Francis Park

For 12 years, my husband and I lived in South Hampton neighborhood so Francis Park was definitely a place we frequented when our kids were little. Recently, my friend and I have enjoyed walking here. The sidewalk surrounding the park is a nice 1 mile walk. The park features tennis courts, handball courts, a large playground, soccer and baseball fields and plenty of space to play, sit, relax or exercise. The interior path has a lovely water feature and small art sculptures that add to the beauty of nature. There is a concert series in the summer and the park is the sight of many local festivals like Grub n Groove and Art in the Park. It is also the home of Lanai Coffeehouse. Beautiful, old, brick, city homes border the park on each side. So no matter where you are in the space your view is charming and lovely. It’s easy to see that Francis Park is the heart of the St. Louis Hills neighborhood.

I love this park almost as much as my dog. The lily pond is pretty and the new native plant area is great. I love the rolling hills and occasional sculptures. It’s well maintained and always so full of nice people. The concessions from Lanai coffee is also a nice touch.

Great Park. We live in the area and love walking the dog around the park. Beautiful landscape, racquetball courts, handball courts, tennis courts, kids playground and a coffee shop too! They’re also putting in a new baseball field as well as a gazebo! Would be great to have a direct pathway from the playground to the coffee shop though instead of having to walk through the grass which can get long sometimes!

Park is beautiful. Plenty to do at this park including tennis, racquetball, handball and more. You can even rent equipment at Lanai Coffee right next to tennis courts. There are bathrooms located behind tennis courts as well as next to the playground.
If hungry or thirsty while at park you have multiple choices of delicious snacks and drinks at Lanai Coffee as well.

Great little city park. All four sides are clean and free of unessacary loiterers. Tennis courts, ball fields, hand ball courts, a playground, pond, soccer area, one mile paved trail, and room for the pups to run. A gem in south city.

My favorite St. Louis city park… I’m there everyday for a jog, to walk the dogs, or to let my GF kick my a** in tennis, for anyone looking to do some quality stalking. Beautiful area, safe… I just wish they had better softball fields in case I wanted to get out and throw some leather around. (I’m kind of baseball brat, I know).

What a gem, if there ever was one. I love walking the perimeter and looking at the lovely houses. By the way, if I ever win the lottery, that’s where I’m moving. CITY!
The interior has this beautiful walking area down the middle of the park, complete with a shallow pond with lilly pads and artwork surrounding it. They have a playground and tennis courts that are always hopping every time I’ve been there.
This park is fantastic! Grab a LeGrand’s sandwich or a Ted Drewes and take it a few blocks over to Francis Park and enjoy!

Where to start? Great landscaping, public art, tennis courts, playgrounds, handball and racquetball courts, water features. Earlier reviews noted the courts needed resurfacing and I think it’s been done since then. The bathrooms are also usually quite clean. Dog walkers are provided poop bags, even. The architecture around the park is gorgeous art deco, too, which is a boon for walkers and runners. There are several notable events in the park that amount to strong programming (tree lighting for winter, the local church has a picnic, and there are regular music concerts). Francis is in the top five of great city parks in a city of more than 100.

How is this park even possible? How is it possible for one city to have SO MANY incredible parks???
Drive down any random street in St. Louis and you will find either a slew of vacant crack houses or a giant park with fountains that make the Bellagio jealous.
This particular park is GIANT. Hidden in the middle of the park, not really visible from the perimeter, is a long, gorgeous pool. To me, Forest Park is the mother of all parks in STL, and all the other little parks are her babies. And this one is clearly the favorite child. Don’t tell the other ones. I don’t call this Francis Park. I call this park «Junior», as in Forest Park Part Two.

One of the best neighborhood parks in the country. There is never a shortage of moms with strollers, kids on the playground, boot campers or dogs in the park. This park is the pride of the St Louis Hills neighborhood and also the home of many of their events– including their annual Easter egg hunt, Groove in the park and an annual road race.

Overall a nice park. We like to come here with our dog and walk by the pond in the middle in the evening. It is a nice park any time of the year and you can’t get lost.

I just moved to St. Louis Hills while driving around I found this park. Let me tell you all, it is absolutely beautiful. There are tons of people walking around, jogging etc. You could also see people doing yoga, kids in soccer practices, people playing tennis. It is a really nice place, very safe I highly recommend it.

