John L. Brown Park, Woodson Terrace

Location: 4301 Calvert Ave, St. Louis, MO 63134

Website: http://woodsonterrace.net/Departments/Public-Works-Home/Parks/

Playground Ground Cover: Wood Chips

What a great park! The park has 2 big pavilions, nice restrooms near the playground, a community pool (but unfortunately it's only open to residents and their guests), and a new playground installed in 2019. The play structure is partly shaded which is rare and wonderful. 

There are 2 baby swings, and 2 sling swings.

The large play structure has slides,  pretend boards, ladders, and so many things to climb on.

Free-standing boogie board

You can see the parking lot in the background

The small play structure has stepping stones, a slide, a small climbing wall, drums, and a tunnel.

Large covered pavilions

Restroom building

Community pool but it's only open to residents of Woodson Terrace

Queen Ann Park, Hazelwood

Location: 7804 Canisius Ln, Hazelwood, MO 63042

Website: http://www.hazelwoodmo.org/services/parks

Playground Ground Cover: Wood Chips

Amenities include a comfort station, fitness trail, horseshoes, multi-use court, accessible picnic pavilion, picnic site, accessible playground, lighted tennis courts, mile walking/jogging path, and volleyball court.

The playstructure was just renovated in 2020 and the equipment is wonderful. This park is quiet and secluded. 

Basketball court in the back

Great climbing equipment with tunnels, hills, slides, and more. 

Next to the playground is a zipline with one adaptive seat and one regular seat.

There is one expression swing, 1 baby swing, and 2 sling swings.

Balance beam

Covered pavilion next to the parking lot and playground.

Family Sports Park, O'Fallon, IL

Location:  301 Obernuefemann Road, O'Fallon, IL 62269

Amenities: 4 picnic pavilions, 2 playgrounds, walking trails, concession stands, 8 baseball and softball fields, sprayground, 2 lighted soccer fields (one being artificial turf)

Website: https://ofallonfamilysportspark.com/

Playground ground cover: wood chips and astroturf

This park has our favorite splash pad in the area! There are lots of different water features, including arches, buckets, a "spider web," fountains, a mushroom/umbrella, and a creek. The water pools about two inches after the fountains have been running, so there is water to splash in as well.

Adjacent to the sprayground are two jungle gyms, one for toddlers, and one for older children. The ground cover for these is astroturf, which heats up quickly, so make sure to put shoes back on before playing! The sprayground is very popular, and parking can be a challenge, especially on weekends when sports teams are playing on the many fields at the park.

There is also a full-sized playground (with wood chips for ground cover), within walking distance of the sprayground. A walk over there to play is a good way to dry off! It has two sling swings, two baby swings, and an adaptive swing. There are several slides (including a racing slide), a rock-climbing wall, and some music play. There are two structures on this playground, with one being suitable for preschoolers, but still too big to be used by toddlers, and the other for older children.

The whole park grounds are very extensive and well-cared for. There are many pavilions, as well as baseball/softball and soccer fields, and a walking trail. As I mentioned before, when there are games in play, it's very crowded, and you sometimes have to park quite a distance from the sprayground or the playground, but during the week, you can usually park quite close to either.

The creek is very long, filled with really deep areas that a toddler can fit in. Kids love stepping from stone to stone and playing in the puddles.