Gateway Arch

In a Word. “NotaNationalPark”

Our Visit. I visited Gateway Arch NP while driving through St. Louis on a road trip in October.

Our Weather. Beautiful, sunny day in the upper ’70s.

A fun shot taking a vertical panorama from base to top

Overall Impression. So about the low rating… if you want to call yourself a National Park, you get rated as a National Park. The term “National Park” brings up certain expectations in the mind of a huge expanse of sweeping landscapes, wildlife, and long trails into the wilderness… Gateway Arch has none of that. “Monument,” “Memorial” or even “National Historical Park” would be more than fitting, but someone made a mistake and had it renamed a “National Park.” So… if you visit, get whatever “National Park” expectations you might have out of your head and just enjoy it for what it is, a really nice city park with a really cool museum and a world-class monument for a centerpiece. For that, I would give it . With that in mind…

Favorite Spot. Top of the arch

The exhibits in the museum under the arch are top notch

Minimum Time Required. About an hour. In an hour, you can tour the Museum at the Gateway Arch beneath the arch to learn about western expansion, the city of St. Louis, and the building of the arch in a world-class facility. You’ll also have time to walk around the base of the arch and take a walking path or two. If you’re able, the quintessential activity of the park is the ride to the top of the arch, the tallest monument in the United States and the second tallest in the world (behind only the Eiffel Tower). For going to the Top of the Arch, budget at least 90 minutes as the trip itself will take about 50 minutes from the time your tram is called to the time you’re back in the museum.

The view looking west from the top of the arch including Busch Stadium (with a Cardinal’s game in progress) and the Old Courthouse

A Longer Visit. With at least 2 hours, you’ll be able to see the museum, take the tram to the top, and walk most of the park. For the tram, you’ll want to make reservations online before you come (separate fee), especially on a weekend. I went on a Sunday, and there were still tickets available if you were willing to wait an hour. There’s a security checkpoint before you can enter the museum and the tram area, so make sure you enter the visitor center and museum at least 30 minutes prior to your tram time. If your early, you’ll have plenty of exhibits to explore in the museum. While it was all well done, I particularly enjoyed the exhibits on the selection of the arch design and the building of the arch in the 1960s. In the rest of your time, you can hike the pathways around the grounds. I covered just about the entire 91 acre park including Explorers Garden in the northeast corner in about 45 minutes.

The Old Cathedral is part of the park and was one of the few buildings in the area to survive the 1849 fire. It’s still active, so I wasn’t able to enter it visiting on a Sunday

With 3 hours or more, you’ll have time to visit the Old Courthouse where the famous Dred Scott trial was held in 1846. Dred Scott, a former slave, won his freedom, but the decision was overturned by the state of Missouri and the US Supreme Court, further setting the stage for the US Civil War. I didn’t have time to visit, and I wish I had! The Old Cathedral is also part of the park and can be visited on most days (not Sundays). The cathedral and courthouse are two of the only remaining buildings in downtown St. Louis that predate the Civil War as most of the town was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1849. If you’re looking for a more unique experience, you can take a riverboat cruise. Riverboats were a fixture of the Mississippi in the 1800s, and St. Louis was the most important city on their route. Riverboats (also a separate fee) leave from the riverfront just in front of the arch.

Suggestions. The most frustrating part of visiting Gateway Arch to me is the parking. There is no specific parking for the park (that I could find), so you have to pay to park along the street or in one of the nearby parking garages, but only those that allow visitors (some are for hotel guests only). In the end, I found a lot about 2 blocks away, but I didn’t count on the extra 20 minutes of driving around in circles and waiting for lights… yet another reason to arrive early for your tram time!

Here’s the room at the top of the arch. It’s crowded but not overly so, and the barrier in the middle separates the north tram crowd from the south tram crowd

Speaking of the tram, it’s quite an experience! Trams leave every 15 minutes (every 30 minutes from each side), but it’s a multi-step process taking ~50 minutes from start to finish: 1) enter at your appointed time and wait in line, 2) get assigned to one of 8 trams and stand with your tram-mates, 3) listen to a short history and safety talk and watch a video, 4) head to your tram and wait for it to arrive, 5) get into the tram and ride to the top, 6) spend 5-10 min at the top, 7) wait for your tram down, 8) ride the tram down. There are steps at the top of the arch, and how many you need to take depends on which tram you’re in. If you don’t want to walk many stairs, arrive near the END of the appointed window as the back of the line gets assigned to the trams closest to the top. Don’t worry, 5-10 minutes is sufficient time at the top. Even if it’s crowded, you’ll get a few minutes at the windows on each side.

If you want to get away from the crowds, the crowds congregate near the arch. When I hiked to the north and south ends of the park, I pretty much had it to myself, and even on a busy Sunday afternoon, In several spots I didn’t see another soul for minutes at a time.

Nearby Towns St. Louis (MO)

Other Nearby Attractions downtown St. Louis, Busch Stadium

Official NPS Website Yellowstone NP

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