Benton Park — Local services in St. Louis

Great playground with swings and two separate ay sets: one for older kids and one for younger. My daughter loves it. Next to that is a couple of tennis courts. There are paved paths that wind through the park with benches along the way. There are two separate lakes. There's a small circular one with a fountain and a larger one with a bridge over it. There are always several ducks at each. I've seen people fishing in the larger lake, but I'm not sure how good it is for that. The park is pretty hilly which I think makes the paths more interesting than the larger Tower Grove and Lafayette Parks. There's no designated parking area, so your best bet is to park along Arsenal on the north or Wyoming on the south. It's within walking distance of Gus' Pretzels, Cafe Piazza, and Shameless Grounds. The Cherokee Recreation Center is adjacent to the southwest corner...

We went there to see The Mighty Pines play a free concert. It is a lovely park, and the concert was great. It was full sun in the area in front of the band at 3 pm, so we, and pretty much everyone, sat to the sides in the shade until after about 5 pm. Then moved down in front of the band. If we'd have thought to bring an umbrella, we could've sat in the sun. You could bring your own chairs, food, and drink, but they also had one food and two drink vendors. The band sounded great! The crowd was great. The vibe was great. A very good time. We will definitely return if there are more events...

It's a nice midsized park with wide pathways for joggers and bicyclists. In addition there are tennis courts available on a first come first serve basis. Unfortunately they do NOT have any restrooms open to the public unless there's a specific event like the neighborhood bicycle race or someone rents portapotties on their own. There's steetside parking only on all four sides. No pavilions available... Just an occasional bench along the pathways to sit and rest. The water fountain stays on all summer long which is good for cooling off and fun...