Teddy & Friends Playground at Queeny Park, Ballwin

Location: 550 Weidman Rd., St. Louis, MO 63131

Amenities: Fishing, trails, tennis courts, playground, seasonal indoor ice rink (October to February)

Website: http://www.stlouisco.com/ParksandRecreation/ParkPages/Queeny

Playground ground cover: Poured rubber

Queeny Park was amazing, but it failed to pass inspection in 2023, so it was replaced with an Unlimited Play Playground that opened in August 2025. 

I had to leave photos of the old 1974 playground up because it was so iconic. The new playground is called Teddy & Friends after Teddy Gooch. He was diagnosed with dwarfism. This playground is board game-themed, centered on games like Candyland, Chutes & Ladders, Connect Four, and Teddy's favorite- Chess. There is also a "Game of Life" car doubling as a glider, and a "Don't Break the Ice" parallel play rope piece. The entrance features a big hippo, and the sun shades have the Twister pattern on them, too. So fun! With a board game theme and specialized ADA‑accessible design, families, especially those with children of differing abilities, will have more reasons than ever to play together at this wonderful playground! 

Unlimited Play Playgrounds

Unlimited Play playgrounds are amazing. If you've been to one you know what I'm talking about. The company is a non-profit that builds fully accessible playgrounds that allow all children to play together, regardless of their physical abilities.

Three-year-old Zachary Blakemore provided the original inspiration behind Unlimited Play. Zachary suffers from a rare genetic central nervous system disease (Pelizaeus Merzbacher Disease) that confines him to a wheelchair or assistive walking device. But like all children, Zachary loves to play.
When his mother Natalie would take Zachary to the park to play, the playground would only emphasize his limitations. And even more frustrating was the fact that the playground’s barriers that stopped him from playing also prevented him from interacting with the other children.
But after visiting an accessible playground while traveling to the east coast, Zachary’s parents Natalie and Todd began to dream of creating an accessible playground in Zachary’s hometown – and of the day when playgrounds like this would exist for children everywhere. They teamed with Zachary’s pediatric speech therapist, and Unlimited Play was born in 2003.

And what's more, they are a local family from St. Charles. They have built quite a few playgrounds in and around St. Louis and have more in the works.

They include:
1.)Gus's playground at Willmore Park- south city
2.)Cornerstone STL playground at O'Fallon Park- north city
3.)Kade's playground at Herculaneum City Park
4.)Discovery playground at Jaycee Park- St. Charles
5.)Brendan's playground at Westhoff Park- O'Fallon
6.)Tree Top playground at Shaw Park- Clayton
7.)Zachary's playground at Hawk Ridge Park- O'Fallon
8.)McAuley playground at Hansen Park- Cottleville
9.)Jake's Field of Dreams playground in Heartland Park- Wentzville
10.)Braden & Friends Challenger playground- Ste. Genevieve
11.)Hannah's playground- Breese, IL

12.)Kennedy's playground- St. Peters

13.)Dennis H. Rinderer playground- Highland IL

14.)Angie's Playground at Manion Park- Florissant

15.)Logan's Playground at St. John's Evangelical, South County

16.)Teddy & Friends Playground (Queeny Park)- Ballwin



Here's a great video about Natalie and Todd and the great work they've accomplished. They have built amazing playgrounds in the Midwest and are branching out all over the country! How awesome is that! Go check out one of these playgrounds today, your kids will thank you.

Central Park, Chesterfield

Location: 16365 Lydia Hill Dr. Chesterfield, MO 63017

Amenities: playground, picnic shelters, aquatic center, outdoor amphitheater, creek, lake with fish

Website: https://www.chesterfield.mo.us/central-parkinfo.html

Playground Ground Cover: Poured Rubber

Central Park in Chesterfield has a very large playground with areas for all ages. The park also has an aquatic center, an outdoor amphitheater,  a lake, and a creek. The playground was replaced in mid-2025.

A huge parking lot is here, and the playground is next to the aquatic center.

We love the shade structures as this playground is in full sun. 

Gravity rail swing/zipline

There is 1 expression swing and 3 sling swings

This thing spins around, and the metal beads move as you turn it.

Rocking boat

Lots of covered tables around with charging stations!

Storybook walk

Wheelchair accessible merry-go-round

Rolly slide

Spring airplane

This map provides an overhead view of the playground, indicating the age range for which each area is suitable.

 Restroom building

There are 2 covered pavilions- one at each end of the playground.

Right across from this park is the sculpture The Awakening—Buried Giant. This statue consists of five pieces depicting a man trying to free himself from the earth. It's really cool for photo ops.

The creek is down the hill from the playground, and there's a storybook walk along the way.