William Powell recently became a parent, but he’s still a kid at heart. While researching this issue, he spent countless hours at parks around the region, hanging from monkey bars, climbing ropes, and testing out tube slides. Here are his 10 favorite playgrounds, along with a can’t-miss feature from each. They’re places where kids can let their imaginations wild, where they’ll surmount an obstacle and exclaim, “Mom, did you see that?”
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Fox Park
Fox Park , St Louis, MissouriIn the summer, kids crave water. If you don’t want to pay for a pool pass, the sprayground in Fox Park is a free alternative. The splash pad has fountains, sprayers, and jets. The most popular is a suspended diamond-shaped bucket. It fills slowly, building suspense. Kids stand below, giggling nervously until the bucket tips, dousing them in a wall of water.
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Turtle Playground
Turtle Playground , St Louis, MissouriCreated by legendary City Museum founder Bob Cassilly, this southern slice of Forest Park features several concrete turtles, ranging from 7 to 40 feet in length. The larger ones make great mountains for children to climb. At the western end of the park, baby turtles emerge from oversized shells, and a snake slithers onto the Highway 40 overpass.
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Shaw Park
27 S. Brentwood Boulevard, St Louis, MissouriThe fenced playground near Shaw Park’s north parking lot has a treehouse theme, complete with a slide that appears to be made from a hollow log. Ramps make structures accessible. There’s a music area where kids can play xylophones. It’s the perfect place to pretend that you’re one of Peter Pan’s Lost Boys (or Girls).
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Millennium Park
2 Barnes West Drive, St Louis, MissouriOne of the best spiral tube slides around can be found at Millenium Park. Kids climb up a set of steps, crawl through a gray tube, then up through an orange one to the top platform. The slide is blue, which makes it pretty dark inside. It’s thrilling without being too scary—although, as Powell found out, the tubes on the way up are narrow enough to prevent all but the thinnest parents from accompanying a nervous youngster on the ride. Millenium Park also has an excellent teeter-totter, with thick shocks for softer landings.
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Tilles Park Playground
9551 Litzsinger Road, St Louis, MissouriThis playground is home to a challenging set of monkey bars. There are three distinct sections. In one, kids swing between metal triangles. In the next, they climb across a suspended spiral, and in the third, they dangle from wheels. It’s an ideal training ground for mini American Ninja Warriors.
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Faust Park
Known for its classic carousel and the Butterfly House, Faust Park is also home to a wonderful playground. It boasts a large undulating climbing wall for older kids, with a shorter section for littler tykes. It’s a free, outdoor, kid-sized version of a rock-climbing gym.
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Swansea Kingdom at Schranz Memorial Park
360 Honeysuckle Lane, Village of Swansea, IllinoisThe builders of this Metro East playground took the castle theme seriously. There are several towers to climb, where your child can pretend to be a princess, or perhaps Rapunzel, and there are several dragon paintings for young knights to tame. For imaginative lords and ladies, this is fertile ground.
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Deer Creek Park
3200 Laclede Station Road, St Louis, MissouriThis Maplewood green space has become known as Rocket Park for its unique playground. Kids who climb to the cockpit can pretend to pilot a spacecraft, manipulating dials for cabin pressure and speed. The fastest way back down is Powell’s favorite slide, a tube with a surprise twist halfway down. And don’t miss the nearby dune buggy.
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Queeny Park Playground
This unique playground has a massive tiered pyramid that looks like something the ancient Aztecs might have built. Tunnels and slides lead between and through the levels. Like Super Mario, kids descend through a pipe for an underground adventure. Although this isn’t the area’s most accessible playground, it might be the most fun.
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Zachary's Playground at Hawk Ridge Park
8392 Orf Road, St Louis, MissouriLocated in Lake Saint Louis, Zachary’s Playground is worth the trip. There’s an “octa-net climber,” a web of red ropes tied between blue poles that’s the next best thing to climbing a tree. The castle-themed playset has a variety of slides and climbing structures, including stairs, ropes, ramps, and rocky cliffs. A nearby ship has a popular roller slide, and a large “sway fun” toy is like a cross between a restaurant booth and a teeter-totter. With several play structures specifically designed to accommodate wheelchairs, this is not only the region’s best playground but also one of its most accessible.
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