Forest Park Named Best City Park in the USA…Again!
The World’s Fair Pavilion overlooking Kerth Fountain from the top of Government Hill in Forest Park
Forest Park in St. Louis, Missouri, has been named the Best City Park in the United States in the 2026 USA TODAY 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards, which also ranked Forest Park’s Variety Wonderland Playground #4 in the Best Public Playground category.
This is the third time in the last five years that Forest Park has received the top city park ranking, and it coincides with the Park’s 150th anniversary in 2026. It also reflects the St. Louis community pride, tremendous comeback and continued progress for the 1,300 acre Park over the last 40 years, since the nonprofit conservancy Forest Park Forever was founded.
The public-private partnership between Forest Park Forever and the City of St. Louis is considered a national model for restoring and sustaining major urban parks, and it was essential to reversing the Park’s decline in the 1980s.
And it is community-driven, powered by local leadership and the generous support of thousands of Forest Park Forever annual members. Over 2,000 volunteers also gave nearly 14,000 hours of service in 2025.
By coordinating on maintenance and capital planning, and by combining public park-dedicated dollars with private donor and member funding to address deferred maintenance and new amenities, this partnership has been able to continue to sustain and improve a regional asset that receives over 15.5 million visits annually.
And what an asset it is:
Its 30 miles of paths and trails are part of a network connecting active and passive recreation among nature, culture, playgrounds and athletic fields and courts.
The establishment of a 3.35-mile interconnected waterway and restoration of natural areas have brought back natural habitats and created a diverse healthy ecosystem in the middle of the city.
A grand, restored central hub of Emerson Grand Basin, Art Hill, Post-Dispatch Lake and Government Hill that just received the Landmark Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects.
Three playgrounds and a 17-acre Nature Playscape offer a variety of ways for children and families to explore and get outdoors.
It’s the home for five major cultural institutions, each of which offers free admission: the Missouri History Museum, The Muny outdoor theatre, the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Saint Louis Science Center and the Saint Louis Zoo. The annual St. Louis Shakespeare Festival also holds live stage performances in Forest Park each May and June.
And while the Park’s canopy of over 45,000 trees suffered a loss of at least 3,100 trees in to the May 2025 tornado, Forest Park Forever and the City of St. Louis Department of Parks, Recreation, and Forestry have made significant strides in the last 11 months in clearing the damage and jumpstarting recovery.
Tornado-damaged boardwalks in serene Kennedy Forest were replaced or repaired over the winter. And over the past few months, our arbor team has planted 160 large, new trees along the most visibly damaged stretches of Lindell Boulevard and Skinker Boulevard – part of over 6,000 trees expected to be planted for tornado recovery over the next five years.
There is even more to come for Forest Park in 2026, the Park’s 150th year:
· The Glade will open in late 2026, with a restored Steinberg Skating Rink at its hub while transforming the entire 22.5-acre site for year-round activity.
· Two new entry markers will be constructed to welcome visitors and improve mobility on the Park’s east and west ends, at Lagoon Drive and Hospital Drive.
Join the effort to sustain Forest Park as America’s best city park.
To determine 10BEST rankings, a panel of subject matter experts and USA TODAY 10BEST editors curate a list of 20 parks and public playgrounds before 20 are voted on by the public.