Eventually when we move, this will be one of the great things we miss about where we live. Francis Park is freaking awesome; Multiple, well-​kept tennis courts, handball courts, racquetball courts, softball fields, etc. The walking path around the park is approx. 1.25 miles and there’s a church surrounding each corner of the park as well as beautiful older city homes. We love walking our dog here taking in all that goes on. There are concerts here in the spring, easter egg hunts, and professional bike races. It really is a gem in St. Louis city.

I feel like a rich housewife when I take my kiddo to Francis Park. All of the families here are so friendly and fun to visit with. The playground is decent but I do wish they had someone to regularly pick up trash as the grounds often have alcohol bottles left behind.
I do feel really safe at this park and love that they have a heated bathroom near the tennis courts.
* On the Saturday before Easter they have a FREE egg hunt for children 14 (I believe) and under. There is a five egg max but the prizes in eggs include Ted Drewe’s coupons! Woot woot!

I really love this park and wish I lived on its outskirts. Its a nice big rectangular shaped park just like many of the local south city parks. This one has the up to date playgrounds for the kiddos but also has some perks for adults as well! There are tennis courts, handball courts, and racquetball courts. Lots and lots of open space and plenty of trees scattered about for the perfect shade-​covered picnic. It has beautiful old city homes lining all four sides and a nice reflection pool that runs down its center. My recommendation? Park on its NW corner and walk up to LeGrands for a sandwich and some snacks. Then come back and throw a blanket down under one of the trees and just relax. When you’ve done all the catnapping you can do… walk on up to Ted Drewe’s, its not too far.

I love going new places to run, so when my friends asked me to try out Francis Park, I was in! The park was very well kept and the lily pond in the middle is beautiful. The houses surrounding the park are gorgeous. I’ve seen other reviews for this park that mentioned a longer loop to run but sadly I wasn’t aware of where that was, so I was stuck running the short loop around the park many times to get my miles in, which isn’t my favorite thing to do. We had a good time minus the creepo who kept staring us down each time we would pass by, and I’d love to try it out again sometime and run the 10 mile loop if I can find it!

This review is for the racquetball courts only.
I only give two stars because upkeep is needed on these courts. I’ve been twice and there was so much grit and unevenness on the floor from cracks that I was afraid of rolling my ankle and doing serious damage to myself. In a sport like racquetball you really need at least a level court that you won’t slip and slide on. I also noticed a lot of trash in them too, like a pregnancy test. For such a nice park as Francis is, I expected better.
If you live on the Hill or South Hampton area, go to Tilles Park first for Racquetball, that’s my number two spot for RB behind Forest Park.

One of the best parks in St. Louis hands down. Great Lanscaping, Tennis and Racquetball Courts, open fields, and awesome place for running. And in a beautiful neighborhood surrounded by some amazing homes. It is truly a tremendous place to spend a weekday evening walking your dog or sunny Saturday morning playing frisbee.

I’m in love with Francis Park. I go here every chance I get. It’s a decent sized park smack dab in the middle of St. Louis Hills. It has several tennis courts, baseball fields, and handball courts, as well as a playground. The sidewalk that borders the park is always filled with people and dogs on nice days. You’ll also see football and soccer practices, and yoga and aerobic groups. The landscaping is gorgeous and it’s big enough to be able to find a somewhat secluded spot even on busy days.

This is a truly awesome park. If you had to hand pick all the best things to put in a park, I am pretty sure this place would have exactly what you are looking for.
The most important thing to talk about, clearly the lily pond. The lily pond is in the middle of the park and it’s gorgeous. In the spring and summer, it’s filled with flowers and pads and people just sit around reading and chatting. It’s beautiful, and the fact that I have seen more than one wedding party have photos taken in front of it, prove how gorgeous it is.
Also, this is one of the best running parks in the city. There is a designated 10 mile loop for runners, but there are shorter loops for less athletic runners, such as myself. The paths are just hilly enough to be challenging and kept in pristine shape.
Otherwise, this park has a ton of other amazing things to offer. They have a roller hockey rink, handball courts, a playground, racquetball courts, a soccer field, tennis courts, and a whole series of summer concerts at your disposal.
Also, I always feel safe in this park, even if I am cruising through late at night. I can’t say I feel that way about most parks in the world, so that’s really saying something.