Lafayette Park

By far one of the batter small parks in America. The beauty of the Rockery, built in 1866, can only be surpassed by the rich history and serentiy this 30 acre urban enclave offers. The plaques placed around the grounds tell the story of generations of Lafayette Park residents. The parties in the park and the organized outdoor sales supply summer festivities and if you’re looking to watch a good ol 1860’s style baseball game this is the spot for you. Simply put… This place a gem and well worth every visit you’ll make.

I take my dogs here often to get out and roll around in the dirt/​grass. They love every minute of it. Cut the grass every once and a while and I’ll edit my review to 5 stars. :)

I love this beautiful park, especially for family pictures. It gets a little crowded on the weekends during the good weather months, but theres always a spot to take pics without interruptions. Great for walking, bringing the dogs, etc.

Beautiful park. Bigger than it looks. Beautiful grounds. Feels like I’m going back in time! Surrounded by a beautiful neighborhood.

This beautiful park with it’s winding walkways, beautiful lake and birdhouse, and the grotto, is a great respite from city life! It is bordered by magnificent «Painted Ladies» (three-​story mansion’s from from the 1860s!). Walking over the bridge and looking down to the grotto makes one feel like they’re in a fairytale, with the lush greenery, occasional duck, and benches to help you immerse in the tranquility… The Park bands out to a large lake, filled with geese and ducks and a beautiful bird house… There are benches surrounding the area; it is a wonderful place to read a book and escape from the rush of the city! There are statues of note, magnificent flowers and greenery, and peace at every turn… This is a gem and the oldest Park west of the Mississippi… I walk here daily and it’s as if I entered another world, from another era!

Pictures, pictures and more pictures when I’m in this neighborhood. From the ornately beautiful doors to the vivid colors, the homes of Lafayette Park are reminiscent of wealthy neighborhoods in Paris. You can tell the owners take serious pride in their homes. This is THE spot in St. Louis to go for a leisurely stroll. To top it off, there are several charming businesses nestled within in the neighborhood.

Beautiful little park located in the center of (you guessed it) Lafayette Square.
Great for dog walking, exercise, kids playground area, people watching, festivities such as bike riding, movie night in the park, fairs or just a plain ol’ moment of solitude on the park benches overlooking the pond.
The park is surrounded by great attractions within walking distance:
1. Park Avenue Coffee (Gooey Butter Cake heaven)
2. Bailey’s Chocolate Bar (Dessert/​cocktail bar)
3. Laredo on Lafayette (Mexican)
4. Eleven Eleven (My favorite neighborhood fine dining restaurant)
5.Square One Distillery
6. Sqwires (Great brunch)
7. Clementine’s Ice Cream
8. Four Muddy Paws (Dog lover’s domain)
9. Gorgeous homes
Enjoy the park; Lafayette is an amazing neighborhood to explore.

Lafayette Park is easily one of the most underrated parks and destinations in St. Louis. First off, the Lafayette neighborhood is a fairytale. It’s so beautiful it’s stupid. It’s much smaller than Forest Park and Tower Grove Park which makes it a lot more accessible for just a quick stroll. Let’s face it, you don’t always want to talk 5 miles.
One of my favorite things to do is grab Clementine’s Ice Cream nearby and walk around the park and neighborhood. This is also a great place to take people who think they know a lot about St. Louis. Hit em’ with that cool hidden gem :)

It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood,
A beautiful day for a
*decapitated bunny corpse falls from tree*
Or not.
*looks up to see a hawk gobbling down the rest of the poor bunny.*
Welcome to St. Louis, one of America’s most dangerous cities.
That’s pretty much the memo I got after my first 24 hours here. I believe the arch was built in hopes of imitating a rainbow because skies will never be sunny here nor will there ever be joy or laughter.
When I first saw the park in Lafayette Square, I thought there was some hope for this city but nope. It’s basically all mosquitoes and I was bit 5 times in a matter of 2 minutes. The cute ducks and swans do not disguise the poor excuse of a pond they have here either. The water in it looks like it came from a dump.
This was possibly the worst park I’ve ever been to.

Highlights:
— Outside loop is 0.95 miles
— inside loop is 0.6 miles
— great field on NW corner for frisbee, and playground close by for the kiddos
— water fountain by the playground
— very close to Park Ave Coffee (coffee!!! yum!)
— recent replacement of much of the sidewalk on the outside loop
— beautiful fall colors

A mile around the Square so big enough for everything but bottom big to get lost in. Playground, ball fields, gazebos, ponds with ducks swans and geese. Lots of free family fun events!

Some my say that Lafayette Park is the Red Headed step-​child to Forest Park, but it is not. It is the petite and prettier little sister. It is also proof that size does not matter. It may be smaller, but it has all the amenities and beauty of FB without all the traffic congestion of the tourist attractions.
It is a great park to stroll before or after enjoying dinner at one of the many restaurants on Park Avenue. Also, it’s a paradise for a photographer. That is why you see so many weddings being photographed within the well manicured grounds. I’d say don’t stop with weddings, do your engagement, senior and family portraits as well. Heck, bring you camera or smartphone and take a couple of cool pictures of just the natural beauty and landscaping.
We are so lucky to have so many beautiful and well maintained parks in Saint Louis.
Get out and enjoy them today.

OMG the mosquitos!!! Someone needs to bug bomb this place.

