Ladue, MO

A former municipal mulch-transfer site became Ladue's Deer Creek Preserve in early 2024, giving the largely residential city a new public path along Deer Creek. The first phase on 12.5 acres added a ten-foot shared-use path, pedestrian bridge, parking, native landscaping, benches, and interpretive signs. In 2026 the city was still evaluating a paved western loop, additional plantings, and an overlook for a grant-dependent second phase; a separately funded extension toward Trails End and Clayton Road remained in design for 2027 construction. Those distinctions matter: the existing path and bridge are usable, while the loop and connections are plans rather than completed routes. County-operated Tilles Park provides a second recreation center inside Ladue.

Its map shows athletic fields, a playground, tennis courts, reservable picnic sites and shelters, and a small lake; the Missouri Department of Conservation manages the two-acre water body for fishing. These public spaces sit within a housing pattern dominated by owner occupancy. Ladue's count was 8,989 in the 2020 census; the July 2025 estimate was 8,934. For 2020 through 2024, 96 percent of occupied homes were owner-occupied. In that same 2020-through-2024 period, residents age 65 or older made up 24 percent of the population, and workers' average trip to work was about 14 minutes. The new preserve adds city-owned trail access alongside county-operated Tilles Park.