St. Vincent Park, Pagedale

Location: 7335 St. Charles Rock Road, St. Louis, MO 63133

Website: https://stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-departments/parks/places/st-vincent-park/

Playground Ground Cover: Poured Rubber

In June of 1978 St. Louis County purchased farmland from the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent DePaul, which is now St. Vincent Park. This park has a fitness trail designed to be accessible to people of all abilities, athletic fields, trails, picnic sites and shelter, a playground and tennis courts.

The Community Center was opened in June 1989 as a result of 1986 voter approved Bond Issue monies. There are supervised recreational programs, civic group meetings, and organized basketball and day camps at the facility. The center has an open gym, community room, and fitness room.

The Water Park was opened in August 1994 and is open to all residents of the Metro St. Louis area. This unique facility offers a water playground for kids of all ages with an open water slide, a larger water play structure, a zero-entry area, and two 25-yard lap swimming lanes. The water park can also be used for aquatic exercise, and swimming lessons and is available to rent.

The water park wasn't open when I visited the playground, but here are some pics from their website:

Open to all residents of the St. Louis area, this facility offers a water playground for kids of all ages, with an open water slide, a large water play structure, zero entry, and two 25-yard lap swimming lanes. In addition to general public use, the water park is also designed for aquatic exercise, swim lessons for all ages, and rentals.

 The playground has 2 play structures, one for littles and one for bigger kids.

 Restroom building

 The small one has a slide, a ramp, bars and poles, a tunnel a steering wheel, an abacus, and maze boards.

 The large one has all the same features plus a rock wall. 

The park is huge, very clean, and well cared for.

Robert-Superior Park, Ferguson

Location: 635 Robert Ave, Ferguson MO 63135

Website: https://www.fergusoncity.com/621/Robert-Superior-Park

Playground Ground Cover: Grass

They need to replace the mulch in this park, it's long gone. There aren't any bathrooms either or much parking.

There is this covered pavilion but no tables or chairs

There are 2 bouncy horses and one play structure

They have 2 sling swings and 2 baby swings

The play structure has several slides, a zip line, and bars and poles.

Monkey Joe's, Crestwood- PERMANENTLY CLOSED as of June 2023

Location: 9061 Watson Road, Crestwood, MO 63126

Amenities: inflatables/bounce houses, concessions

Website: http://www.monkeyjoes.com/locations/st-louis

Ground Cover: carpet

Monkey Joe's is an indoor play place with inflatable slides, bounce houses and obstacle courses. It's active fun for kids from toddlers to 12.

Kids are required to remove their shoes once they enter Monkey Joe's. There is a cubbie area to hold shoes. Children MUST wear socks, if you forget to bring some they sell them. 

Parents will need to sign a waiver at the check-in desk. Parent and child are given matching wrist bands once admission is paid and a staff member checks the wrists bands upon exiting to make sure you're taking the right children home.

There is only one entrance (staffed) and the room has an open floor plan. This allows parents of older kids to relax at a table or in the parent lounge area while their kids play--and still see what's going on.

The equipment is cleaned daily. The entrance/exit area of each inflatable has extra padding for safety. Monkey Joe's provides staff to keep the inflatables from becoming overcrowded and generally keep an eye on the kids. They do not patrol the obstacle courses--and no one over 12 is allowed inside the inflatables--so kids are on the honor system once they get in. (A staff member will retrieve any child who gets stuck in an inflatable or refuses to go down a slide.)

There is a section for kids under 3 to keep the little ones safe. The Mini Monkey area has a mini obstacle course and two bounce houses. Parents are not allowed inside the inflatables, but the wall is very short so you can watch from the sidelines.

The larger inflatables have no minimum age limit or height restrictions I could see, so it's up to the parents to judge their kids abilities. (The website suggests it's for kids 4 to 12.) Parents should peek over the walls of the obstacle course to see if their child is able to handle the challenges inside. Some of the bigger obstacle courses are designed for taller, stronger children.

Inflatables for the bigger kids include bounce houses, obstacle courses and a giant slide.

Monkey Joe's also has two separate party rooms, a parent's lounge with TV and WiFi, picnic tables and a play area with infant toys for babies too little to bounce. There is a snack bar with pizza, slushies, soda, candy and the usual junk food.

There are bathrooms for the customers (we didn't check to see how clean they were).

Monkey Joe's has a limited number of arcade games and an air hockey table.

We visited Monkey Joe's on a rainy summer day. Even though the place was crowded the lines moved quickly. Parents should be aware that kids can become rowdy and older children do not always remember their manners when engaging in active play. If you bring smaller kids on a crowded day you may need to watch their back to make sure older kids do not push them out of the way or that little kids don't cut the lines. Staff members were concentrated at the more popular inflatables, so they don't see everything.

The only draw back to Monkey Joe's is the room is extremely loud when crowded. Besides all the squealing kids there is the noise of a dozen blowers keeping the inflatables up. The room is basically a giant carpeted warehouse with terrible acoustics. The noise is not overwhelming on less crowded days. The kids didn't seem to mind.

Admission: Adults are free. Kids from 2 to 12 are $10.99, and kids under 2 (if playing) are $6.99. 

Updated photos from 5/2/17

Nesbit- Newton Park, Ferguson

 Location: 1150 Nesbit Dr, Ferguson, MO 63136

Website: https://www.fergusoncity.com/620/Nesbit-Newton-Park

Playground Ground Cover: Wood Chips

This is a small park with no bathrooms. The wood chips need to be replaced as well. There is a drinking fountain and a small pavilion. It is partly shady, so that's a nice feature.

There is a swing missing, but there is one baby swing and 2 sling swings.

There is one play structure, and it has a few slides, a zipline, and some bars and poles.

There are 2 ride on horses.