ST Louis

St. Louis is a fun mid-western city. I’ve included some of the places we saw when we were here. Also, St. Louis is home to the Cardinals (baseball) and Blues (basketball). Sadly, they lost their NFL football team after 2015 when the Rams moved to L.A.

Gateway arch national park

National Park enthusiasts tend to dislike that Gateway Arch was named a national park (in 2018). When you think of national parks, most people think nature, wildlife and getting away from crowds of people.

However, if you can get past the fact that Gateway Arch is the opposite of all of that, it is a cool destination with interesting history. The arch first opened in 1965 to represent St. Louis as “The Gateway to the West”.

City Museum

I’m not sure who came up the City Museum, but it is like something that my 7 year brain would have imagined. You can climb through wire arch bridges, jump into giant ball pits and climb through an old airplane suspended in the air.

However, be aware that this place is popular and gets really crowded. There are a lot of people in a small space, just in case you are semi-claustrophobic. However, it is great fun and maybe you can find a time and day that would be less busy. The kids will love it!

Grant’s Farm

Part zoo, part beer hall, Grant’s Farm is a fun, family adventure. Originally tied to Ulysses S. Grant, it eventually was operated by Anheuser-Busch, but has recently switched back to members of the Grant family.

There are shows, horse rides, animals, and an Anheuser-Busch beer tent. Also, just outside of the main park reside the Budweiser Clydesdale horses, which you can visit.

St. Louis Zoo

We go to a lot of zoos and St. Louis has a great zoo! Furthermore, the St. Louis Zoo is free to enter. However, there is a fee for parking and/or the children’s zoo.

They have a huge zoo with a lot of large lots and animals. Additionally, they have a monorail with multiple stops around the zoo to get around easily.

Hannibal & Mark Twain House

About 2 hours northwest of St. Louis is the town of Hannibal and the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum. The main street is a living image from the Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

There is a fee to enter some of the museum homes. However, the town has numerous shops and restaurants and is a great way to take a break for a couple hours if you are passing through.

There are numerous exhibits throughout the museum, including the “wheel of death”, where you can try your luck to see how you would do in the mid-1800s. My daughter was not a fan of her luck to hit one of the few “winners” and it is much more likely that you die from a number of accidents or illnesses. 

ALSO CONSIDER VISITING THESE NEARBY AREAS

Check out some of the other sights in the Midwest Region.