Renderings of new equipment to be installed (landscaping and background do not correspond to actual site).

Forest Park’s Variety Wonderland Playground, located just outside the Dennis & Judith Jones Visitor and Education Center, will close in late March for major improvements and reopen in late spring or early summer. 

Created in 2005, the half-acre Variety Wonderland Playground was one of the first playgrounds in the St. Louis region that was fully accessible to children of all abilities. Since then, it has become a favorite for St. Louis families and Forest Park visitors from around the region.

Funded by Forest Park Forever and Variety, the $280,000 project will significantly improve not just the playground but also the landscaping within and around it. Highlights include: 

• Replacing the entire accessible playground surface, which suffers from cracks and patches after years of use from happy kids

• Replacing aging equipment and adding new equipment such as a wheelchair-accessible merry-go-round and parallel bars, as well as a sensory play wall. This new equipment will increase opportunities for children of all abilities to play together

• Completing new surrounding landscaping that restores the original design intent, including creating a freshly planted butterfly garden, planting 15 different species of grasses, perennials and flowering shrubs, and planting a newly designed entrance landscape bed that includes a grove of yellow flowering magnolias

• Refreshing and resetting the path around the playground

• Repairing the drip irrigation system that will keep the plantings growing

“We are so grateful to our generous donors whose support enables us to maintain and update amenities like the Variety Wonderland Playground,” said Lesley S. Hoffarth, President and Executive Director of Forest Park Forever. “By partnering with Variety on the funding, we are able to undertake a complete renovation that includes not just the playground surface and equipment but the beautiful landscaping, creating a joyful place for kids and a beautiful environment for parents and caregivers.”  

“Variety the Children’s Charity of St Louis believes in the power of play for all children. 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,” added Brian Roy, Executive Director of Variety. “Updating this inclusive playground with new activities ensures families will continue to gather for decades to come in a space where abilities are redefined and possibilities are reimagined.”