Best Things To Do With Kids In St. Louis According To Me

Best Things To Do With Kids In St. Louis

Because we're only one family and can't visit every kid-friendly thing to do in the city, we visit as many highly-rated things to do for kids as possible. We stick to recommendations from friends and long-time St. Louis residents.

These rankings are based on the quality of the overall experience, taking into account uniqueness, price, and how much my kids liked it.

You can read more details on my review philosophy, but remember, I don't make the rules; I just think 'em up and write 'em down.

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Weekly reviews of restaurants, parks, and things to do All Around Saint Louis.

Best Things To Do With Kids In St. Louis

  1. #1 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    Saint Louis Zoo

    Saint Louis Zoo Takeaway. The Crown Jewel Of St. Louis Attractions. It's free!!! One of the best things to do in St. Louis. Get here early and park on the north side for easy access.

    The Zoo and the Arch are the most prominent tourist attractions in the city. One of the best places to take family when they visit for a weekend. If you live here, take advantage of it being free by stopping by whenever you want for as long as you like. Our average trip here is only about an hour.

    Penguins are my favorite, but they stink, literally. Polar bears are a big draw. Zebra, giraffes, lions, monkeys, and elephants round out the big event animals.

    Train, carousel, and petting sting rays cost money. Parking in the dedicated lots is $10, but you can find free street parking on the North side, particularly if you get there early. It's important to note what parking lots are open during certain times of the year. Like everything in St. Louis, the hours can be weird, so check ahead.

    Saint Louis Zoo
  2. #2 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    Tilles Park

    Tilles Park Takeaway. My favorite park in Saint Louis so far. Top-notch playground equipment. Splash pad, music equipment, and fields to round out the experience. Ideal for kids 3.5 and up. You can easily spend one hour plus with kids. Clean bathrooms. Plenty of parking. Adjacent walking path to the playground. Tip One: There are two Tilles Parks, so make sure you set your map to the one in Brentwood off of 64. Tip Two: Bring a tennis ball for creative ways to play and have a catch.

    Tilles Park
  3. #3 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    Deer Creek Park

    Deer Creek Park Takeaway. The "Rocket Ship Park". Great park for three-year-olds to ten-year-olds. Themed around space with the rock ship jungle gym, space rover platform, and space shuttle rocker. Good way to spend one to two hours with the kids. Big pavilion for parties. Easy parking. Clean bathrooms. Many ball fields, including volleyball. It's worth experiencing once if you have kids in Saint Louis.

    Deer Creek Park
  4. #4 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    City Museum

    City Museum Takeaway. A Stange, Creepy, Delightful Museum. Made for older kids and kids at heart. I'd recommend being at least 8 years old to fully appreciate the museum, although plenty for younger kids to do. A truly unique experience. They have an innumerable number of individual "attractions" to explore in one visit. My favorite exhibits include the five-story slide, outside plane, and outside tunnel. My younger guys liked the long indoor slide and various exploration points inside.

    Unfortunately, it's expensive. One of the few private museums in St. Louis, it costs $20 for general admission tickets or $18 if you go after 5 pm. There's a convenience fee for buying online. Parking in the dedicated lot is $15, but you can find cheaper street parking. That makes it close to $100 for a family of 4 to visit, which is expensive for St. Louis.

    With tons of tunnels and tricks, keeping track of little kids can be hard. You need to either be ready to follow them or install an Apple tag. Exhibits can stretch between levels and rooms in the building, so following kids can get tricky. Hours can be odd, so make sure it's open before visiting.

    City Museum
  5. #5 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    Gateway Arch National Park

    Gateway Arch National Park Takeaway. America's Amazing Arch and Other Gateway Glories. Check this one off your St. Louis bucket list. Two parts to the park.

    Part 1 - Great park below The Arch for a family picnic or an adult walk. No playground equipment means you need to bring a ball, frisbee, or some outside entertainment for kids. Adults can take a long walk around the park.

