The River Ring: A vision for a clean, green, connected St. Louis region

With the ultimate goal of making the region a better place to live, we continue towards our vision of a clean, green and connected St. Louis community that people of all abilities can enjoy. Our visual conception of one, united region is the River Ring, an interconnected system of trails and greenways that will encircle the St. Louis region.

When complete, the River Ring will encompass a 600-mile web of more than 45 greenways, linking three counties, joining two states, covering an area of 1,216 square miles – an amenity available to the more than 2,000,000 residents within the district. It will also provide access to trails, parks and greenways in Madison and St. Clair Counties in Illinois, developed by the Metro East Parks and Recreation District.

For centuries, North America’s great waterways, the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, have served as the backbone for our region’s economy and culture. Over time, however, we have lost touch with our rivers, often undervaluing and even neglecting these natural resources. Railroad, car and air transportation, as well as urban development, have diverted much of the region’s attention away from our waterways, resulting in limited access to these bodies of water.

In November of 2000, the people of St. Louis City, St. Louis County and St. Charles County voted in favor of Proposition C, the clean water, safe parks and community trails initiative. To implement the vision of a clean, green and connected St. Louis region, our organization, the Great Rivers Greenway district, was created. Since then, we have worked to reconnect the region back to our rivers, one greenway, park and trail at a time.

Again and again, studies have shown that the creation and preservation of urban green spaces and parks bring tremendous benefits to the community. Greenways, trails and parks are known to promote economic growth, increase property values, stabilize taxes, encourage business development, connect communities and promote healthier lifestyles, for their surrounding area.

Through these studies, we have identified five principles that guide the River Ring’s development from planning to construction. These principles include: connecting communities and neighborhoods, preserving and connecting people to nature, improving economic vitality, offering transportation alternatives and promoting healthier living. We firmly believe, that by achieving these goals, the St. Louis region will become a community everyone can appreciate and enjoy for generations to come.

As an organization created by St. Louis regional residents, we find it incredibly important to include the opinions, needs and aspirations of the people in every initiative we undertake through the River Ring’s planning and development. 

“Building the River Ring: A Citizen-driven Regional Plan,” crafted by the people who voted us into existence, is the framework that we follow in every initiative we undertake. Updated every 5 years, this plan reflects the community’s vision of a better St. Louis region, as well as the goals, opportunities and strategies that guide us throughout every River Ring project.

We are currently working on 17 active greenways throughout the River Ring that are in various stages of development. Today, we have successfully completed 104 miles of off-street greenway trails, connected 40 communities throughout the region, linked 1,500 acres of public land and preserved 38,000 acres of public land.