Our Mission
To make the St. Louis region a more vibrant place to live, work and play by developing a regional network of greenways. We are a public agency, created by a vote of the people in St. Louis City, St. Louis County and St. Charles County in the year 2000 to create a sales tax dedicated to parks and greenways. Those funds allow us to collaborate with partners and communities to build, care for and bring to life your network of greenways, creating healthy habitats and watersheds along the way. It’s an honor to deliver on the community’s vision for a vibrant, connected region. 135 miles of greenways and counting!
The greenways are planned, brought to life and cared for in partnership with the 100+ municipalities and institutions they connect. These projects transcend political boundaries and unite us based on watersheds, not zip codes or city limits.
Great Rivers Greenway is governed by a 12-member appointed Board of Directors that represent the region, is led by a staff of 26 people, works with 265+ partners and is accountable to the taxpayers through annual reports, collaborative regional plans every five years and ongoing community engagement
As a steward of taxpayers’ dollars, Great Rivers Greenway embraces the diversity of our region, proactively creating inclusive public spaces and processes with and for all. We’re committed to bringing the vision of a dynamic network of greenways to life in ways that achieve more equitable outcomes for all. As an organization, we expect all employees, vendors, partners and volunteers to support this dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion in our work.
The Lands and Water
The land where the greenways are located is the ancestral land of the Osage people who have a strong connection to this land and for whom it is sacred, and the confluences of the waterways around the region are powerful and sacred places for the Osage people. Many other tribes have also lived on or used this land for hunting, trading, sacred practices, or were forced to relocate from their homelands to this region. Indigenous Peoples are an important part of the St. Louis community today. We honor their stories and ongoing contributions to our community.
What is a Greenway?
Greenways give you active ways to get around town, create more places outside to explore and enjoy, make it easy to lead a healthy lifestyle, connect communities, conserve natural resources and enhance our economy.
Mission & Vision
Residents of the St. Louis region voted for and invested in a clear, bold vision – a dynamic network of connecting rivers, parks and communities, strengthening the social, economic and environmental well-being of our region in a concept called the River Ring.
Resources & Documents
Review everything from budgets and financials to our plans and strategies, meeting agendas and minutes, media info and design guidelines. We strive to be accountable and transparent in our work, contact us anytime for more information.
Regional Partnerships
Beyond building the greenways, we have many other partnerships across the region, including how we partnered to renovate and care for Gateway Arch National Park, the Mississippi Riverfront and Kiener Plaza.