    Part 2 - $71 for a family of four to go to the top of the arch. A free museum below the Arch to take in the history without paying. The line + background + ride + view takes about one hour. Buy tickets ahead of time online. Pro Tip: Ask to be in a lower number group. You'll get an extra five minutes at the top in group 1 vs group 8. You also need to be able to walk up a flight or two of stairs.

    You can park for free on the weekends if you get there early, but expect to drive around for five or ten minutes. You can reserve parking ahead of time for $10 with validation. Can cost more otherwise. I've parked on the street or in a lot around 4th and Pine the four or five times we've gone.

    Gateway Arch National Park
  6. #6 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    Saint Louis Science Center Review

    Saint Louis Science Center takeaway. Great weekend activity. Family fun for all ages. Free basic admission. Easy parking. It is our go-to on Saturday mornings when my wife is working. Tip: bring some pennies if you have little kids.

    Saint Louis Science Center Review
  7. #7 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    O'Day Park

    O'Day Park Takeaway. The "Basically A Free Adventure Park Park". Incredibly high-quality apparatuses, layout, and design. Playground complete. While every apparatus is awesome, they are mostly all single-use. Limits kids' creative freedom, so they get bored quicker than you would expect, given the quality. Bring a bathing suit for the splash pad in Summer. Easy parking in a giant lot. Brand new bathrooms. Located way out west across the river in O'Fallon. Not worth the 32-minute drive from my house, but definitely worth sub ~15 minutes if you live closer.

    O'Day Park
  8. #8 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    Shaw Park

    Shaw Park Takeaway. The Gem of the Clayton Park Network. The Tree Top Playground rocks it, coming in with an 8.7 / 10 playground score for kids. With at least seven different slides and an innumerable number of entrances back up, it's Playground Complete. Your kids will stay busy for over an hour easily. One of the few rumble spinny slides in the area. A splash pad is available in the summer but is currently under construction.

    It is one of the best playgrounds for kids in St. Louis and one of the better parks for adults.

    There's a second, smaller playground on the west side, closer to the high school. High school sports park over there also, for baseball and softball. You'll also find the community pool with an awesome diving board within Shaw Park's borders. The tennis courts are in the southeast corner. Bathrooms spaced throughout, but they are closed over the winter. Parking in a big dedicated lot, but finding your way in can be tricky. Medium-sized pavilion with picnic tables for birthdays at both playground areas.

    Shaw Park
  9. #9 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    The Magic House

    The Magic House takeaway. A fun way to spend two or three hours with your kids on a Saturday. Doing an entire loop brings you through dozens of exhibits. $66 for a family of four over the age of one is costly. Located in Kirkwood, North of I44, in South County, it's not super easy to get to unless you're local. Didn't get five stars because of cost.

    The Magic House
  10. #10 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    Cliff Cave Park

    Cliff Cave Park Takeaway. The Cliff Cave Park "Upper Trail" hike is an excellent hike for families and little kids. 2 miles in-and-back hike takes about 1.5 hours. Highlights include an old wine cave and the bridge to get there. Tips: Considerably better hike if you avoid the paved paths as much as possible. Park close to the entrance in the Upper Lot for a better kids hike. Watch out for mountain bikers.

    Cliff Cave Park
  11. #11 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    Stacey Park

    Stacey Park Takeaway. My homefield park and a major reason we bought our house. Olivette's "premier" park. Has a little bit of everything - playgrounds, fields, and even a "hike". Playgound complete. Big pavilion for parties. Easy parking. Clean bathrooms. Hosts all major Olivette events and intramerial sports. It's a swiss army knife of parks that stands out for being above agerage in every category conceivable, without having a specific highlight.

    Stacey Park
  12. #12 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    Dennis & Judith Jones Variety Wonderland Playground

    Dennis & Judith Jones Variety Wonderland Playground Takeaway. The "Forest Park Playground". A strong playground that anchors the biggest, most famous park in St. Louis. Playground complete. Unique spinning gazebo / mary-go-round. Several solid slides. Fun main two-story playground. Small splash area. I've been coming here since before we moved to the area. Parking is easy across the street. Next to the information center with bathrooms. Small covered area for adults to sit.

