Park visits up significantly

By Geoffrey Woehlk | July 6, 2026 |

GEOFFREY WOEHLK/THE FORUM
New pickleball courts at Beal Park were being painted last week.

MARYVILLE, Mo. — Visits to Maryville’s parks are up significantly over last year, according to Maryville Parks and Recreation’s annual report, including a huge jump following the opening of the Sunrise Bark Park dog park.

MPR Director Maggie Rockwood presented the agency’s annual report to the Maryville City Council on June 29. The report noted a 13.5-percent spike in overall visits to Maryville’s parks and recreational facilities between June 1, 2025, and May 31, 2026, including a 72-percent increase at Sunrise Park, where the dog park opened in the fall. The measurements come from estimates supplied by Placer.ai, which uses anonymized cellphone location data of (human) users over 18 along with regional population and demographic projections to estimate foot traffic in a given area. To retain anonymity, the estimate is not a 1-to-1 count.

PARK VISITS

Visits to Maryville parks and facilities June 1, 2025, through May 31, 2026.

Beal Park: 84,200
Community Center: 79,575
Donaldson Westside Park: 41,300
Thomson Splash ‘N’ Play: 25,700
Sisson-Eek Park: 28,300
Judah Park: 16,800
Aquatic Center: 27,860
Sunrise Park: 12,500
Wabash Park: 8,700
Robertson-Crist Park: 7,100
Downtown Pocket Park: 6,600
Franklin Park: 2,800
Happy Hollow Park: 2,600

TOTAL VISITS: 344,035

SOURCE: MARYVILLE PARKS AND RECREATION

Note: Visit statistics come from Placer.ai, which aggregates cellphone location data from users over 18 with location services turned on. That information is then included in a proprietary algorithm that includes U.S. Census data to produce an estimate of visits to a given geofenced area.

More than 30,000 patrons participated in over 35 programs offered by MPR over the last year, the report stated.

Using a 1/4-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2022, MPR completed several capital improvement projects over the past year, including:

Sunrise Bark Park and dog wash station
Resurfaced parking lots at Maryville Community Center
Re-asphalted the parking lot at Donaldson Westside Park and converted both gravel lots into asphalt
Resurfaced the Seventh Street entrance to Beal Park
Completed turf playground surfacing at Thomson Splash ‘N’ Play
Updated filtration system and remote chemical controlled access at Thomson Splash ‘N’ Play
Pipe and valve repairs at the Maryville Aquatic Center

Additionally, a new nine-court pickleball complex at Beal Park is nearly complete. Rockwood said that if everything goes well in final walkthroughs this week, the courts could be ready for use this week.

Over the next year, MPR plans to tackle several new improvements at the community center, including repairing sidewalks, adding new weight equipment, updating and refreshing the weight and aerobic rooms, and renovating the restrooms.

Other projects ahead include continuing new individual park signage, re-asphalting the drive on Alvin Street near Sunrise Park, re-asphalting the parking lot at Judah Park and widening the concrete entrance to the Thomson Splash ‘N’ Play.

GEOFFREY WOEHLK/THE FORUM
MPR Director Maggie Rockwood said that the new, nine-court pickleball complex at Beal Park could be ready for action this week. The pickleball courts replace tennis courts that had long been deteriorating.