Marquette Park, St. Louis City

Location: Bounded by S. Compton Ave, Osage St, Gasconade St, and Minnesota Ave, St. Louis, MO 63118

Website: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/parks/parks/browse-parks/view-park.cfm?parkID=59&parkName=Marquette%20Park&amenitySubTypeID=54#amenity309

Playground Ground Cover: Poured Rubber

Amenities:  Soccer field, softball field, tennis courts, playground, and swimming pool.

This park has one of 3 free pools in the city of St. Louis, and it is the largest outdoor public pool. The other ones are Chambers near midtown and Fairgrounds in North City. Here are some cool old pics of the original pool in 1915.

 You can see St. Anthony of Padua in the background

And here it is today. The playground was ripped out and replaced in mid-2024. It's much larger with way better equipment. 

Musical instrument area with xylophone and drums.

The large play structure has rock walls, slides, netted climbers, a bridge, a tunnel, and various bars and poles. 

There is an expression swing, 3 baby swings, an ADA swing, and 2 sling swings.

The smaller play structure has slides, activity boards, and steps to climb.

This is the entrance to the pool. It's showing it's age.

It's a simple L-shaped pool with a shallow baby pool next to it. 

Watson Trail Park, Sunset Hills

Location: 12450 West Watson Rd, Sunset Hills, MO 63127

Amenities: 2 playgrounds, tennis/pickleball courts, disc golf, basketball court, sand volleyball, picnic shelter, swimming pool, & trails

Website: https://www.sunset-hills.com/453/Watson-Trail-Park

Playground ground cover: Poured rubber, astroturf, and wood chips

Watson Trail Park has 2 great playgrounds. The main "upper" one by the parking lot was redone in 2021. It's huge with something for everyone. It's close to the parking lot and has several covered pavilions and restrooms. They added a zipline in 2024. 

                              

The play structures are tall with tons of slides, climbers, a bridge, stepping stones, bars, and poles. 

There is a misting pole in the center that feels good on a hot day.

Boulder and Web Climber

Modified merry-go-round

There are 2 sling swings, 2 adaptive swings, and an expression swing for 2 people.

Behind the swings is the zipline

A liberty swing! There are only a few of these in town. The other 2 are at 

Campbell-Chapman Sports Complex in Sullivan and Union City Park in Union. 

You can find drums and several xylophones over by the astroturf area.

This smaller structure is perfect for toddlers with a little slide, climber, tunnel, drums, and manipulatives.

Stand up spinner

There is a second "lower" playground which you reach by taking the trail down through the woods, around the lake. This playground was replaced in late 2016, it is shaded and has an incredible zip line you can stand or sit on. 

So many ducks are here and they are fun to watch. They even have a little house in the middle of the lake. 

Lots of nice paved trails through the park

There is a drinking fountain down here but no restrooms. They are up the hill in the pavilion at the main playground. 

 The playground has a natural theme of rocks and logs made into a balance beam and stepping stones. 

 There are several picnic tables and a rope climber

My daughter was obsessed with the zip line! 

 The main play structure has a slide, a pole, a speaker, and a log tunnel. 

 This wood climbing structure is different, I've never seen it before. 

Amazing park! Def one of the best in St. Louis