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Parks in Greater St. Louis facts for kids

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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.

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
North City Created † Central Corridor Created † South City Created †
Amherst Park 1970 Aloe Plaza 1931 Aboussie Park 1981
Barrett Brothers Park 1947 Aloe Plaza West 1969 Alaska Park 1995
Beckett Playground 1959 Citygarden ‡‡ 2009 Amberg Park 1963
Busche Park 1913 Forest Park 1876 Bellerive Park 1908
Chambers Park 1966 Franz Park 1915 Benton Park 1866
Columbus Square Park 1980 Gateway Mall Plaza 1970 Berra Park 1945
DeSoto Park 1908 Greg Freeman Park 1980 Buder Playground 1912
Dickman Park 1938 Kaufmann Park 1932 Carnegie Park 1899
Eugene "Tink" Bradley Park 1958 Kiener Plaza 1962 Carondelet Lions Park 1929
Fairground Park 1908 Kingsbury Square Park 1980 Carondelet Park 1929
Father Filipiak Park 1980 Lucas Gardens Park 1857 Cherokee Park 1924
Fountain Park 1889 Memorial Plaza 1932 Chouteau Park 2008
Fourteenth Street Mall 1976 Phillip Lucier Park 1980 Christy Park 1910
Frank Williamson Sr. Park (Parkland Park) 1968 Poelker Park 1986 Clifton Heights Park 1912
Gregory J. Carter Park 1951 Samuel Kennedy Park 2007 Compton Hill Reservoir Park ‡ 1867
Gwen Giles Park 1959 Serra Sculpture Park 1981 Eads Square Park 1979
Hamilton Heights Park 2002 Taylor Park 2008 Fanetti Plaza 1979
Hickey Park 1947 Washington Square Park 1840 Fox Park 1917
Hyde Park 1947 Francis Park 1916
Ivory Perry Park 1961 Francis R Slay Park 1926
Jackson Place Park 1816 Fremont Park 1963
Jet Banks Park 1963 Gravois Park 1812
Loretta Hall Park 1842 Joe Leisure Park 2000
Marie Fowler Park 1981 Laclede Park 1812
Murphy Park 1962 Lafayette Park 1838
Norman Seay Park 1936 Lindenwood Park 1947
North Riverfront Park ‡ 1980 Lyon Park 1868
O'Fallon Park 1908 Marquette Park 1915
Penrose Park 1910 McDonald Park 1928
Rumbold Park 1945 Mestres Park 1937
Russell Park 1950 Minnesota and Hill Park 1924
Ruth Porter Mall 1975 Minnie Wood Memorial Square 1925
Sherman Park 1917 Mount Pleasant Park 1812
St. Louis Place Park 1850 Pontiac Square Park 1908
Strodtman Park 1924 Ray Leisure Park 1958
Tandy Park 1918 River Des Peres Extension 1954
Turner Playground 1937 River Des Peres Park 1926
Unity Park 2004 Sister Marie Charles Park 1982
Vivian Astra Park 1921 Soulard Market Park 1908
W. C. Handy Park 1941 St. Louis Square Park 1882
Walnut Park 1974 St. Marcus Commemorative Park 1977
Windsor Park 1947 Sublette Park 1915
Yeatman Square Park 1906 Terry Park 1945
  • † Dates based on city ordinance date establishing park.
  • ‡ 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 Park 1980
Tilles Park 1957
Tower Grove Park ± 1868
Willmore Park 1947

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. 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. 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).

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.

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