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Summertime is here which means I need things to do with these children so they don’t kill each other. #realtalk I had heard about the awesome new park in O’Fallon, MO called O’Day Park and couldn’t wait to check it out. (O’Fallon, Missouri is in St. Charles County, about 35 miles west of St. Louis for those of you who aren’t local.)
The day we went, it was about 90 degrees already…in May. My son insisted on wearing fleece pants. Lesson #1 of motherhood: pick your battles. I also forgot sunscreen and we are as pale as ghosts so we couldn’t stay too long for fear of looking like lobster thermidor.
Getting to O’Day Park
If you’re looking for things to do in St. Louis with kids, I highly recommend O’Day Park in O’Fallon! To get there, type in 1000 O’Day Park Drive, O’Fallon, 63368 into your GPS. It’s going to lead you to what feels like the middle of nowhere, but I promise it’s there.
The Adventure Park area at O’Day Park is gorgeous! Its unique playground setup encourages kids to climb, run, jump, and play in a natural-feeling setting. There’s a water feature with a little “river” area for the kids to enjoy, a huge rock climbing wall, a ropes course for climbing, several different types of swings, and so much more! Instead of mulch, most of the area is covered with green astro-turf which looks good now, but I wonder how it’ll look after a couple of years of play.
Park Layout
Right as you walk up, there’s a playground area designed for younger kids. There are ropes and bridges for them to climb over as well as one of those cool slides with all of the metal bars that turn when you go down them (like a conveyor belt kind of thing). From this picture, you can see how close the parking lot is to the playground. Score!
The restrooms are to the left of the parking lot and really close. We didn’t use the bathrooms, but since this park is so new, I’m sure they’re clean. If I remember correctly, they had a water fountain and a place to fill up a water bottle, too.
If you walk further into the park, you’ll see the rock stair waterfall leading into the stream and splash area. Water shoes would be ideal for this area. I told them to wear tennis shoes because I knew there was a lot of climbing, but I should have had them wear their Natives.
From here, there’s a great big rock wall, a rope swing, a ropes course, and a really cool swing for two, more climbing things, more swings, a walking path, and a couple gazebos for shade.
Do you see the walkway above the rock climbing wall? Well, that walkway leads to an entrance to the ropes course. You can climb up from the bottom or down from the top. No thanks, Tom Hanks.
Above you can see the fleece pants pushed up. #whateverkid This swing below was so cool! It was like a see saw and swing combined. Dax FREAKED out when he was on it because he went too high and felt like he was going to fall! We waited in that sun for probably 10 minutes for our turn so he was going to go, damn it!
Tips for Your Visit
- Bring water — it’s HOT in the sun.
- Wear water shoes and maybe even a swimsuit.
- Plan on going either in the morning or late afternoon. It’s in DIRECT sunlight during the day.
- There is a QT close by if you wanted to stop for slurpies afterwards, I’m just saying.
If you end up visiting O’Day park, I’d love if you’d tag me on Instagram @readitandreapwithme!
Looking for other things to do in St. Louis?
Have you checked out Play Street Museum at the Streets of St. Charles? Read my review!
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