Chesterfield Central Park: See a Giant and Waterfalls

Find a giant sculpture half-buried in the ground and waterfalls around a lake at Chesterfield’s Central Park.

The parking lot is highlighted in yellow. The blue dot on the right is the "Awakening" sculpture. — ***The parking lot is highlighted in yellow. The blue dot on the right is the “Awakening” sculpture.***

Central Park

A large parking lot for the park is off Veterans Place Drive. On the left of the lot is Chesterfield Family Aquatic Center and directly in front is a pavilion and playground. Before starting the 1.24 mile Central Park Trail I decided to explore the area around the park that includes a large sculpture and Veteran’s Memorial.

Going to the Sculpture

To find the giant sculpture go to the right of the park’s lot and head up the sidewalk along Veterans Place Drive. Soon you will see across the road arms, legs, and head coming out of the ground, which is the statue.

Created by J. Seward Johnson, Jr. in 1980, the aluminum sculpture is called “Awakening.”

Buried in the ground, it gives the impression of a distressed giant attempting to free himself from the Earth.

The left hand and right foot barely protrude, while the bent left leg and knee jut into the air.

The bearded face, with the mouth in mid-scream, struggles to emerge from the ground. It measures 70 feet in length and 17 feet at its tallest point.

Veterans Honor Park and Chesterfield Amphitheater

Next, I walked up from the sculpture along Veterans Place Drive to the Veterans Honor Park. A star-shaped fountain with engravings and stone benches are here. Around it are flags of each of the service branches along with the POW/MIA flag, Merchant Marine flag, and the flag of the United States.

Then I check out the Chesterfield Amphitheater used for performances in the summer, before heading back to the Central Park trailhead.

Beginning the Central Park Trail

I passed by a metallic sculpture then headed off behind the playground and came across a storyboard.

*Storyboards can be found on the trail.*

You can follow a book’s story as you walk along the trail.

Off the Main Trail

Then noticed steps that went down to a wall and rocky area and headed down them.

This led to a created pebble and rock stream going down a hillside. This path goes through rocks and is not fully paved.

At the bottom of the hill, I came to a bridge and rejoined the main trail.

Along the Lake

Near the bridge was a sculpture of a woman posed as if she was jogging.

Next, I walked by a bridge that goes out into the middle of the lake with a green gazebo in the middle.

Looking down along the lakeshore I came across a mother goose with juvenile goslings.

Crossing over the dam spillway I looked out over the lake at the large fountain in the middle.

Bird Feeding

As I followed the paved trail along I noticed small piles of bird feed put out. A bird would come into a view pecked at some seeds then rush away as I came around the bend.

West Side of the Lake

As I walked farther on the west side of the lake I saw waterfalls going into the water.

I also crossed a bridge over another stream and here there were metallic cattails and a steel flower along the side. This stream also came into the lake as a waterfall.

In this area, there are lookouts for each of the streams allowing for some private time listening to the water gurgle.

White cone-shaped sculptures were along the trail as I headed back to the trailhead.

Other Trail

You can also do the .75 mile Chesterfield Parkway Loop Trail which is the sidewalks that go along Veterans Place Drive, Burkhardt Place, Chesterfield Parkway West, and Lydia Hill Drive.

Final Thoughts: Sculpture Time With Kids

Sculptures, water features, and a lake add interest to this suburban park.

Also, the Awakening is an interesting sculpture to explore with kids.

When my son was a toddler I took him to the giant sculpture.

*My son checked out the hand of the sculpture.*

I used it to talk about the different parts of the body.

Not sure how much he learned from that but he did enjoy running around it!

*Another view of the creek in the park.*

DETAILS

Drive: Take Interstate 64 to Exit 19A for Chesterfield Parkway West and go south. Then make a right onto Lydia Hill Drive and another right onto Veterans Place Drive and look for the entrance to the parking lot on the left.

Hours: Sunrise to Sunset

Address: 16365 Lydia Hill Dr, Chesterfield, MO 63017

MORE NEARBY TRAILS

River’s Edge Park Hike Near Shopping Centers in Chesterfield

Walking around a 40-acre lake and checking out the fast-moving Missouri River was my hike at River’s Edge Park in Chesterfield, Mo. At the Start of the Hike Parking for River’s Edge Park is on the far west corner of what was known as Chesterfield Outlets and now is The District at Chesterfield.