Pavilion at Lemay, Lemay

Location: 305 Gregg Rd (in Jefferson Barracks), St. Louis MO 63125

Website: https://stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-departments/parks/places/the-pavilion-at-lemay/

This aquatic center was built in 2015. It has a lazy river, aqua climb wall, kiddie play structure designed like a castle, lap pool, water slide, diving board, and high diving platform.  The castle is so fun! It has slides, pop jets, cannons, and more.

The plunge pool has a 3 meter diving platform that I haven't seen at many other pools except Shaw Park. The aqua climb wall and drop slide are fun too. 

The lazy river requres an inner tube. The current is fast but it's not deep at 3 feet. On a busy day there will be a wait for people to get out and hand over their inner tube. 

The lazy river also has an overflow edge and underwater bench. 

This wet deck is really cool, and something I haven't seen at any other area pools. I expected it to be slippery but it wasn't. Laying out here is nice because you're getting wet so it keeps you cooler than if you were on a chair. 

The lap pool has 4 lap lanes, and water volleyball and basketball. 

The leisure pool gradually gets deeper at the opposite end of the kiddie castle.

 I love the graduating terraces with spray features. 

 These outdoor showers are also something I haven't seen at any other area pools. It's a nice feature for people who want to get the chlorine water off. They're right at the exit.  

They have plans in the future to add a playground next to the ballfield. That will be a very nice addition to this area!

Monaco Park, Kirkwood

Location: 100 N. Sappington Rd, Oakland MO 63122

Website: https://www.oaklandmo.org/parks-and-recreation.aspx

Playground Ground Cover: Wood Chips

This playground is on the grounds of Kirkwood Early Childhood Center, which has an amazing discovery room for kids birth to age 5. It is also fenced in which is really nice since it's close to a busy street. There are one of those little free libraries here too, which is such a great idea! The playground features one baby swing and 3 sling swings, a rock wall, several slides, and monkey bars. There are no bathrooms here, but they would probably let you in the childhood center (they have to buzz you in).

 

Little Free Library 

Backstoppers Park, Oakland

Location: Bounded by Melshire and Holmes Avenues, Oakland MO 63122

Website: https://www.oaklandmo.org/parks-and-recreation.aspx

Playground Ground Cover: Wood Chips

I never really knew Oakland existed! It is a small municipality near Kirkwood. This pocket park is situated right next to Grant's Trail. It has a play structure that includes a few slides and a baseball themed tic tac toe board. It also has a merry-go-round, a teeter-totter, a spinning pole, and climbing wall. Please note there are NO bathrooms here.

Deer Creek Park, Webster Groves- DESTROYED BY ARSON 2019

Location:  Intersection of Marshall and Summit in Webster Groves, MO 63119

Website: http://www.webstergroves.org/172/Deer-Creek-Park

Playground ground cover: Wood chips

This is right around the corner from the more well-known Deer Creek (Rocket) Park in Maplewood. This park is much smaller though. There is just one piece of equipment that features 2 different rock walls, 3 slides, and a tic-tac-toe board. There is also a very small gazebo that sits four and a fire pit off to one side. Down a very steep hill is a ball field. According to wikimapia, the two Deer Creek parks are connected by a pedestrian bridge over Deer Creek. They're not exactly that close so it's probably a bit of a walk. I didn't see any other trails, maybe it's down the hill by the ball field.

Unfortunately nothing is here now as the playground was destroyed by arson and has not been replaced as of 2022.  

Des Peres Lodge Indoor Pool, Des Peres

Location: 1050 Des Peres Road, Des Peres, MO 63131

Amenities:

• Wave Pool (during some open swim times)
• Children's Area with bubblers and sprays
• Tube Slide
• Hot Tub

Website: http://www.desperesmo.org/index.aspx?NID=150

The indoor pool at The Lodge in Des Peres is like no other in the St. Louis Metro Area. It features an indoor wave pool in addition to the amenities you'd expect in an indoor water park. The waves are generally on during open swim on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays (check the calendar on their website for hours), and alternate in an on for 20 minutes, off for 10 minutes fashion. During open swim, there are inflatable inner tubes for patrons to use to float on the waves. When the waves are off, swimmers are allowed to jump off the side into the deepest part of the pool. The large pool goes from zero entry to 8 feet 6 inches. There are life jackets to borrow for the kiddos who are not strong enough swimmers to help them in the waves.

Adjacent to the large pool is a tot pool which is zero entry to about 8 inches deep. There are benches around this area for parents to sit, and there is a bubbler in the center and sprays around the edge. Weekday mornings (Wednesday-Friday) the tot pool is open for 1.5 hours for parents and young children to swim, and during this time they bring out a basket full of pool toys for the kids to play with. This area is open during open swim as well, and you can bring small water toys to play with in this area.

The enclosed indoor slide begins in the corner of the building, goes outside, then comes back inside before dumping the rider into a catch pool. Riders must be at least 42" to ride this slide.

The hot tub is for visitors 16 years and older.

The facility is open to residents and non-residents of Des Peres, however non-residents pay a higher admission fee.

Korte Recreation Center Indoor Pool, Highland, IL

Location: 1 Nagel Drive, Highland, IL 62249

Amenities:

• two-story waterslide 
• water channel for walking
• vortex 
• children’s play area with slide and sprays
• lap lanes 
• Hot tub 

Website: https://www.highlandil.gov/departments/parks_and_recreation/korte_recreation_center/index.php

The indoor pool at the Korte Recreation Center offers a large water slide for riders 4' and taller, and a small water slide for little kiddos in the shallow children's area. The pool goes from zero entry to 4 feet deep, with a water channel to walk through and a vortex whirlpool. Children were allowed to bring small inflatables into the pool (inner tubes and water wings). The locker room is large. Non-members and non-residents are welcome but pay an additional fee.