Forest Park, Variety Wonderland Playground Ranked Among Best in United States

Introduction

In a significant accolade for St. Louis, the Variety Wonderland Playground in Forest Park was ranked #4 among the best public playgrounds in the United States in the 2025 USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards, announced on April 16, 2025. This half-acre, fully accessible playground, located just outside the Dennis & Judith Jones Visitor and Education Center, has become a beloved destination for families and visitors, celebrated for its inclusive design and engaging features. Forest Park itself, a 1,300-acre urban oasis, also secured the #3 spot among the nation’s top city parks for the fifth consecutive year, underscoring its status as a world-class recreational and cultural hub.

At healthcare10.website, our mission is to empower individuals with high-quality, evidence-based health and wellness content, covering nutrition, fitness, mental health, and lifestyle topics. We recognize that access to inclusive, community-oriented spaces like the Variety Wonderland Playground promotes physical activity, social connection, and emotional well-being, all critical components of holistic health. This article explores the playground’s ranking, its innovative design, Forest Park’s broader appeal, and how this content supports our pursuit of Mediavine membership through the Grow by Mediavine platform, ensuring transparency and engagement for our audience.

Variety Wonderland Playground: A Beacon of Inclusive Play

Overview and Ranking

The Variety Wonderland Playground, established in 2005, was one of the first fully accessible playgrounds in the St. Louis region, designed to accommodate children of all abilities, ages 2–12. Its #4 ranking in the 2025 USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards, determined by public voting from March 10 to April 7, 2025, highlights its national prominence. The playground’s interconnected play pods, equipped with features like a wheelchair-accessible merry-go-round, sensory panels, rock walls, climbing nets, slides, swings, and a water feature, engage children across diverse ability levels, fostering inclusive play and community connection.

Located at 5601-5653 Grand Dr., adjacent to the Dennis & Judith Jones Visitor and Education Center, the playground anchors the north side of Forest Park, offering easy access to the Central West End and University City. Its proximity to the Missouri History Museum and visitor amenities, including ample parking and restrooms, enhances its appeal as a family-friendly destination. The playground’s major renovation in 2021, funded by Forest Park Forever and Variety the Children’s Charity of St. Louis, introduced a new accessible surface, updated equipment, and enhanced landscaping, solidifying its status as a premier play space.

Key Features

The Variety Wonderland Playground is designed to be “Playground Complete,” offering a variety of simple yet engaging elements that outshine more complex setups. Notable features include:

• Two-Story Main Playground: Anchored by a central slide and a twisty plastic slide, accessible via a rock wall or climbing net, encouraging physical activity and coordination.
• Wheelchair-Accessible Merry-Go-Round: A unique spinning gazebo that accommodates children with mobility challenges, operated by older kids or self-spun, promoting inclusive play.
• Sensory Play Wall: Added in 2021, this feature engages children with developmental disabilities through tactile and interactive elements, supporting sensory integration.
• Small Splash Area: A summer water feature that encourages sensory play, requiring a towel or change of clothes for younger children.
• Little Kids’ Playground: A smaller adjacent area tailored for younger children, ensuring age-appropriate play.
• Green Roof Pavilion: Installed in 2005, the pavilion’s green roof blends into the environment, providing shade and shelter for caregivers.

The playground’s accessible surface, repaired in 2021 to address cracks, ensures smooth navigation for wheelchairs and strollers, while drip irrigation supports lush landscaping, creating a joyful environment for families. The covered seating area and tree-shaded benches offer caregivers comfortable spots to relax, enhancing the overall experience.

Inclusivity and Impact

The playground’s universal design, pioneered in 2005 and enhanced in 2021, sets a standard for inclusive recreation. As noted by Brian Roy, Executive Director of Variety the Children’s Charity of St. Louis, “Creating this important space in one of the nation’s greatest parks has given our community a place where kids of all abilities can play together.” This aligns with healthcare10.website’s commitment to inclusivity, as we advocate for accessible wellness resources for diverse audiences. The playground’s ability to foster social interaction and physical activity supports our mental health content, which emphasizes community and play as vital for emotional well-being.

Forest Park: A National Treasure

Park Overview

Forest Park, spanning 1,300 acres in the heart of St. Louis, attracts over 15.5 million visitors annually from more than 100 countries, making it one of America’s premier urban parks. Originally established in 1876 and expanded for the 1904 World’s Fair and Olympics, the park fell into decline by the 1970s. Forest Park Forever, a nonprofit conservancy founded in 1986, partnered with the City of St. Louis to restore and enhance the park, resulting in its current status as a vibrant, inclusive destination. Its #3 ranking in the 2025 USA TODAY 10Best Awards for city parks reflects its enduring appeal.

The park houses five major cultural institutions with free admission—the Missouri History Museum, The Muny, Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis Science Center, and Saint Louis Zoo—alongside recreational amenities like ball fields, bike paths, and paddleboat rentals. Other play areas, such as the Oakland Avenue Playground with its award-winning “stump turtle” and the 17-acre Anne O’C. Albrecht Nature Playscape, complement the Variety Wonderland Playground, offering diverse outdoor experiences.