    Dennis & Judith Jones Variety Wonderland Playground
  13. #13 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    Laumeier Sculpture Park

    Laumeier Sculpture Park Takeaway. Eyeball sculpture is one to remember. Fantastic way to spend a Saturday morning. It's free! Definitely better for adults than kids. There's a hiking trail that connects parts of the park. The park goes and goes and could be a couple of miles as a loop. Art exhibit at the entrance in a dedicated building with seating. Bathrooms in the front building. Even the parking lots have art exhibits. They closed the main building for our visit. Don't go in the freezing cold with kids.

    Laumeier Sculpture Park
  14. #14 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    Dr. H. Phillip Venable Memorial Park

    Dr. H. Phillip Venable Memorial Park Takeaway. Spectacular playground stowed away off Spoede. A Playground Complete park that also offers a half-mile or so walking path and tennis courts. The main playground has two amazing slides, dozens of entrance vectors, and very solid time-to-reset for slide rides. Three stories high, there are hundreds of combinations to go up and down.

    Swings and a younger kids' playground complement the main playground. The park also has tennis courts that look like they have seen better days. A walking path surrounds the playground and a giant field.

    A large parking lot backs onto the playground. The bathrooms are available, but they are closed over the winter, so you have to backtrack out of the park to find one.

    Dr. H. Phillip Venable Memorial Park
  15. #15 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    Missouri History Museum

    Missouri History Museum Takeaway. Free Museum In Forest Park. The Missouri History Museum is another St. Louis gem in Forest Park. It's not the biggest or best museum we've been to, but it's free, with plenty to do for a weekend morning. They have four or so exhibits that rotate over the course of the year.

    Expect to spend maybe an hour here with small kids. The Kids Clubhouse is ideally aimed at 3 to 6-year-olds, so you can get more mileage if your kids are that age.

    We spent most of our time in the Kids Clubhouse. They also had a Coloring STL exhibit set up. My kids got through that surprisingly fast. They then ran over to the Soccer STL exhibit and had a blast there for a bit. We missed the "Seeking STL" exhibit on the second floor because it was time for lunch. The St. Louis soccer was the highlight for the kids.

    Helpful service and kid-friendly, there's less to do here than somewhere like the Saint Louis Science Center. Parking all around the museum, we went on one of the busiest days of the year, and it was only a five-minute walk away.

    Missouri History Museum
  16. #16 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    Anne O'C, Albrecht Nature Playscape

    Anne O'C. Albrecht Nature Playscape Takeaway. St. Louis's Best Playground Without A Playground. A series of exhibits built with sand, stumps, trees, water, and grass. A place for your imagination to run wild within a defined play space. Bring friends to make it an A+ experience.

    Better in the summer when there's running water, it's Playground Complete, using only objects and concepts you'd find in nature. Relatively unknown in the middle of Forest Park, you should add the Playscape to your park itinerary.

    There are year-round bathrooms and picnic tables available. Parking can be tight in the lot, but it's available on the street. It's Forest Park's hidden gem.

    Anne O'C, Albrecht Nature Playscape
  17. #17 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    Emmenegger Nature Park

    Emmenegger Nature Park Takeaway. One of the best hikes for kids 4 to 7 in the Saint Louis area. A 1.5-mile loop that takes an hour with two snack breaks. The first quarter mile is straight uphill. Then, half a mile down. The final ¾ of a mile is flat along a river bed. Easy snack checkpoints. Ample parking. Bathrooms at the entrance. Dogs are allowed on leashes; no bikes. Conveniently located off of the I44/I270 interchange.

    Emmenegger Nature Park
  18. #18 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    Dr. Edmund A. Babler Memorial State Park

    Blabber Memorial Park Takeaway. A Great Hike A Hike Away. Dogwood trail turned out to be the perfect length for an eight-year-old hiking with a thirty-six-year-old. A 7.1 / 10 hike. Two hour loop trail with a couple of snack breaks. It's a little long for a five-year-old. They marked almost everything on the trail well. One spot got a little dicey, but we just stayed on flag color, and it worked out fine.

