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.

Barnickel Park, Webster Groves

Location: Bounded by North Bompart and North Forest Avenues, Webster Groves, 63119

Website: http://mo-webstergroves2.civicplus.com/index.aspx?NID=170

Playground Ground Cover: Pea Gravel

The website says it has a 'playground' here but I would use that term lightly. All it has is a baby swing, a sling swing, and 2 motorcycles to rock on. Also 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.  

Margaret Stoecker Park, Manchester

Location: 224 Henry Ave, Manchester, MO 63021

Amenities: playground, picnic shelter, walking path, restroom

Website: http://manchestermo.gov/923/City-Parks

Playground ground cover: Wood chips

Literally a hidden gem of park playgrounds, you can't see the playground from the parking lot. Take the paved nature trail down a short hill to find the nature themed playground. There's equipment for toddlers through school aged children - with various slides and climbing walls, ropes, etc. There's a spinning ball that kids can climb inside of - a unique take on a merry-go-round. Separate from the main equipment is a swing set with a sling swing and a baby swing, a traditional merry-go-round and a climbing structure shaped like a bug. The restroom is adjacent to this section of the playground and was quite clean the day we visited. There's also a small picnic shelter and a picnic area under the trees past the playground. There are no benches beside the playground at this time, but I wouldn't be surprised if they are added as they complete the finishing touches on the new playground area.