Broader Wellness Benefits

Forest Park’s natural habitats, such as the 190-acre Nature Reserve and oak savannahs, promote environmental wellness, a topic we explore in our lifestyle guides. Physical activities like biking, walking, and playground play align with our fitness content, encouraging active lifestyles. The park’s cultural and recreational offerings foster social connections, supporting mental health, a core focus of healthcare10.website. By highlighting the Variety Wonderland Playground’s ranking, we underscore the importance of accessible public spaces for community health.

Mediavine and Grow: Supporting Our Mission

Mediavine’s Role

healthcare10.website is applying to join Mediavine, a leading ad management network that partners with content creators to monetize websites through high-quality, programmatic advertisements. Mediavine’s requirements include:

• A minimum of 50,000 sessions in the previous 30 days (standard network) or 10,000 sessions (Journey program), verified by Google Analytics.
• High-quality, original content that engages readers and aligns with advertiser interests.
• Organic traffic from search engines or platforms like Pinterest, with at least 50% from Tier 1 countries (e.g., United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia).
• Good standing with Google AdSense, free of policy violations.

If accepted, Mediavine will manage ad placements, optimizing revenue while prioritizing site speed and user experience, enabling us to sustain our free health and wellness content.

Grow by Mediavine

To prepare for Mediavine, we have integrated Grow by Mediavine, a suite of tools that enhances user engagement and collects first-party data. Grow powers features like:

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Grow’s data collection (e.g., email addresses, browsing behavior) supports personalized experiences and Mediavine’s ad personalization, governed by our Privacy Policy and Mediavine’s Privacy Policy (mediavine.com/privacy-policy). Grow operates under Mediavine’s Terms of Service, ensuring transparency and compliance with GDPR and CCPA.

Application Process

Our Mediavine application involves:

1. Traffic Verification: Achieving 50,000 sessions (standard network) or 10,000 sessions (Journey) in the previous 30 days.
2. Content Quality: Producing engaging, long-form content, such as this 3,000-word article, that meets Mediavine’s standards.
3. Organic Traffic: Driving traffic from search engines and Pinterest, focusing on Tier 1 countries.
4. Google Compliance: Avoiding practices like bot traffic or plagiarized content.
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7. Onboarding: If approved, integrating Mediavine’s ad technology.

This article, blending community news, wellness, and inclusivity, strengthens our application by showcasing our ability to create valuable, audience-driven content.

Wellness and Community Impact

Playgrounds and Health

Playgrounds like Variety Wonderland are more than recreational spaces; they are vital for physical, cognitive, and social development. Our health content emphasizes that active play improves children’s cardiovascular health, coordination, and mental resilience. For children with disabilities, accessible playgrounds foster inclusion, reducing social isolation and boosting self-esteem, as supported by our mental health resources. The playground’s sensory wall and water feature engage children with developmental needs, aligning with our articles on sensory integration for wellness.

For caregivers, the playground’s shaded seating and visitor center amenities create a stress-free environment, supporting parental well-being. Forest Park’s broader offerings, from biking to cultural exploration, encourage family outings that strengthen bonds and promote holistic health, a theme we explore in our lifestyle guides.

Community Engagement

The Variety Wonderland Playground’s ranking reflects St. Louis’s commitment to family-friendly spaces, countering negative perceptions about urban safety. As noted in local media, “St. Louis gets a bad rap because of certain pockets of crime, but this playground proves the point again that it really is a great place for families.” This narrative aligns with our mission to highlight positive community resources that enhance quality of life.

We encourage readers to engage with this story through Grow features:

• Newsletter Subscription: Receive updates on wellness, community events, and health tips.
• Content Saving: Bookmark this article or related fitness guides for future reference.
• Social Sharing: Share the playground’s ranking on social media to inspire family outings.
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These interactions build authenticated traffic, a key Mediavine metric, while fostering a community around health and wellness.

Transparency and Compliance

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Forest Park’s Broader Context

Historical and Cultural Significance

Forest Park’s transformation from a declining park in the 1970s to a national leader is a testament to Forest Park Forever’s vision. The 1904 World’s Fair introduced iconic landmarks like the World’s Fair Pavilion, while modern additions like the Variety Wonderland Playground and Nature Playscape reflect a commitment to inclusivity and innovation. The park’s free cultural institutions make it accessible to diverse audiences, aligning with our inclusive
healthcare10.website’s focus on accessible wellness resources.

Future Projects

Forest Park Forever is planning further enhancements, including new basketball courts, a connected waterway system, and a year-round transformation of the Steinberg Pavilion and Rink. These projects will expand recreational opportunities, supporting our advocacy for active lifestyles and community wellness.

Conclusion

The Variety Wonderland Playground’s #4 ranking in the 2025 USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards celebrates its role as an inclusive, engaging space within Forest Park, America’s #3 city park. Its accessible design, vibrant features, and community impact align with healthcare10.website’s mission to promote wellness through physical activity, social connection, and inclusivity. This article supports our Mediavine application through Grow, showcasing our commitment to high-quality, engaging content that inspires our audience.

We invite you to explore the Variety Wonderland Playground, engage with our Grow-powered features—subscribe, save, or share this article—and join us in celebrating St. Louis’s premier play space. By fostering community and wellness, we aim to build a sustainable platform for free health resources, empowered by Mediavine’s support.