Pleasant Hill Park, Belleville IL

Location: 601 N. Sixth St., Belleville, IL 62220

Website: https://www.belleville.net/facilities/facility/details/Pleasant-Hill-Park-14

Playground Ground Cover: Pea Gravel and Rubber Mats

This playground has 2 different play structures, one for big kids and one for littles. The one for big kids has a boulder climber, tunnel, several slides, monkey bars, a tic tac toe board, and various bars and poles.

There are several covered pavilions between the playgrounds.

Ball field

The play structure for little kids has a couple slides and some various bars and poles. 

Mackenzie Hills Park, Affton

Location: Mackenzie Rd. and Deerpath Dr., St. Louis, MO 63123

Amenities: Playground, basketball court, ball field

Website: none

Playground ground cover: pea gravel

This playground is so secluded I can't find anything online to prove it even exists except for my pictures! It is down a hill and next to a creek in a subdivision in Shrewsbury. I like it because I have never seen anyone else playing there, but I don't really like the pea gravel. It is small, with just the basketball court and ball field adjacent to the playground. There are no buildings or bathrooms nearby, but there are benches.

Small creek next to the playground

Big slide going down the hill to the playground

Teeter Totter, 3 sling swings, and 1 baby swing.

Trolley Park, Maplewood

 

Location: 7700 Jerome Ave, Maplewood, MO 63143

Website:  https://www.cityofmaplewood.com/government/departments/maplewood_local_parks___amenities.php

Playground Ground Cover: Poured Rubber (with a big area of pea gravel next to the playground)

The only thing here is one play structure, one bench, and a big open field. There are monkey bars, a slide, a zip line, a balance beam, 2 rocking horses, and a big pit of rocks. My kids love playing in those rocks!

 

Citizens Park, Belleville

 

Location: 317 S. 44th St., Belleville, IL 62226

Website: https://www.belleville.net/Facilities/Facility/Details/Citizens-Park-3

Playground Ground Cover: Pea Gravel

This is the city of Belleville's largest park at 45 acres. It is a highly recreational park with two large lighted softball diamonds and a first-class baseball field named for Whitey Herzog, which serves as the home field for the American Legion and Althoff High School baseball teams.
In addition to the ball diamonds at Citizens Park, the park also offers BMX bicycle ramps for the dare-devils, along with other recreational amenities. Citizens is also a very nice place to have a quiet picnic during lunch. Two modular playgrounds for children and three picnic shelters are available for family picnics.

The play structure is older but still in good condition. It has several slides, monkey bars, a rock wall, a tunnel, a tic-tac-toe board, and bars and poles for climbing. 

Covered pavilion next to the playground. 

Swansea Kingdom at Schranz Memorial Park, Swansea, IL

Location:  377 Honeysuckle Lane, Swansea, IL 62226

Amenities: playground, picnic shelter, restrooms, sprayground, trails

Website: http://www.swanseail.org/1082/Parks-Recreation

Playground ground cover: wood chips, pea gravel, sand, rubber chips

This is a great park with a castle theme. The equipment is all fairly new and in good shape. The main playground has lots of secret passages/places for hiding, climbing features, a rock wall, a climbing boulder, a three-person slide as well as two other slides, monkey bars, rings, five regular swings, a tire swing, and an adaptive swing. There's also a music area (a xylophone), a tic-tac-toe board, and a boat and stagecoach to play in. A ramp connects the regular playground to the tot lot, which is fenced in except for the one entry point. The tot lot has three baby swings, as well as another adaptive swing, and a toddler/preschool-sized slide, monkey bars, an adorable ice cream truck to play in, and a small sand play area. One drawback in the tot lot is that the ground cover has become a mixture of wood chips, sand, and pea gravel, so you never know what you're stepping on. There's a fenced-in sprayground on the other side of the parking lot as well, (I would consider the location to be a bit of a drawback, because children are often running back and forth across the parking lot between the two). It has two child-operated spray guns, as well as fountains of various types and heights. There's also one large picnic shelter, several smaller ones, and a walking trail that winds around the park. 

The sprayground is very popular, and is often crowded for its size. The playground and picnic areas are often very crowded over lunch, as you might expect. It also appears to be a popular afternoon destination for day camps, so there are often large groups using the facilities.

The splash pad

The tot area

Amphitheatre