It has 1,300 acres and no shortage of activities
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NEED TO KNOW
- Forest Park in St. Louis was named the best U.S. park of 2026 by USA Today
- Spanning 1,300 acres, the park features forests, waterways, cultural institutions and sports facilities for diverse activities
- Forest Park has topped the list multiple times and is maintained by the nonprofit Forest Park Forever
One U.S. park was named the best in the country, spanning 1,300 acres of beautiful green space.
Forest Park in St. Louis took the top spot in USA Today's 10Best Readers' Choice Awards for 2026.
It first opened in 1876, and boasts over 170 acres of forests, woodlands, savannas, prairies and wetlands, according to Travel + Leisure.
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Additionally, the park has three miles of waterways. There are plenty of lakes, including Jefferson Lake, Grand Basin and more, according to the City of St. Louis Parks.
True to its name, Forest Park is also home to plenty of creatures, including over 200 species of birds, coyotes, foxes, deer, amphibians and more.
Along with the nature reserve, the park includes access to free cultural institutions like the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Saint Louis Zoo, the Missouri History Museum, the Saint Louis Science Center and an open-air amphitheater called The Muny, which earned the 2025 Regional Theatre Tony Award.
"Located in the heart of St. Louis, Forest Park encompasses around 1,300 acres of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in the United States — over 1.5 times the size of New York's Central Park. The green space is widely used for outdoor recreation and features bicycle paths, jogging trails, baseball diamonds, and soccer fields. Visitors can also enjoy boat rentals and, in the winter, ice skating," USA Today wrote.
Forest Park also offers plenty of opportunities for sports and recreation, whether on the public golf course and basketball court or at Steinberg Skating Rink.
There's also a nonprofit called Forest Park Forever, which helps maintain the park's beauty.
In 2025, Forest Park was ranked at No. 3, but previously held the top spot in 2016, 2022 and 2023. Additionally, USA Today named it second for the Best Missouri Attraction in 2017.
The list was determined by a panel of experts, and then readers were allowed to vote for their favorite parks from there, per the survey website.
See the full list of top U.S. parks:
- Forest Park in St. Louis
- Bonnet Springs Park in Lakeland, Fla.
- Gathering Place in Tulsa, Okla.
- Origin Park in Clarksville, Ind.
- Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, N.C.
- Golden Gate Park in San Francisco
- Railroad Park in Birmingham, Ala.
- Falls Park on the Reedy in Greenville, S.C.
- Centennial Park in Nashville
- Bruce Park in Greenwich, Conn.
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