St. John Park, St. John

Location: 3515 Brown Rd, St. John, MO 63114

Website: http://www.cityofstjohn.org/index.php/city-parks.html

Playground Ground Cover: Poured Rubber

This is a great park! It's partly shaded, it's in a nice quiet neighborhood, there's a fitness trail, a pavilion, and a cute little playground.

There are 2 playstructures, one for big kids and one for littles. The smaller one has 2 slides and some bars.

The larger one has 2 slides, and some bars and poles. There are also 2 baby swings and 2 sling swings.

Riverboat Cruises, Downtown St. Louis

 Photo credit: Sign Industry.com

Location: 50 S. Lenore K. Sullivan Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63102

Website: http://www.gatewayarch.com/experience/riverboat-cruises.aspx

There are 2 riverboats cruising down the Mississippi at the Riverfront. The Tom Sawyer and the Becky Thatcher. You have 2 choices of cruises to choose from- the one hour sightseeing cruise (adults $20, kids $10), or the 2 hour dinner cruise (adults $48, kids $20).

There are 2 levels and they serve food on both levels. The restrooms are only on the first floor. They are old and small. There is a 3rd level that is completely outside and the breeze and views are fantastic. There are lots of chairs so you can sit and watch the world go by. 

This is the dock where you wait until it's time to board. They have restrooms here, a gift shop, food, lots of places to sit and relax, and photo ops. You can walk up and buy tickets here or buy them online in advance. They also sell tickets here for the arch, which is about a 10 minute walk away.

 The Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher docked next to each other. 

They had jazzy music piped in, it was air conditioned, and the servers were very helpful. I highly recommend this for a fun family activity!

Ramona Lake Park, Berkeley

Location: 8940 Ramona Lake Drive, Berkeley, MO 63134

Website: http://www.cityofberkeley.us/topic/index.php?topicid=40&structureid=18

Playground Ground Cover: Poured Rubber

This is an older playground but it still has life left in it. There are 2 play structures, one for big kids and one for littles.

Grab your pole, a handful of bait, and go have a great relaxing day. Take an opportunity to enjoy one of the hidden gems of North County: Ramona-Mathison Lake.

A caretaker is always on duty for your convenience if you choose to purchase a Missouri State Fishing License, bait and tackle, or concession items. The lake will be stocked with 600 lbs. of fish twice a month during the fishing season.

 

The smaller structure had slides, a bridge, a steering wheel, and bars and poles.

The larger one has basically the same things but more of them plus maze boards. 

The pavilion was next to the playground but it was small with no tables or chairs, which was strange.

I think one of these buildings had restrooms but honestly, I didn't check. They were kind of far away too.

Reed Park, St. John

Location: 3602 Edmundson Rd, St. John, MO 63114

Website: http://www.cityofstjohn.org/index.php/city-parks.html

Playground Ground Cover: Poured Rubber

Located on the west side of the City at the intersections of Edmundson Road and North Avenue, Reed Park is a small "pocket park" that was created when a resident donated two house lots to the City. The park has a playground with rubberized safety surfacing, and has a high fence surrounding it. It's a perfect place for parents to bring small children and let them burn off some energy.

This park is small but completely enclosed with a gate so it would be great for toddlers.  There's no signage but it's not hard to spot. Also keep in mind there are no restrooms.

 There is one play structure and some swings. 

 The play structure has 2 slides, and some bars and poles.

Plenty of parking on the street but no dedicated parking lot.

Blackfoot Park, Florissant

Location: Canisius Ln and Gonzaga Ln, Florissant, MO 63031

Website: http://www.florissantmo.com/egov/apps/locations/facilities.egov?view=detail&id=13

Playground Ground Cover:  Dirt

This is a small pocket park. Very very small. It's just a big field and the only thing here is a slide and some bars. There is a picnic table and a bench also. That's it!

 That's my car, you drive in and then the road just stops lol. No parking or restrooms. 

 Lots of sidewalks in between the houses to get here. 

Florissant needs to update their website, because it says there is a lighted tennis court here. There clearly is not, I was just there yesterday and there's nothing here but grass so I looked at an online map. Sure enough there used to be one here. Guess it was old so they took it out. 

Loretto Manor Park, Florissant

Location: 1605 Patterson Rd, Florissant, MO 63031

Website: http://www.florissantmo.com/egov/apps/locations/facilities.egov?view=detail&id=23

Playground Ground Cover: Wood Chips

This is a strange park. It's long and skinny, along a major busy street with no parking or restrooms, and the equipment is really spread out. There's also some big electrical towers here as well. Overall just a strange place for kids to play. Because of that I would only recommend school aged kids to play here. St. Ferdinand Park is just a couple blocks away and they have 4 playgrounds, I would just go there!

 A lone slide

 Tiny play structure with 2 slides, a steering wheel, and some poles.

 2 sling swings and 2 baby swings.