Forest Park Forever Inc

Forest park forever maintains funding to be able to flexibly address the park's long-term and short-term needs while ensuring continued park access for visitors. Funds are also raised for multi-year capital projects that restore or improve major park features, and which forest park forever implements. In 2024 such projects included completing the multi-year restoration of three lakes on the east side of the park, constructing basketball courts in the north of the park near other court sports amenities, and completing design for the redevelopment and construction of steinberg skating rink, pavilion and surrounding 22 acres, to be called the glade.

Education, volunteer, and visitor services - forest park forever operates the dennis and judith jones visitor and education center in partnership with explore st. Louis. This center welcomes and assists park users by providing forest park maps, information and directions and access to visitor resources for the st. Louis region. The center also serves as a gathering spot for runners, walkers and cyclists, birders, and various fitness groups. Visitor services are delivered via trained and knowledgeable paid staff and volunteers. The center includes a cafe, special event and meeting spaces, classrooms, exhibit space, public restrooms, secure locker facilities, a fully accessible playground, racquetball and handball courts, free public wifi and a bike repair station. In 2024, an estimated 238,000 visitors and park users came through the visitor and education center.

Communication/community awareness - forest park forever serves as a hub of information for the st. Louis region on amenities and events in forest park, park improvements and temporary traffic closures, and cultural offerings. These are communicated through three seasonal print newsletters, bi-weekly email newsletters, social media, public website with 316,000 annual visits, and visitor center staff responding to in-person questions. The organization publishes a free visitor guide with maps of the park and its amenities, distributed in the park and at regional tourist destinations, and it manages a free interactive, gps enabled online map that engages 114,000 users annually.