St. Louis Gateway Arch

[lamato]

Hi Forum,

We plan on visiting the Arch either tomorrow (Sunday), or Monday. Does anybody have any advice on places to stay for a night or two? Also, how's the parking near the Gateway Arch? Thanks in advance.

Laura and Vince


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[Silverbee]

We stayed here. It was nice, but catered to the big motorhomes. It was about 20 miles from St. Louis.
http://www.sundermeierrvpark.com/

We were advised to not stay in St. Louis, particulary close to the Arch, as there have been a lot of break ins in the area, particularly to tourist's cars.

Tom and Deborah

[Mrjkq]

Yes Sundermeiers in Sr Charles, Mo., it's a clean safe place in a historic area with restaurants, parks, the Katy trail for biking or walking.
The RV park has all concrete paved sites, pull through & back in, clean rest rooms & laundry. We've stayed there many times, it's a very nice adult park, no amenities for kids. Downtown St Louis is great to visit but not to overnight in.

[InterBlog]

+1 on not leaving your rig near the Arch. Former St. Louis resident here.

[Alluminati]

We live near downtown St Louis, about 2.5 miles from the Arch.

Your profile shows you in a MH, not a trailer, so I assume you would be asking about where to put your MH while downtown.

There is major reconstruction going on around the grounds of the Arch. It’s nearly done, but last I looked, still a bit of a mess. In the process, they eliminated a large covered parking lot on the edge of the property. There are some small parking lots immediately north of the Eads Bridge which borders the Arch grounds on the north side. It’s an easy walk to the Arch and Mississippi waterfront.

The Casio Queen faces the Arch from the Illinois side of the river. Best views of downtown and the Arch are from the Illinois side. Casino Queen has RV parking. I have not seen their grounds, but would assume it would be clean and well tended. It’s a bit of a hike to walk from the Casino Queen across the Eads Bridge to the Arch, but I have enjoyed it a time or two.

There is an RV park on the west side of downtown on north Jefferson. It’s about 2 miles from the Arch. It’s mostly a gravel lot, but it’s clean. Not much to look at, but I wouldn’t mind staying there. I’ve never seen it less than half full, and frequently is full up. You may want to call ahead to get a spot.

[Alluminati]

St Louis is a safe place for people who don’t look or act like a target. If you leave your valuables unattended on display, you are inviting thieves.

If tall grass in a vacant lot with a little bit of litter looks dangerous to you, then stay away!!!! (Though I don’t personally know anyone that’s been mugged by tall weeds.) St Louis is not the squeaky cleanest city in the country. There are recognizable signs of poverty close to the downtown area. Poverty does not equal danger. If you mind your own business, behave modestly, and pay attention to your surroundings, you will have no trouble at all.

The main difference between crime in St Louis and crime in St Charles (where the other recommended RV park is), is that St Charles is in denial.

[Drathaar]

I second the St. Charles recommendation. I'm not really a fan of the entire area, but as mentioned above, St. Charles has a charming historic area. We lived there in the early '80s and worked at what was then McDonnell-Douglas Astronautics.

Other interesting things to see are the Boone Home (St Peters??); the German community of Dutzow, where the street signs used to be in German, and there's a nice local winery; and on the Illinois side, the little town of Elsah, an old and charming steamboat stop.

[lamato]

Thanks, everyone. We're going to stay in St Charles. Does anyone have a recommendation on where to park our AI extended while actually visiting the Arch?


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[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Alluminati

St Louis is a safe place for people who don’t look or act like a target. If you leave your valuables unattended on display, you are inviting thieves.....

I don't agree with this. I spent 3.5 years living in the inner city and I was a constant target despite having visibly less money than the poorer segments of the population. I was targeted despite the fact that I drove the ultimate POS car which at that time cost me a walloping $650. It was broken into - nothing was off limits. (I had bought the car after my bike was stolen, figuring that it might be a tad bit safer.)

I've attached an image screengrabbed from the blog titled Sprinter Camper. This was posted about six weeks ago. This is a guy with a 10+ year old T1N Sprinter home-made camper van conversion - no high dollar Airstream upfit here. Look at the old no-frills cargo van - there's no wealth at all implied by this, but tap to expand and read the caption.

[KJRitchie]

Maybe you should rent a car for the few days of visiting St Louis.

This full time couple with toddler took day trips into St Louis in their TOAD for the Arch and other attractions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZilGDbebkk4

Kelvin

[mandolindave]

Through out the years the downtown area and some areas close by have been spruced up. ( similar to what's been done in Boston, New York , and Baltimore) The train station, and a few places along the train route have had a face lift and there are some nice music venues, bars and places to eat.

[lamato]

Thanks for all the info, everyone. We've decided to head south to Branson, MO instead. We'll use all your suggestions when we come back next year when all the remodeling of the Arch and surrounding area is complete.

[lamato]

p.s. Any suggestions/info on Branson would be greatly appreciated!!

