USA TODAY ONCE AGAIN NAMES ST. LOUIS' FOREST PARK THE “BEST PARK IN AMERICA”
Celebrating its 150th “birthday" --- Forest Park is the “civic heart of St. Louis.”
St. Louis' 1,300-acre Forest Park is home to multiple festivals, concerts, and cultural events each year.
This year is the 3rd time in the past 5 years that Forest Park has received the “Top City Park in the Nation” ranking from USA Today.
To determine their annual national rankings, a panel of subject matter experts and USA Today's "10/Best" editors curate a list of 20 parks before the 20 Finalists are voted on by the public nationally.
Good news also travels. Picking up on the USA Today ranking, People Magazine published an article this week citing this latest ranking:
"It's the Best City Park, Forest Park was named the Best City Park in the United States, again." --- People Magazine, May 31, 2026
Not only is Forest Park a 1,300-acre urban oasis and magnificent community asset in the heart of the City, but it is also home to many of St. Louis major cultural and scientific institutions — the St. Louis Science Center and Planetarium, Missouri History Museum, St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis Zoo — each with free admission to the public.
St. Louis' Zoo Museum District is a regional cultural tax which enables most attractions to be free to the public.
Forest Park is also home to the 11,000-seat MUNY (the oldest and largest outdoor theatre in North America).
Forest Park is a 1,300-acre unique civic asset, which also includes:
- 30 miles of paths and trails, making up a network of active and passive recreation including nature, culture, playgrounds, golf courses, athletic fields and court;
- a grand, recently restored central hub of Emerson Grand Basin, Art Hill, Post-Dispatch Lake, and Government Hill;
- the annual Shakespeare Festival;
- a 3.35-mile interconnected waterway and restoration of of natural areas and habitats and a diverse healthy ecosystem in the middle of the City;
- 3 playgrounds and a 17-acre Nature Playscape, "Variety Wonderland," ranked #4 "Best Public Playgrounds in the Nation."
At 1,300 acres, Forest Park is nearly 500 acres larger than New York's famed Central Park.
St. Louis' 1,300-acre Forest Park includes 3.35 miles of connected waterways, as well as 30 miles of parks and trails.
New York City's historic 843-acre Central Park also includes the Zoo, and is managed by the Central Park Conservancy.
The private/public partnership of the Forest Park Forever Conservancy and the City is a national model for restoring and maintaining urban parks. Created in the 1990s, this partnership has been critical in reversing Forest Park’s decline in the 1980s.
This partnership enables coordinated maintenance and capital planning, joining public park-dedicated funding with substantial private donor and member funding to address deferred maintenance and new amenities --- serving over 15.5 million visits annually.
Moreover, there's still more to come this year:
- "The Glade" will open later this year, with a restored Steinberg Skating Rink at its Hub, while transforming the entire 22.5-acre site for year-round activity;
- 2 new entry markers are being constructed on the Park's east and west ends at Lagoon Drive and Hospital Drive, to welcome visitors and to improve mobility; and,
- Forest Park Forever and the City are actively underway in addressing the damage from the May 2025 tornado --- in which some 3,100 trees were lost from the Park's canopy of over 45,000 --- over 6,000 trees are to be planted in the next 5 years to address tornado losses.
So, Happy 150th to Forest Park!
