Creve Coeur Lake is one of Missouri's largest natural lakes, an oxbow left behind when the Missouri River changed course and cut off a meander, leaving a 320-acre C-shaped body of water just west of St. Louis in Maryland Heights. The park around it is the largest in the St. Louis County system at 2,145 acres, and it earns that designation.
I went for a paddle on the water trail, which is a six-mile route across the lake and up the creek. The county partnered with Great Rivers Greenway to develop it, and there are interpretive points around the route with information about the history and ecology of the area. Kayaks and canoes are available to rent at the Marine Avenue lot, which made it easy to show up without equipment. The water was calm and the banks were thick with trees in late May, green in a way that feels almost excessive.
On shore, the paved trail system is popular with cyclists and joggers. The beach area sees heavy summer use. There are picnic shelters, a playground, and enough open space that it doesn't feel crowded even on a busy weekend.
What makes Creve Coeur a little different from a standard suburban park is the Missouri River, which runs along the park's north edge. You can get to spots where you're looking out at that river — one of the great waterways of the continent — moving fast and brown in the distance, still shaping the landscape the way it has for thousands of years.