles County

St. Charles County Blueways

The Dardenne Creek Blueway is the first in a planned series of kayaking and canoeing routes connecting St. Charles area parks and recreation facilities. The blueway’s first 3.5-mile stretch links Riverside Landing County Park on the Mississippi River to St. Peters’ 370 Lakeside Park and takes up to two hours for a round trip. The next stage opens in the fall of 2022 and will link to St. Peters’ Lone Wolff Park 5.2-miles to the southwest. [2] Three future phases will connect Jack Gettemeyer Park, O’Fallon Sports Park, and Bluebird Meadow Park for a total of 19-miles (30.6 km) of access along Dardenne Creek. [3] A future route is the Big Creek Blueway, which will connect Indian Camp Creek and Flatwoods parks through Big Creek and the Cuivre River, or about 12.3-miles (19.8 km). [3]

State parks

Eleven Missouri state parks are in Greater St. Louis, and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources also operates several state historic sites in the region. [4]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Browse St. Louis City Parks". stlouis-mo.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
  2. ↑ Schlinkmann, Mark (22 September 2022). "Second stretch of St. Charles County's 'blueway' to open this fall". STLtoday.com. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
  3. 1 2 "Blueways | St Charles County, MO - Official Website". www.sccmo.org. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
  4. ↑ "Missouri State Parks". Archived from the original on 2014-12-31.
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