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 km) 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 km) respectively. St. Louis County is also the location of two large state parks, Babler State Park with 3.8 square miles (9.8 km) and Castlewood State Park with 2.8 square miles (7.3 km). The largest state park in the region is Meramec State Park, located near Sullivan, Missouri, with 10.8 square miles (28 km) 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 km) of Forest Park to less the than 1-acre (4,000 m) 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 | ||
|
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.
| Name | Area (acres) |
|---|---|
| Babler State Park | 2,441 |
| Castlewood State Park | 1,818 |
| Don Robinson State Park | 818 |
| Hawn State Park | 4,954 |
| Jones-Confluence Point State Park | 1,121 |
| Meramec State Park | 6,896 |
| Robertsville State Park | 1,224 |
| Route 66 State Park | 419 |
| St. Francois State Park | 2,734 |
| St. Joe State Park | 8,243 |
| Washington State Park | 2,148 |
References
- ^ "Browse St. Louis City Parks". stlouis-mo.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
- Schlinkmann, Mark (22 September 2022). "Second stretch of St. Charles County's 'blueway' to open this fall". STLtoday.com. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
- ^ "Blueways | St Charles County, MO - Official Website". www.sccmo.org. Retrieved 2022-11-01.
- "Missouri State Parks". Archived from the original on 2014-12-31.
External links
| Parks in Greater St. Louis | |||||||||
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| St. Louis City parks | |||||||||
| St. Louis County parks |
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| St. Charles County parks |
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| Jefferson County parks |
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| Lincoln County parks |
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| Metro East (Illinois) |
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| Greater St. Louis | ||
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| Topics |  | |
| Central city | ||
| Largest cities (over 50,000 in 2020) | ||
| Medium-sized cities (over 20,000 in 2020) | ||
| Largest towns and villages (over 10,000 in 2020) |
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| Missouri counties | ||
| Illinois counties | ||
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