Location: 2701 Finestown Rd, Oakville MO 63129
Website: https://stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-departments/parks/places/bee-tree-park/
Playground Ground Cover: Poured Rubber
This is a beautiful park with lots to do. It's located on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River with some amazing views. There are lots of trails and you can find nice outcroppings of rocks for family photos or for admiring the view of the river. This property also has some cool history. It originally belonged to Eugene Nims, the founder of Southwestern Bell. His mansion is front and center when you enter the park and lots of weddings are held there at the beautiful fountain and garden. He called it Bee Tree Farm and it was his weekend retreat.
On another part of the property, another turn of the century Scottish businessman named George Wood-Smith started to build a huge castle in 1914. But he ran out of money when the stock market crashed and he abandoned it.
The ruins have been sitting there for decades. The property now belongs to Ameren UE and is off-limits. That doesn't stop people from trespassing though and you can find cool
videos on YouTube of the ruins if you want to see them.
There is also a fully stocked lake here. They have bass, catfish, crappie, carp, and sunfish.
The playground has been completely redone. They have an adaptive swing, a baby swing, and 2 sling swings. The play structure is huge with 3 tall tube slides. There are 2 rock walls, a spider web climber, poles, ladders, spinning seat, tic tac toe boards, and bars.
This is the smaller playground for toddlers. It's just a double slide and a little climber on a poured rubber surface.
The restroom building is a bit of a walk from the playground. You can see the blue slide in the background.
