Carondelet Park, St. Louis City

Location: 3900 Holly Hills Dr, St. Louis, MO 63116

Amenities: playground, picnic shelter, trails, swimming (YMCA Rec Plex), restroom, ninja course, lake stocked with fish

Website: http://stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/parks/parks/view-park.cfm?parkID=5

Playground ground cover: poured rubber & wood chips

This park is huge—it's the city's third largest. There are two large lakes you can fish in, as well as a boathouse with a large pier and boat dock. The playground is fairly large and has two large play structures and a swing area. There are four sling swings and two expression swings. I didn't go in the bathrooms, but they are close by. The playground was redone in late 2024 and there are lots of benches around. 

The restroom building

The lake is stocked with fish

This park is large, so the easiest way to find the playground is to go to Loughborough and Trainor Ct. 

4 sling swings and 2 expression swings

There are 2 play structures, one for kids over 5 and one for kids under 5. The smaller playground has drums, maze boards, stepping stones, a rock wall, a metal slide, a plastic slide, and several activity boards. 

The larger playground has slides, a tunnel,  activity boards, a rock wall, stepping stones, 

drums, and bars and poles for climbing. 

Circle Drive Park, St. Charles

Location: 1000 Circle Dr., St. Charles, MO 63301

Website: http://www.stcharlesparks.com/park/circle-drive-park/

Playground Ground Cover: Wood chips

This little park gets its name from being in a cul de sac on Circle Drive. The equipment was replaced in 2019. There are no restrooms here so keep that in mind. 

There is an expression swing, a baby swing, a sling swing, and an ADA swing. 

The play structure has slides, a little rock wall, and many things to climb on. 

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.