The final national park that we visited on our road trip this spring was Gateway Arch. We added it to the itinerary when we realized it was literally on our way home!
The hope was that we would get an early check in at our hotel and have the afternoon to explore the park. Not only did we get an early check in, but they gave us an upgrade with a view of the arch!
It was overcast when we arrived, but when we rode the tram to the top and got out of our tram car we were surprised to see beautiful sunshine! Sure helped with the photos.
Being the tallest man-made monument in the United States, 630 feet, it is worth the visit if you ever have the opportunity. I highly recommend the documentary movie you can see in the visitor’s center. It shows the amazing building process of the arch. It sort of freaked me out, right before I rode the tram, but it is an amazing story. And I survived the ride! It was built to withstand earthquakes and strong winds. I could feel it sway slightly when we were at the top!
Looking out from the visitor’s center:
From the top of the arch:
Looking down at the visitor’s center and the old courthouse. The courthouse was closed so we were unable to visit.
Our hotel was on the right, below, just kitty-corner from the end of the park. Such an easy walk over to the park.
We had a fabulous dinner at Sugarfire Smoke House! It was recommended by the hotel employee and just a short walk away.
We had plenty of time to enjoy sunset from our hotel room.
peace of life today 
Wow! Such neat pictures! However, there is no way I would be able to ride that thing! We did get to see it, but from the bottom. And I saw it from the Amtrak window, which was neat, too.
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Yeah, it was kind of freaky at the top, but it was SO beautiful since the sun came out! I felt like I had to walk softly so I wouldn’t make it shake! 🤣😂
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Great post, and photos. I know of this arch, it is designed by a a Finnish architect Eero Saarinen 😀
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Thank you, Ritva! ..and yes that was the designer! How they built it was amazing!
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it is impressive
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The arch looks amazing! We once flew over it and I grabbed a photo from the air but we’ve never been close enough to visit. I hadn’t realised it was a national park (I always think of them as rural) nor that you could catch a tram to the top. I would love to do that! And what a great view from your hotel room as a bonus 🙂
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Thank you, Sarah! I believe this is the smallest of all the national parks. The other park we visited, Cuyahoga Valley, also included little towns. But it was also full of a lot of nature and hiking trails.
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Great pictures! I went up in the arch when I was n tenth grade. Many moons ago! The exterior steel that made the arch is from a nearby town called Warren, Pennsylvania.
Your pictures are gorgeous! Thank you for the memories!
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Thank you, Nancy! That is cool that you have a connection to the Arch! The trip up was so worth it! …boy, when the sun came out that Arch sparkled!
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Looks very cool. I’ve never made it to St Louis myself — you make it look worth a visit. 😃
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Thank you! It was very much worth the time, and there is a lot of history with that part of the country. The “Gateway City” and the Louisiana Purchase.
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What a neat post about St. Louis! As a local, it warms my heart to read about the city. Suagrfire was a great recommendation for dinner. I have to stop myself from going there all the time.haha.
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Oh, thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it. It was amazing that the sun came out because that made the park exceptionally beautiful. My only regret is not walking down to the courthouse. I had read that it was closed so it didn’t even occur to me to track it down. I saw it in my photos from the top of the Arch and wish we would have walked that way.
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I’m glad you had a wonderful visit. Hope you can come back some time, to see and do more. There’s always something fun to do around here.
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I have learned that if we are able to keep doing our road trips, we just never know what opportunity might come up. The fun of the adventure!
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