I love this park. I take my foster dogs for walks here a few times a week and there’s always people here who are super friendly. The park is clean and beautiful

It’s fun and clean.
Not really any bums.
Mostly people jogging outside of it.
Dog walkers on the inside.
Lots of squirrels – can’t take Roxy there because she wants to climb every tree to get to them.
Baseball diamond, soccer field, concert area, good for weddings.

This is seriously the most underrated park in St. Louis.
The design is wonderful. It is essentially a perfect square sealed in by a metal gate, with entrances on every leg and corner, leading to multiple paths within the park. I like to run around this park because the circumference is almost exactly a mile (I think it’s about 0.95), which makes it easy to track your distance. The trails inside the park are great for enjoying beautiful scenery and shade during a cool down walk.
It’s also a nice spot to take a leisurely walk for some mental refreshment. There’s a lake in the middle of the park with a fountain and families of ducks and swans. You can even fish here! Adjacent to the lake is a sizeable playground for kids, and scattered all around are wide open spaces for playing fetch with your dog and picnic tables for snacking. Here and there, you’ll find statues with informational plaques and actual canons from historical battles.
On the Southeast end of the Park, there is a gazebo and a bridge over a small pond with absolutely gorgeous flowers, vines, vegetation and willow trees everywhere. It’s incredibly picturesque. I’ve seen so many couples taking engagement photos here, and every now and then I see someone sitting on the stone bench by the pond drawing sketches or reading. A legitimate oasis.
In the months of fairer weather, the park hosts free yoga once a week, a concert every few weeks and movie screenings on the grass. There are always families playing with their kids here, couples walking their dogs and runners doing laps. There is an incredible community surrounding this park, and it’s probably my favorite aspect of Lafayette Square as a neighborhood.
Notes: I’ve seen bikers here, but I don’t recommend coming on a road bike, as the paths are not paved very smoothly. Also, if you plan on doing yoga on the grass, bring some bug spray because it’s goddamn mosquito central out here lately.

W-​hoa.
That’s first of all.
Second of all, w-​hoooooooa.
I would take Dorothy Mantooth here for a romantic stroll and never call her again.
This park is sexier than Forest Park. Seriously. I know your mind is like what, that’s not possible, that’s like saying you met a chick hotter than Aimee K., but it’s true, people. This park actually makes Forest Park look like an abandoned lot behind a bowling alley.
This park is the steroids of aphrodisiacs. Fountains, GIANT swans, bridges, and what not. A REAL LIFE Monet painting, except better, because Monet paintings make me feel like having a seizure. Seriously. Who needs an art museum when you have this park??? How did it take me 3 years to discover this park!!! Like, I’m not going to take up running or anything like that, but I hope the next time I have to buy drugs and/​or get murdered that it happens in a park as nice as this.

We took photos for my brother’s wedding at Lafayette Park on Saturday. It was my first time at the park and it is very beautiful.
The pools and footbridge are very cool and there was a lot of shade. There was also a really nice gazebo in the park as well.
I definitely would visit again once we have more time.

Like all true gems this one was found accidentally. I stumbled upon this park on a rainy day when I was in need of a place to run that was close to downtown. At first I was hesitant because it was downtown and I was wary of the neighborhood but I was surprised because what was the «projects» of downtown quickly gave way to a nice serene brownstone historic neighborhood.
Now in terms of the park itself the perimeter of the park is about 1.93 miles around which is ok for jogging and I wasn’t really impressed with the size but more so the scenery! The park seemed straight out of the botanical gardens with it’s bridges, ponds, and flowers.
Overall I recommend this park as it was a nice relaxing evening spent filled with wonderful green surprises.

This historical Victorian era park is one of the oldest in the city of Saint Louis. It serves as the centerpiece of the lovely French-​inspired neighborhood of Lafayette Square.
I come here quite frequently. I love taking a stroll in the park and looking at all the floral gardens. The old bridge with the gazebo and flower garden surrounding the little pond is probably my favorite.
Park benches are surrounded all around the scenic lake and throughout the park. You can relax under the shaded trees or you can feed the ducks, geese, and swans that occupy the lake.
There are many historical statues along the walking paths. Notice the old cannons that are there too. Believe it or not they do not actually have any significance to the park itself. They were actually donated to the park in 1894.
If you have kids, this is perfect for them to have a play date. There is a large playground that has all the amenities for a lot of fun. Being a nanny myself, I love bringing the kids here to enjoy this area.
Beautiful park in a beautiful neighborhood. Might I mention it is also quite romantic as well. :)

How can anyone not love this place??? The whole surrounding area is beautiful.
Out for a run, run into friends. A great way to start a morning.
Grab a cup of coffee, enjoy some visual beauty.
LOVE.

Hidden Gem. Need I say more?
This park may not look too special from the road but that IS what makes it special. Once you’re out of your car walking through the park you get to discover all of the hidden paths, gorgeous gardens and quaint fountains.
Because the park is just one mile square you can do all this in an afternoon but the best part is coming back to see how it changes throughout the season as flowers bloom and plants grow and ducklings lose their downy fuzz.
Don’t miss the free concerts and movie nights that happen almost every weekend in the summer and make sure to say hello to the friendly, caring people that put these events on.

I had intended to only give it 4 stars, because in a town that has Forest Park, Lafayette Park is simply not the best park in town. It’s…
a great park
near my house
a habitat for geese, swans, and ducks
possessed of a great playground for kids and
great little walks, mini-​gardens, statues, and artifacts (there are cannons salvaged from a British ship from the American Revolution!)
And once you mention all those things, add to the fact that it is generally safe, clean, and groomed, and you get to put that 5^th star on top. :-)