26 Jul 10 St. Louis Parks for a Walk and a Picnic

A good picnic park needs a loop you can walk without a map, shade in July, and a restroom that’s open. Here are ten around St. Louis that pass that test: four in the city, four in St. Louis County, and two state parks on the Meramec, with the practical details we’d want before loading the car.

City of St. Louis

Tower Grove Park, St. Louis (Tower Grove South and Shaw)

Henry Shaw’s 1868 gift to the city is 289 acres of Victorian pavilions, mature trees, and a roughly 3-mile outer running path. The park lists 11 pavilions for rent. The rules: grilling only at picnic sites in the fixed pits, alcohol only at a reserved site with a permit, and dogs on leash under City Ordinance 66384. Hours are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Nee Kee Nee Playscape and splash pad keep kids busy, and the farmers market runs Saturday mornings in season. Best in April and October.

Carondelet Park, St. Louis (Holly Hills and Carondelet)

The city’s third-largest park at 179.71 acres, established in 1875, with two lakes: Boathouse Lake, where you can fish, and Horseshoe Lake, formed in 1913 by joining nine sinkholes. There’s a 2-mile loop walk, a playground, three reservable pavilions (Carondelet Pavilion #1, Pavilion 1-A, and the Quarry Pavilion), and a YMCA rec complex with a pool at the east end next to I-55. The park goes car-free the first seven days of every month, the quietest days to walk.

Francis Park, St. Louis (St. Louis Hills)

Sixty acres given to the city by David R. Francis in 1916, surrounded by the brick and gingerbread houses that make St. Louis Hills what it is. The lily pond in the center is the picnic spot. Around it are a playground, ball fields, and tennis, handball, racquetball, and pickleball courts. Bring a blanket and aim for the shade along the perimeter path. Street parking on Donovan, Nottingham, Tamm, and Eichelberger.

Forest Park, St. Louis (Kennedy Forest side)

At 1,370 acres, Forest Park is bigger than Central Park, and the quiet corner is the John F. Kennedy Memorial Forest, more than 60 acres of mature woods dedicated in 1964 with a 1.4-mile loop of gravel and boardwalk. The city lists seven pavilions and seven picnic grounds; Pavilion #11 is off Wells Drive west of the Zoo, and Picnic Ground #13 (10 tables, 2 grill pits) cannot be reserved, so it’s the first-come option.

St. Louis County

Queeny Park, unincorporated St. Louis County (near Ballwin)

Five hundred sixty-four acres of woods, prairie, and creek between Weidman Road and Mason Road. The Hawk Ridge Trail, 4.4 miles of mixed gravel and pavement, circles the perimeter; the park has more than seven miles of trail in all. Shelters, restrooms, a playground, and tennis courts sit near the entrances, and the Greensfelder Recreation Complex off Weidman has a seasonal ice rink. Dogs go on a 6-foot leash, the St. Louis County rule, except inside Tails and Trails, the 5-acre membership dog park. Fall color here is as good as anywhere in West County.

Jefferson Barracks Park, Lemay

A 425-acre former military post on the Mississippi with more than three miles of paved walking trail, four reservable shelters, an 18-hole disc golf course, an archery range, and an amphitheater. The Mississippi Greenway segment inside the park is a flat, sunny 1.7 miles with barge traffic in view, and restrooms sit at the greenway trailhead. The Old Ordnance Room and Powder Magazine are museums. Open sunrise to sunset; with little shade on the greenway, go in spring, fall, or early morning.

Cliff Cave Park, Oakville

Off Telegraph Road in South County, Cliff Cave has 525 acres of river bottom and limestone bluff. The paved Mississippi Greenway loop is 6.7 miles, and a 2.04-mile extension climbs the bluff to a scenic overlook with downtown visible upriver. For dirt, take the flat 1-mile River Bluff Trail or the 3-mile Spring Valley Trail through the karst uplands. Picnic shelters, grills, restrooms, and river fishing are down by the water. Spring, before the floodplain gets buggy, is the best season.

Faust Park, Chesterfield

About 200 acres donated in 1968 by Leicester and Mary Plant Faust to preserve Thornhill, the 1819 home of Missouri’s second governor, Frederick Bates, now on the National Register. The 1.3-mile Governor Bates Trail is the walk. Picnic sites, a playground, and restrooms sit near the St. Louis Carousel, a 1920s Dentzel with more than 60 hand-carved horses and deer, and the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Butterfly House, open here since 1998. Hours are 8 a.m. to 30 minutes after sunset.

Meramec River State Parks

Castlewood State Park, Ballwin

Castlewood (1401 Kiefer Creek Road) covers 1,818 acres along the lower Meramec and was a weekend resort for St. Louisans from 1915 to about 1940. The River Scene Trail, 3.25 miles, climbs the limestone bluffs for the best river view in the county. Other loops include Grotpeter (3.75 miles), Lone Wolf (1.5), Stinging Nettle (2.5), and the Al Foster Trail (4.7). Picnic sites, reservable shelters, and a playground sit near the entrance. Grounds are open 7 a.m. to a half hour after sunset, and Missouri State Parks requires pets on a leash no longer than 10 feet. Mountain bikers share most trails.

Route 66 State Park, Eureka

This park sits on the former town of Times Beach, cleaned up after dioxin contamination in the 1980s. The visitor center is the Bridgehead Inn, a 1935 roadhouse on the original Route 66, and its gift shop is open seven days a week March through November. The trails are level and mostly gravel or paved, good for strollers and bikes, and Missouri State Parks says more than 175 bird species have been recorded here. Picnic shelters are spread through the park, and the old Route 66 bridge over the Meramec is closed to traffic but still photogenic. Best on a cool fall morning when the deer and turkeys are out.

One last note: the Meramec floods, so check the Missouri State Parks status map before driving to Castlewood or Route 66 after heavy rain. People who fall for one of these parks often end up house hunting nearby, whether that’s a bungalow in St. Louis Hills, a ranch in Oakville, or a two-story near Queeny. Start with St. Louis listings on Wizah, browse our buyer and seller resources, and when you’re ready, talk with one of our agents. We walk these trails too, and we’re glad to help you find a home close to the one you like best.