    No internet, so load your GPS before you get there.

    They close the bathrooms in the winter. There is plenty of parking. Once you reach the park limits, it takes a long time, like eight-plus minutes, to get to the trailhead.

    Dr. Edmund A. Babler Memorial State Park
  19. #19 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    Urban Air Adventure Park

    Urban Air Adventure Park Takeaway. An Indoor Playscape For Airing It Out. They are a national chain with three locations in the area. Urban Air offers trampolines, VR, bumper cars, ropes courses, indoor playgrounds, and ball bits. There's also a food court with a ton of seating offering basic kids' food and dedicated birthday rooms.

    I say parent-friendly because I didn't leave with a headache after. Compared to Main Event, it's smaller, easier to watch your kids, and way quieter, though still loud. I liked it considerably better than Main Event for that reason, but it lacks bowling, laser tag, and arcades.

    You gain access to the amenities I listed based on how much you're willing to pay. Only trampolining is available for the base, $15.99 each, up to $32.99 each for platinum. Food cost extra and looked like the standard "kids will eat what you put in front of them" fare.

    Urban Air Adventure Park
  20. #20 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    Main Event Chesterfield

    Main Event Takeaway. The complete kid's indoor activity park. Kids love it, and it's a great place for birthdays. However, adults will leave with a headache if exposed for more than thirty minutes.

    Attractions include bowling, laser tag, arcades, a ropes course, food, a bar, and billiards. The bar and billiards are separated into separate sections. The arcades give tickets you turn in for prizes. The food is mostly pizza, chicken tenders, and fries.

    We had a mixed bag for my son's birthday. They agreed to something over the phone they didn't put in the contract and then forced us into a very odd time for food. It kind of ruined my wife's day. It's a much better place for someone else's birthday.

    Roughly $20-25/person will get you $10 of arcades for 30 mins and an activity or two. Way out in Chesterfield, it's a drive to get to. Giant parking lot with shopping nearby if you drop your kid off for a party.

    Main Event Chesterfield
  21. #21 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    MADE For Kids

    MADE For Kids Takeaway. For $6 per person, it's a solid weekend activity. Better for slightly older kids, let's say 5 to 12. Per the name, most activities centered around making things, so fewer playground apparatuses exist. Good for kids' parties. Parking is easy in a dedicated lot.

    MADE For Kids
  22. #22 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    Turtle Playground

    Turtle Playground Takeaway. The Turtle Themed Playground. Fun in concept, not that great in person. Four different types of turtle statues is four ways to play. They're literally hard and unforgiving, so need to be careful sliding down. Better for slightly older kids. A true playground is a three-minute walk up the street to the east.

    Parking in a dedicated lot. The park backs onto the highway, so it's loud. Make sure to check detections and don't blindly trust Google Maps, as it tried to lead us onto the highway.

    Turtle Playground
  23. #23 Best Thing To Do In St. Louis

    Saint Louis County Library Mid-County Branch Review

    Saint Louis County Library Mid-County Branch Takeaway. Our Local Library. Great place to bring the kids on a Saturday morning. Large, dedicated kids section has two computers with age-appropriate learning games. A big pipe marble run. Blocks. Books. And a bustling train set. Free to use. Easy way to spend a couple of hours.

    Several defined rooms in the Branch include a teenage reading room, a printing room, a computer room, and a meeting room available for reseravations. You can check out video games, audiobooks, and movies. And there's a magazine section in the back. Free wi-fi all around makes it a good place to get out of the house to work.

    The staff is super helpful and accommodating. Bathrooms are available for kids and adults. Parking is plentiful in the front.

    Saint Louis County Library Mid-County Branch Review
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Weekly reviews of restaurants, parks, and things to do All Around Saint Louis.