The Best Swimming Pools and Splash Pads in St. Louis

(4025 Minnesota Ave.; 314-353-1250)

One of 8th Ward Alderwoman Cara Spencer’s first acts upon taking office eight years ago was to overhaul and reopen the pool at Marquette Park in south city — the largest outdoor pool in the city of St. Louis. The price of reconstruction was taking out the deep end, but that’s fine: The pool is a giant, turquoise, L-shaped slice of heaven in the summer, full of laughing children, flirting teens, smiling parents, and surprisingly attentive lifeguards. Best of all, it’s free and open to the public, as long as you fill out a simple form. It’s easy to underestimate how crucially restorative a pool can be on hot summer days, but Marquette (pronounced “mar-kwet” in the neighborhood) is just the place to restore both your own sanity and your faith in humanity.

(7550 Lohmeyer Avenue, Maplewood; 314-646-3665)

This aquatic center has two water slides that are “100 feet tall,” a 50-meter lap pool, a leisure pool and even a lazy river. Non-residents can’t get in unless you go with a resident, but who doesn’t have a friend in Maplewood? Admission is $5 to $8 for residents, and $10 for outlanders.

(801 Market St., 314-241-3337)

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise: Citygarden is a gem for all ages. Indeed, what adults think of as a charmingly quirky sculpture-filled oasis is, as any kid could tell you, actually downtown’s best spot to cool down. It’s not only the huge splash pad (though that’s amazing in and of itself), but also two wading pools: A long rectangle with a waterfall, and a round one with a charming boat sculpture at its center a bit to the west. Neither are deep enough for actual swimming, but they’re both ideal spots for wading, jumping around and lowering your body temperature a good 15 degrees. The water temperature and quality both seem surprisingly good in light of how many people use Citygarden, and the friendly security staffers make sure everyone knows the rules …. and follows them.

(305 Gregg Road, Lemay Township; 314-615-8877)

This place is huge and has everything you could need for summer fun. The pool area has a cool covered tube slide and some bits of a castle to climb right there in the middle of the wading area! Your kid will feel like royalty while you kick back and let the lifeguards take the wheel. Daily admission is $8 for adults, or get a seasonal pool pass for $102.

(1186 Teson Rd., Hazelwood; 314-513-5091)

This isn’t just your average community pool; this sucker is a full-on waterpark. There’s a lazy river, multiple slides, all kinds of things to climb on and even a generous shallow area for babies and adults who don’t feel like standing under the giant bucket that drops a huge wave of water on whoever happens to be underneath it. (The kids love it, though.)

(12512 W. Watson Rd., Sunset Hills; 314-842-7946)

A big lap pool, plenty of cute striped umbrellas, pools of varying depths and a lazy river, all done up in an adorable blue and white color scheme with bright yellow accents. The Sunset Hills Aquatic Facility looks like the most refreshing place in St. Louis. Monthly membership is $33 for non-residents; daily rates are also available.

Lafayette Square Bath and Tennis Club

(2216 Rutger St.; 314-773-9750)

People laughed back in the 1980s when a developer installed the pool that would become the home of the high-falutin’-sounding Lafayette Square Bath and Tennis Club. At the time, after all, homes in Lafayette Square might set you back $10,000 — if you were a poor negotiator. But these days, the Park Slope of St. Louis is filled with $500,000+ houses and families (so many strollers and fancy dogs!) and the Lafayette Square pool is one of the hottest tickets in town. Swimming membership is $250 per summer, and $100 every month after the summer. Members have the right to bring in guests, and alcohol is permitted. So is food, and floaties, and fun. Yeah, there a lot of little kids during peak hours (where do you think all those strollers are heading?), but the pool is seldom too crowded for a good swim or just standing around torso-deep in cool water with a pina colada. Here’s to developers with high-falutin’ dreams.

(301 Obernuefemann Rd., O’Fallon, IL; 618-624-0139)

Located within a 200-acre park, this splash pad is the perfect place to chill out and stretch out. It’s not just some jets shooting water out of the ground, either. It has all kinds of things to climb on and interact with, including one those giant waterfall mushrooms and an awesome natural-looking section where there is a shallow pool among some rocks, just like you’d find in a small stream or creek.

(500 Chestnut St.; 314-622-4800)

If you’d like to get some cute photos of your kid, this is the place to go. Every picture at this place shows a beaming child and the optional background of downtown buildings and the Arch can’t be beat.

Musick Park

(8601 Latty Avenue, Hazelwood; 314-731-0980)

This is one of the coolest parks around. Not only is the playground top-notch, but the splash pad is absolutely huge! It resembles a giant chess board and it lights up all crazy colors at night.

(7730 Bonhomme Avenue, Clayton; 314-863-0400)
Located in the heart of St. Louis, Le Méridien’s luxurious rooftop pool offers exquisite views and comfortable lounging. The $700 summer-long membership includes gym access, rooftop seating and, most importantly, a Le Méridien pool bag, towel and water bottle.

(111 S Geyer Road, Kirkwood; 314-984-6971)

This is another BFD aquatic center with a crazy slide, lazy river, leisure pool and lap pool. The swim team is the Riptides, there are a ton of pool-related classes (learn to swim, RiverWalkers Club, etc.) and special pool nights. Residents need to get a Kirkwood Parks and Rec ID card — no other ID is acceptable, so don’t come around with that state-issued driver’s license, pal; this ain’t the airport. This is the Kirkwood Aquatic Center, and there are goddamn standards. However, non-residents can fork over $14 for a day pass.

(8001 Dale Avenue, Richmond Heights; 314-645-1476)

When the weather gets hot, see about dropping into the Heights Aquatic Center on Dale Avenue in Richmond Heights. Do you know what indoor aquatic center really means? It means water park! And an air-conditioned water park, at that! Sure, it only has a couple of slides and other doodads, but you can’t help but feel like royalty when you’re cruising down a spiral slide at an indoor water park while the rest of the world is outside sweating buckets like total chumps. Suckers.