Tilles Park Takeaway. My favorite park in Saint Louis so far. Top-notch playground equipment. Splash pad, music equipment, and fields to round out the experience. Ideal for kids 3.5 and up. You can easily spend one hour plus with kids. Clean bathrooms. Plenty of parking. Adjacent walking path to the playground. Tip One: There are two Tilles Parks, so make sure you set your map to the one in Brentwood off of 64. Tip Two: Bring a tennis ball for creative ways to play and have a catch.
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday | 6AM–6PM |
| Tuesday | 6AM–6PM |
| Wednesday | 6AM–6PM |
| Thursday | 6AM–6PM |
| Friday | 6AM–6PM |
| Saturday | 6AM–6PM |
| Sunday | 6AM–6PM |
We went to Tillis Park on a Saturday afternoon in October. It is my, and both of my kids', favorite park in Saint Louis thus far.
We actually visited the park in early 2019 before moving to Saint Louis while my wife was interviewing at the hospital. My then three-and-a-half-year-old son and I went for the afternoon, so it's technically the first park I ever visited in St. Louis.
A two-story twisty slide anchors the playground and is now how my sons refer to the park - the twisty slide park. To reach the slide's entrance, you need to climb up an inner ladder, which means your children will need at least three-and-a-half to do it by themselves reliably.
The playground has 20 or more other small stations to play with.
The splash pad is up and running in the summer, so bring a change of clothes and/or a towel for that one.
The bathrooms were super clean and located right next to the splash pad and playground.
Parking is ample, and I've never had a problem with a spot, even on crazy crowded summer days.
We went to Tilles and the Rocket Ship Park on back-to-back days, and both my kids independently rated Tilles better than the Rocket Ship Park (Deer Creek Park). The main reason was that there were more things to do at every bend. And, while way better themed at Deer Creek, the twisty slide here was nearly identical to the Rocket Ship slide.
Lastly, we learned at the end of the day that there are multiple Tillis Parks in St. Louis because my wife went to the wrong one when she was supposed to meet us there. This review is for Tilles Park in Brentwood, south of 64 on S. McKnight Rd.
A two-story twisty slide is the main draw of the playground. After climbing up to the first floor, you must go up an inner ladder to reach the second story and the entrance to the slide. I went last year with my then two-and-a-half-year-old, and he loved the slide but needed help getting up that inner ladder. That was a bit of a pain for me as I couldn't talk with a friend, and there's not a ton of headroom for an adult.
This year, at three-and-a-half, that slide was his calling, and he was gonna ride it all day long. He did an hour loop of that slide and probably rode it 30 times.
My older seven-year-old son has no problem running up and down the slide all the time.
In addition to the slide, the playground connected to the bridge has a second-story bridge with activities, a first-story wobbly bridge, and a half dozen climbing entrance points.
In the one or two hours we were there, the wobbly bridge claimed a half dozen casualties, so be careful of little ones running across it.
The water features were on when we went to Tilles Park last summer, and my then-two-year-old loved them. The splash pad has maybe a dozen to 20 jets, and he spent the majority of his time jumping in, a round, and through them.
Across from the main playset is a playset for younger children with several smaller slides and toys. If you're my older son, you end up making it a rock-climbing challenge to get around the entire thing without falling.
In addition to these two playsets, you'll also find the following small apparatus:
A seasaw
Rock climbing wall
Monkey bars
Balance beam
This time, we found a new toy to play with - a music-making section behind the bathrooms. The park has kind of musical instruments built into wood panels and a fence-looking thing. Attached are little mallets you bang on the "instruments" to make music.
Finally, we brought a tennis ball, and that ended up making us the stars of the playground. We had a catch from the second story of the jungle gym down to the bottom, which drew a crowd of probably six other kids who wanted to have a catch with us.
Tilles Park has super clean bathrooms right next to the playground, along with a shaded parent area.
We went to Tilles a couple of times during the pandemic for an easy, paved walking loop. It's probably a mile and a half to two miles long. I don't know the exact length, but it's paved the whole way.
There's also a large field two minutes from the playground.
Additionally, Tilles Park hosts several annual events like Winter Wonderland STL.
The one tiny downside to the park is that exiting can be tricky, as turning left onto McKnight can take a while.
Parking is ample. It was relatively quiet this Saturday afternoon, but I've gone during peak summertime, and there's always plenty of parking. A semi-circle parking lot is next to the playgrounds, with additional parking in a northern lot.
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