Babler State Park, Wildwood

Location: 800 Guy Park Drive, Wildwood, MO 63005

Amenities: picnic shelters, trails (hiking, bicycling, horseback riding), campground, visitor center

Website: http://mostateparks.com/park/dr-edmund-babler-memorial-state-park

Playground ground cover: Wood chips

Babler State Park offers an escape from the urban St. Louis area, close enough for a day trip, or even an overnight trip, as the park features a campground. There was one playground in the park, but it was ripped out. There is a wide open grassy field next to the former playground site which would be great for catch, frisbee, etc. 

They offer a lot of free educational programs at the visitor's center, check their Facebook for the events calendar. 

Route 66 State Park, Eureka

Location:  97 North Outer Road, Eureka, MO 63025

Amenities: playground, trails, restrooms, visitor center

Website: http://www.mostateparks.com/park/route-66-state-park

Playground ground cover: Wood chips

Route 66 State Park has a neat visitor center (you get off at the exit before the park for the visitor center - there's an old Route 66 bridge that used to connect the two halves but it was decommissioned due to deteriorating conditions. On the park side, there are lots of flat trails for hiking and biking, most are in the sun though (just something to keep in mind). There is a small playground with a couple slides and a swing set with 2 sling swings and 2 baby swings. The park has a trail that connects to Kircher Park in Eureka. I thought the restrooms near the playground would be outhouses because they were set off on their own at the edge of the woods but they were actually flushing toilets. There were no trash cans in the bathroom though.

Mastodon State Historic Site, Imperial

Location: 1050 Charles J. Becker Drive, Imperial, MO 63052

Amenities: playground, hiking trails, picnic areas, museum

Website: https://mostateparks.com/park/mastodon-state-historic-site

Playground ground cover: wood chips

We headed to Mastodon State Historic Site because my daughter loves the Ice Age movies. Those movies feature mammoths, and this park has mastodon bones, but pretty similar to a 3.5-year-old. As luck would have it though, she fell asleep as we were pulling off the highway, about 2 minutes from the park entrance. When she woke up she wanted nothing to do with the museum, so it was a quick visit for us. The museum costs $4 for adults, under 12 free, and it's pretty small. They do offer a 30-minute video that describes the historic site which we did not get to watch because she wouldn't stop crying. The park rangers even tried to console her by bringing out puppets of the various animals from Ice Age. I wouldn't really recommend the museum for children younger than elementary school-aged, there just isn't enough to keep their attention.

Around the corner from the museum are the picnic area, trailheads, and playground. The playground doesn't have any equipment for toddlers, but they do have a climbing structure with several slides, tunnels, and ladders. There are also 2 sling swings in the playground area. There are a couple of benches beside the playground but it was busy the afternoon we visited and they could use a few more areas for the parents and caregivers to sit!

The museum is small and won't take much time at all to explore. 

The playground has 2 play structures, one big and one small. The large structure has slides, a tunnel, a steering wheel, and lots of bars and poles. 

The small one has some slides, a speaker, a drum, a steering wheel, and various bars and poles. 

 There is a modified merry-go-round and some bouncy insects to ride on.

There are 2 baby swings and 2 sling swings. 

There are restrooms and benches scattered around near the playground and parking lot. 

This is a covered pavilion and there are paths back here that lead to a small creek. 

They have a small creek and a larger creek. This is the small one. 

Large creek

Horse shoe pit

The park is split into two sections. The picnic area has the trail heads for two trails. The parking lot is just off Seckman Road. You will see the trailhead for the Spring Branch Trail near the front of the parking lot. As the trail starts to head back toward the parking lot, it runs along Rock Creek. There are several small trails that allow you to access the creek. 

Castlewood State Park, Ballwin

Location: 1401 Kiefer Creek Road, Ballwin, MO 63021

Amenities: several picnic sites, two picnic shelters, playground, fishing, boating, trails, volleyball

Website: http://mostateparks.com/park/castlewood-state-park

Playground ground cover: wood chips

Castlewood park is a great place to hike and enjoy nature. The playground is situated between the 2 picnic shelters, and has tunnels, slides, steering wheels, a little rock wall, drums, and various bars and poles.

There is a creek that the road goes over, before you get to the playground. It is just a few inches in most parts and 12-18 inches in the deepest parts. It's very fun to play in on a hot day!

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The playground was replaced in 2016. It is located near the entrance of the park, next to restrooms and the creek. 

 A tire swing, 2 sling swings, an adaptive swing, and a baby swing. 

Turtle spinning seat

View from the road

Continue on in the park and you'll see these signs. This is where you can access the Meramec river.  Please don't swim in the Meramec River at Castlewood. There have been quite a few people who have drowned here in recent years. Because of this, I have not labeled this post as "swimming" in the search.