[extiger]

We stayed at Casino Queen this summer and rode the train over to the Arch and back. We thought Casino Queen was a great place to stay for visiting the Arch. There is a lot of security and staff is very accommodating.

Also stayed at Branson this summer. Stayed at KOA and would stay there again. There are lots of RV parks in the greater Branson area catering to different tastes. Lots of shows to see. We saw Moses and it was great. Silver Dollar City is a good place to visit as well as downtown Branson. Did the train trip on a previous visit and enjoyed it. Avoid the main drag it is clogged with traffic. There are lots of alternative routes.

[Urbanologist]

There's GREAT location right in downtown STL. Well maintained and quiet! Stay there EVERYTIME I visit family. Really, you're even near the BB stadium! St. Louis RV Park. Google them,

[Urbanologist]

https://www.stlouisrvpark.com

Park your baby here!!!! Then take cab to Arch and other downtown spots. Don't miss visit to the brewery and see the Clydsdayle horses!!

[truxpin]

3 years ago on our way home from picking up our Airstream in the Chicago area, we stopped at the arch and parked in the RV overflow parking. 30 minutes later we came back to find out the Airstream and my Suburban had broken into! I'll never go back to st. Louis.....

[truxpin]

Originally Posted by Alluminati

St Louis is a safe place for people who don’t look or act like a target. If you leave your valuables unattended on display, you are inviting thieves.

If you mind your own business, behave modestly, and pay attention to your surroundings, you will have no trouble at all.

The main difference between crime in St Louis and crime in St Charles (where the other recommended RV park is), is that St Charles is in denial.

Most people who have been robbed in the vicinity of the Arch know for a fact that this is not true. Paved and designated overflow parking for oversized Vehicles is clearly marked at the arch, the St.Louis police refuse to patrol this area. Many vehicles and RVs are broken into & robbed in this area.
The only thing I did to "invite" thieves to break into my property was to be naïve enough to trust the outlying oversized parking area.
I would advise anybody in a motorhome or RV, 2 Park well outside of the st. Louis-area unhook and drive into the arch and park as close as possible. Call me "jaded", but in all my life I've always trusted people and been a good judge of my surroundings. After my interview with St. Louis police, I believe I was a fool for even stopping in St Louis!

[Alluminati]

Lamato,

Welcome to Missouri. I’m sure you’ll have a good time while you’re here. Branson can be a lot of fun if you can stomach the traffic. We are planning a long weekend in Branson soon. The campground at Table Rock Lake State Park is one of our favorites. It’s a lot closer to nature than some of the private parks like the KOA (cheaper too). We used to pitch our tents right on the shore of the lake in campground 2. Haven’t been down there in a while, and are looking forward to our upcoming visit.

One hour west of Table Rock Lake is Roaring River State Park. It’s a beautiful small park with some memorable hiking trails. They have decent campgrounds there too, but not as nice as Table Rock Lake. The river originates in the park from a giant spring at the bottom of a cliff. It is the site of a historic fish hatchery. You can tour the hatchery, and see some of the gigantic rainbow trout that live in the pool at the base of the spring. You can also get a day license to fish for trout in the river.

Sorry you’re getting all the bad vibes from those who visited for two days or lived here 35 years ago. (yeah, it was a stinky town back when they lived here, but c’mon, that was a generation ago!) I regularly ride my bicycle around downtown, and my scooter all over, including through East St Louis, which has a worse reputation than downtown has. As I said, wife and I live 2.5 miles from the Arch. I park my TV on a busy street by our apartment. My neighborhood is ultra scary if you’re allergic to people who don’t look just like you. If that’s the case, then you probably won’t like it here, and you’ll go on a forum like this and declare it dangerous after your not-brief-enough visit.

Next time you are thinking of visiting St Louis, let me know. There is TONS of stuff to do and see here. I could give you a tourism schedule that will keep you running for two weeks straight. Seriously. Ex. There is a Route 66 display at the History Museum right now which is well worth the visit. They even have a Bambi-size early 50s Airstream in the museum on display. You should see the world-class Art Museum, the world-famous St Louis Zoo, the Missouri Botanical Gardens with the historic Climatron, of course the Arch, and the Old Courthouse where the Dred Scott case was heard, the Science Center, Muny, Ted Drewes, and all things Route 66, Chain of Rocks Bridge, Scott Joplin House, Anheuser Busch brewery tour, Grant’s Farm, Forest Park, Victorian Tower Grove Park, Central West End, The Loop, and Blueberry Hill where Chuck Berry still performs, Cherokee Antique Row, etc,... The list could go on and on but this is just off the top of my head. If I knew your personal interests, we could give a specialized itinerary if it’s music, fine dining, architecture, theater, history,...

Please come visit us when you have the time. I know you’ll enjoy it here.

[eggman]

aluminati,
whst do you know about 'streaming near collinsville to see the Indian mounds?