I love this Springfield park perhaps most of all. I love to trot down here for a good run, and…read moreevery time I do, I feel like I see something new. I see birthday parties; I see families, couples, people walking their dogs; I see LARPers (look it up); I see potlucks; I see high school science projects; I see track teams; I see lone runners. This is a great place to see the Springfield community at their happiest and most relaxed. Not to mention it offers an impressive amount of amenities: a few tennis courts, a full playground, BBQ pits, a sprinking of permament art installations, and a very nice, covered communal area. This is a very old park, and the practicality of it paired with all the old stone work and giant Oak trees makes for a unique place to stop and unwind alone or with your favorite people/pets. A few other reasons why Phelps rocks: it's in a gorgeous, well-established neighborhood full of interesting and well-maintaned forever homes and it's right next to the beloved art museum. It also has a righteously awesome butterfly garden (you'll see it if you look in the direction of the museum from the park itself), and walking through it in the summer is legitimately like walking in a dream. It's quite lovely. One word of advice I can provide is that this park is also historically a not-so-good place to visit after nightfall, as most Springfield parks are. Get your recreational fix in before sunset and call it a day, unless you're with a group.

Phelp's Grove Park is always a winning park to hang out at, and I was most recently there for Yoga…read morein the Park. How perfect is Phelp's for that kind of thing? There is a concrete pad that fits dozens of people for the event. It was really perfect and I absolutely enjoyed myself and the Yoga. As for the rest of the park, there's a lot of room to run around and have fun for both kids and dogs, there are tennis courts and picnic spots, and you just really can't go wrong with an art museum bordering one side.

A Valuable Park with Welcoming Staff, good exhibits…read more - - - - - - - - August, 2024 Visit My wonderful wife and I enjoyed a fantastic getaway weekend to Springfield and Branson... 47 hours of fun! We stayed the first night in Springfield; in the morning I proposed visiting Wilson's Creek. We visited Branson with family friends back in 2010, then got a Silver Dollar City season pass and visited more times in 2011; each drive we'd see "Battlefield" references around Springfield. Not knowing much about Civil War his story, a couple years later I ordered a book about from MissouriLife magazine about Missouri in the Civil War. I share a brief summary... - Missouri was delayed its entrance in to the Union due to slavery, which was not envisioned to ever expand beyond the original colonies - The Missouri Compromise allowed Maine to enter as a free state and Missouri as a slave state - 80% of Missourians opposed slavery - I did not know until I visited Wilson's Creek that most of the slaves in Missouri were located around the Missouri River and a bit north, with the southern exception being in and around Springfield - The Governor elected in 1860 ran on a pledge to remain in the Union, then changed his direction, and in his Inauguration Speech (!!), recommended joining the south - The State government had apparently anticipated the possibility of such an action, and dissolved the Government and put in place a temporary government; the Governor-no-more left the capital with confederate sympathizers - In St. Louis, home to many Germans who did not come to this great nation to see slavery, and who actively opposed it - Union soldiers sought to protect military supplies at the St. Louis Arsenal; sadly resulting in a situation that saw many killed one day, including women and children - Days after Fort Sumpter started the Civil War, battles continued in Missouri - Here at Wilson's Creek, confederate sympathizers had organized and were planning to attack Union troops; Union troops planned to find and attach the southern troops... they found one another sooner than. planned... the battle claimed the life of many, including the first Union General to die in the war - General Lyon Wilson's Creek National Battlefield has a wonderful Visitor's Center, with a helpful and educational staff, a drive with many canons and sites to see, including the Ray family house, which became the field hospital to help the wounded. The docent here shared got insights into the costs that war, around the world, also inflicts on what public... whose food is eaten by soldiers, land is camped upon, etc. This is definitely worth a visit that can be brief, or can last hours. Thank you, National Parks Service, and the Wilson's Creek Park staff! ----- -----

Great. I've been here many times, it's not far from my house. My brother is a big history nerd and…read morethis is his favorite place. He even went on a field trip with his class here about 3 months ago, they all loved it. Take it from a kid myself--bring your kids.

Cute little farm park. Fun little playground for kids approx 5-10 yoa. You can pet goats and cows…read moreand pigs (if they are cooperative in their pens). They have space to rent for parties (ac provided) but be prepared for barnyard smells. Lots of festivals thru the year hut Halloween is the big one where you can pick a pumpkin from the patch. Fishing available only for kids at a certain age so check their website. Free to get into park. Plenty of parking.

The pricing is like a bad carnival. Tickets for every attraction and random ticket count per each…read moreone. Nothing special and overpriced.

A concrete jungle, with etched pictures in some of the artworks that tell some of the tale of the…read morecity of Springfield. A lot of boxy shapes here and things to climb on but that doesn't mean that you should have your kids doing so. Concrete is hard, yo. It's interesting to see some of the old photographs and learn a bit about this wonderful city. They apparently have outdoor concerts here which would be interesting. [Review 643 of 2024 - 335 in Missouri - 21674 overall]

This park was Nice and clean! Went here for National Night Out! Parking was not a problem and it…read morewas easy to get in and out.

Beautiful and well maintained park. The Eagle on the stump looks wonderful. The new covered areas…read moreare great. Nice walking trail and lots of swings, slides and merry-go-rounds for the kids.

Cute but small and outdated. Could use a little updating. I do like the walking trail around the…read morepark, just wish it was a little longer and it would be awesome if there was a dog park in town but there isn't

It's a lovely park outside of the city, where you can walk/jog/bike/ect. It's calm and not usually…read moretoo busy.

This is an awesome landmark and the musical road was exactly what it said it was and was really…read morecool to drive over. We'll definitely do that again. Springfield did a really great job of putting up a lot of route 66 monuments & great photo opportunities, car shows, and festival atmosphere. It was such a wonderful, small town feeling of community.

I wouldn't recommend stopping. Rough area, not maintained. Rough looking Teens walking with a…read moreshopping cart. We stayed close to the car. I could not find the place that I saw on the road trippers app of a cement sign that said birthplace. There was a cement sign covered in moss on a retaining wall that I couldn't really see that might have been it. Across the street is this park with this sign. Kind of sad.

A nice atmosphere with peaceful landscaping in the community for true bliss portrayed smarter to…read moreattend animal maintenance

This is a small but enjoyable zoo. If you'd like to take a few hours to walk around and see a nice…read morevariety of wildlife, I recommend this zoo. Most of the zoo is easily walkable, pretty flat. There are also many benches scattered about for rest. Thus, it's very friendly to people of all ages and abilities.  A section leading to the elephant and bears has some hills and requires effort to walk, so if you'd like to avoid that, just skip those animals. The zoo has many peacocks that roam the grounds. You will have many opportunities to see them on buildings, fences or simply reading or walking, frequently with their feathers in full display. The train is best for children, as it simply goes in a circle around some water--it's not a tour of the zoo.