Rock Pointe Park, Hazelwood

Location: 1572 Villa Rosa Ln, Hazelwood, MO 63042

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

Playground Ground Cover: Wood Chips

This is a pocket park in a residential neighborhood. There is some shade on this playground which is always welcome. There are 2 baby swings, 2 sling swings, and some rocking horses.  There are 2 play structures and a small covered pavilion but no restrooms. The structures have slides, bars, and poles. They look to be best for toddlers and preschoolers.

Tiny creek

 Big field to run around in. 

There is a basketball court right next to the playground

Aubuchon Park, Hazelwood

Location: 35 Flamingo Dr, Hazelwood, MO 63042

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

Playground Ground Cover: Wood Chips

This is a good sized park. Amenities include athletic fields, comfort station, horseshoes, multi-use court, pavilion, playground, lighted tennis courts, mile walking/jogging path, and picnic site.

There are 2 play structures, one for kids under 5 and one for kids over 5. The small one has 2 slides, a tunnel, and some bars to climb on. There are 2 sling swings and 2 baby swings, and a pretend area also. The larger structure has a tall slide, tunnel, tic tac toe board, maze board, bars, and poles, and stepping stones that connect the two structures.

 Restroom building

Birchwood Park, Hazelwood

 Location: 152 Connolly Dr, Hazelwood, MO 63135

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

Playground Ground Cover: Wood Chips

This playground is tiny and has seen better days. The only thing here is one picnic bench and one play structure. The structure has 2 slides, a tic tac toe board, a rock wall, and some bars.

Schneider/Kiwanis Park, St. Charles

Location: 3596 Elm Point Rd, St. Charles, MO 63301

Website: http://www.stcharlesparks.com/park/schneiderkiwanis-park/

Playground Ground Cover: Wood Chips

This is a small playground. There are 2 baby swings and 2 sling swings, and one play structure. It had 2 slides, a bridge, a tic tac toe board, and some monkey bars. There is no shade and no benches to sit on except the ones at the pavilion.

 restroom building

 small pavilion

Sand volleyball court

Webster Rec Plex Open Play, Webster Groves

Location: 33 E. Glendale Rd., Webster Groves, MO 63119

Website:  http://www.webstergroves.org/119/Recreation-Complex

The Rec Plex/ Community Center in Webster is a great facility. They have a pool, ice rink, tennis courts, playground, and more. During the school year they offer a nice open play. It's best suited for toddlers, I don't know if many preschoolers would enjoy it. I took my 3 year old daughter and she said it was for babies LOL. But the babies seemed to love it!

When you enter the building the person at the front desk will check you in and direct you to the gym. It costs $5 for non-members and $3 for members and residents of the district. It's usually on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:30- 11:30 but check with them before going because some semesters they change it up (314-963-5300 ext 4).

They have 2 people that run it, one is a retired preschool teacher and one is a young girl getting her teaching degree. They set up different activities for the kids and they can participate or do free play. Or they can run around like crazy people and then hopefully take a good nap :)

 Passing the ball around in a circle.

 Try to get the ball in the goal

Roll down the mats doing somersaults

 Hop on the colored papers

Bowling

 Try to throw the ball into the bucket

 Everyone's favorite...the parachute

They also had balls, scooters, and other things to play with. She sang some songs and guided play which was nice. Some kids don't want to be guided and just want to do their own thing and that's ok too. It's a nice indoor option to have to burn some energy.

Unlimited Play Playgrounds

Unlimited Play playgrounds are amazing. If you've been to one you know what I'm talking about. The company is a non-profit that builds fully accessible playgrounds that allow all children to play together, regardless of their physical abilities.

Three-year-old Zachary Blakemore provided the original inspiration behind Unlimited Play. Zachary suffers from a rare genetic central nervous system disease (Pelizaeus Merzbacher Disease) that confines him to a wheelchair or assistive walking device. But like all children, Zachary loves to play.
When his mother Natalie would take Zachary to the park to play, the playground would only emphasize his limitations. And even more frustrating was the fact that the playground’s barriers that stopped him from playing also prevented him from interacting with the other children.
But after visiting an accessible playground while traveling to the east coast, Zachary’s parents Natalie and Todd began to dream of creating an accessible playground in Zachary’s hometown – and of the day when playgrounds like this would exist for children everywhere. They teamed with Zachary’s pediatric speech therapist, and Unlimited Play was born in 2003.

And what's more, they are a local family from St. Charles. They have built quite a few playgrounds in and around St. Louis and have more in the works.

They include:
1.)Gus's playground at Willmore Park- south city
2.)Cornerstone STL playground at O'Fallon Park- north city
3.)Kade's playground at Herculaneum City Park
4.)Discovery playground at Jaycee Park- St. Charles
5.)Brendan's playground at Westhoff Park- O'Fallon
6.)Tree Top playground at Shaw Park- Clayton
7.)Zachary's playground at Hawk Ridge Park- O'Fallon
8.)McAuley playground at Hansen Park- Cottleville
9.)Jake's Field of Dreams playground in Heartland Park- Wentzville
10.)Braden & Friends Challenger playground- Ste. Genevieve
11.)Hannah's playground- Breese, IL

12.)Kennedy's playground- St. Peters

13.)Dennis H. Rinderer playground- Highland IL

14.)Angie's Playground at Manion Park- Florissant

15.)Logan's Playground at St. John's Evangelical, South County



Here's a great video about Natalie and Todd and the great work they've accomplished. They have built amazing playgrounds in the Midwest and are branching out all over the country! How awesome is that! Go check out one of these playgrounds today, your kids will thank you.

Eastgate Park, University City

Location: 6238 Cabanne Ave, University City, MO 63130

Website: http://www.ucitymo.org/105/Parks

Playground Ground Cover: Wood Chips

There is just one play structure here and some swings (4 sling swings and 2 baby swings). The structure has 2 slides, a balance beam, some monkey bars and poles, and a tunnel.

Ruth Porter Mall Park, St. Louis City

Location: 5669 Delmar Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63112

Website: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/parks/parks/browse-parks/view-park.cfm?parkID=77&parkName=Ruth%20Porter%20Mall

This splashpad is just east of the Delmar loop on Delmar at DeBaliviere Ave. This is the only splash pad in the area that isn't attached to a playground. So just so you know, there's nothing else here except pop jets!