Itinerary
We had one day in St. Louis and tried our best to make the most of it!
- Cahokia Mounds (recommend 1-2 hours)
- Gateway Arch (recommend about 4 hours)
- President Grant’s House (recommend 2 hours)
- Grant’s Farm
Our Day in St. Louis
Cahokia Mounds
We started the day by driving across the state line back into Illinois to visit the Cahokia Mounds (about 15 minutes east of St. Louis). Jake had seen this site featured on the Netflix show “The Unexplained” with William Shatner. These mounds are “the remains of the most sophisticated prehistoric native civilization north of Mexico”. The interpretive center and gift shop were closed for renovations but we were still able to walk around the mounds. Monks Mound is one of the largest and there are stairs to hike to the top of it. To help preserve the mound you must stay on the sidewalk. It’s amazing to imagine an entire civilization living here! **Keep in mind that the Monks Mound is not stroller or wheelchair friendly as the only way to the top is by stairs, lots of them.
Gateway Arch
Parking
The Gateway Arch requires a reservation to go up in the Arch so we had reserved a time for late morning. I was worried that it would fill up but I was able to reserve our tickets the same day. We prepaid parking a few blocks away by Kiener Plaza Park but I would recommend trying to park in the Gateway Arch Preferred Parking at Stadium East Parking Garage. They offer a discounted rate and you can prepay online. Check their website (linked here) for more info. We didn’t really know how much time we needed so we paid for 2 hours. In hindsight, we needed more. The lot we chose charged an extra $6 for every 30 minutes we went over.
The Arch
I had been to the Arch once before back in the early 2000s. Since then the Arch has become a National Park and they added a museum (opened in 2018) that is all about the history of St. Louis and the Arch. It is free and located underground, underneath the Arch. You don’t have to have tickets to go up in the Arch to be able to do the museum. We didn’t have nearly enough time to walk through and see everything! Give yourself enough time to enjoy it. Going up in the Arch takes longer than we thought. You get in line at your reserved time but you don’t actually go up at that time. There is a whole process. Before boarding, there are animated exhibits and Arch trivia. Once you finally get into the little spaceship-like elevator cars, it takes about 5 minutes to get to the top. They give you 10 minutes up there and then you load back up and travel back down. The views from the top are incredible! Our boys loved looking out the little windows. I’d say it’s worth it!
The Timing
Because of how long it takes between getting in line and getting up into the Arch, we didn’t accurately plan out parking time so we had to cut the museum short in order to not get charged too much extra. We did have time to get the boys’ Junior Ranger badges though! I would recommend planning 3-4 hours to do everything. Outside the Arch there is a reflection pool and the boys enjoyed splashing around in there for a few minutes. Felt so good on such a hot day! One of the things we learned is that the Arch was actually the winner in a nationwide design contest for a memorial! It could have been something completely different. It’s also the same width and height. 630 feet tall and 630 feet from leg to leg. If you’ve been there, let us know in the comments something you found interesting!
President Grant’s House and Grant’s farm
From the Arch we drove 20 minutes to President Ulysses S. Grant’s house. This is another spot to get a Junior Ranger badge! We explored the house and grounds and there is a museum here as well. The house is the oddest shade of green, called Paris Green, which was a typical color of the Victorian Period. It was a way to show wealth! Due to tired, cranky kiddos, we weren’t able to finish the museum here either. There is a lot to see! Definitely give yourself time to go through and read everything. Grant’s history is intriguing.
Next door to Grant’s house is Grant’s Farm (the Busch family home). I remember doing this as a kid and enjoying it! General admission is free but they charge for parking (which you can purchase online ahead of time). Your visit starts with a tram ride through the deer park where there are many free-roaming animals. They have an area to feed goats and you can go see the Budweiser Clydesdales! They also have free beer tasting (legal ages only obviously). There are also additional tours you can purchase tickets for. See their calendar of event’s for info on each one! Visit their website here. We didn’t have time to do Grant’s Farm this time around. Pay attention to the times everything close! We personally just didn’t plan it right to get everything into one day. Ideally we would have spent two full days here but the campground we stayed at didn’t have the availability for that many nights.
Camping
We stayed at the St. Louis KOA for our time here. They have a pool, jumping pillow, playground, and other activities. The pool was freezing and Luke stepped on a bee but the boys really enjoyed the jumping pillow!
Other local activities
A few extra things if you have the time:
- The St. Louis Zoo (free admission)
- Route 66 State Park
- Six Flags (right down the road from the KOA)