Bass Pro Santa's Wonderland, St. Charles

Location: 1365 S 5th St, St Charles, MO 63301

Website: http://m.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPageC?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&appID=86915&cm_ven=redirect&cm_cat=mktg&cm_pla=bps&cm_ite=santa&cm_sp=SantaWlandNov2013_RD

Bass Pro Shops has been offering free Santa photos for years. They also have a bunch of activities for the kids.  We stopped by to see what it was all about and had a great time! Here's what they have:

Activity rug table with wooden cars

Laser gun arcade

 Archery arcade

 RC truck arena

 Ball pit with 2 excavators

 Lincoln log table

Craft tables (in the background)

Here's their schedule:

I think it's really neat that they offer all of this free stuff for the kids. Check them out if you're in the area!

CiCi's Pizza, Rock Hill

Location: 9745 Manchester Rd, St. Louis, MO 63119

Website: http://www.cicis.com/locations/mo-saint-louis-9745-manchester-rd

This place has an all you can eat buffet for $5.95 a person for adults, and $3.29 for kids.  It includes several types of pizza, salad, sides, and desert. They had several types of pizza, some stuffed crust ones, some flatbread ones with spinach, and even mac n cheese pizza. The deserts were brownies, cinnamon roll bites, and s'mores. For sides they had garlic cheesy bread, wings, and pasta bowls.

In the back they have a small game room with arcade games, air hockey, claw games, pac man, and more.

They have a ton of seating 

I'll be honest, the food was just eh. But if are looking for a cheap easy lunch with little kids then this would be a good place to go. They have additional locations on South Lindbergh and in St. Charles.

Castlewood State Park, Ballwin

Location: 1401 Kiefer Creek Road, Ballwin, MO 63021

Amenities: several picnic sites, two picnic shelters, playground, fishing, boating, trails, volleyball

Website: http://mostateparks.com/park/castlewood-state-park

Playground ground cover: wood chips

Castlewood park is a great place to hike and enjoy nature. The playground is situated between the 2 picnic shelters, and has tunnels, slides, steering wheels, a little rock wall, drums, and various bars and poles.

There is a creek that the road goes over, before you get to the playground. It is just a few inches in most parts and 12-18 inches in the deepest parts. It's very fun to play in on a hot day!

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The playground was replaced in 2016. It is located near the entrance of the park, next to restrooms and the creek. 

 A tire swing, 2 sling swings, an adaptive swing, and a baby swing. 

Turtle spinning seat

View from the road

Continue on in the park and you'll see these signs. This is where you can access the Meramec river.  Please don't swim in the Meramec River at Castlewood. There have been quite a few people who have drowned here in recent years. Because of this, I have not labeled this post as "swimming" in the search.  

Schaefer Park, St. Charles- CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS

Location: 1647 Wilshire Valley Blvd, St. Charles, MO 63303

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

Playground Ground Cover: Rubber Mats


This playground is wonderful, but sunny.  There is no shade except under the pavilion so plan accordingly. The restrooms are new and clean.

There are 2 baby swings, 2 sling swings, and a special expression style swing for 2.

They have one large play structure, and a half circle climber. 

The play structure has a speaker system, 3 different slides, and lots of bars and poles.

"knockoff" expression style swing for 2

They also have paved trails that go through wildflower areas and are quite beautiful. 

370 Lakeside Park, St. Peters

 Photo credit to St. Peters MO website

Location: 1000 Lakeside Park Dr, St. Peters, MO 63376

Website: http://www.stpetersmo.net/lakeside-park.aspx

Playground Ground Cover: Wood Chips

The playground is nothing to write home about, but this park has so many amenities that it's worth a visit for other reasons.

Plus, they just added a splash pad in 2017 so that's noteworthy.

The playground is just 2 baby swings, 4 sling swings, and a slide. Right behind it is a sand volleyball court that could double as a sand box. It's also right by the lake and a pavilion. 

This park is ginormous. It's St. Peters newest and biggest park and includes facilities for hiking, camping, fishing, boating, biking, and more. They have a large archery range and an RV camp site to accommodate 50 RV's. They have a marina where you can rent kayaks, canoes, paddle boats, and sea cycles. The lake is stocked with crappie, blue gill, and channel catfish. They have a 5 mile trail that goes all around the lake with a great view on top of the levee on the north side. They also rent bicycles near the marina.

They even have a restaurant called the Gator Island Grill! You can see lots of photos of the park on their website. Such a great addition to the St. Peters area!

The splash pad was added recently and I only have one photo but it looks awesome.