Around St. Louis

I am not sure if this is the right forum. I am sort of guessing.

I have been reading a lot around RTA lately and maybe I have just been unlucky, but the only thing I see mentioned regarding St. Louis is the Arch and the trip up it. I do have to say that I have lived here for 13 years now and have never actually gone up in the Arch. That being said, here would be my suggestions for the St. Louis area beyond the Arch:

The Cahokia mounds

Ted Drewes Frozen custard (the one on old 66)

An Italian-American meal on The Hill. Many choices here. My personal favorite is Zia's, but that is largely because it is across an intersection fromthe Missouri Baking company and some excellent canolli

The Budweiser brewery tour

If you have kids, there's the zoo (free admission and, if you're a cheapskate like me, free parking either on the streets nearby or at the Art museum), the Magic House, and Grant's Farm

There is a hiking/biking path across the Mississippi River just North of town at the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge.

Everyone talks about the old river town of Hannibal a ways north of St. Louis. I see little talk around of either Ste. Genevieve to the South or of the winery region (Hermann, Washington, etc.) West along the Missouri.

Also, if you are looking for homestyle meals which make no pretense at being low-calorie along with some very good pies in a tourist-y (some would say kitsch-y) small old river town, there's the Blue Owl Restaurant and Bakery in the town of Kimmswick just South of St. Louis.

And this all is just really just scratching the surface.

All the best,
Jon

Jon, thanks for the insights. Actually I have often recommended Ste. Genevieve and more recently the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial of which the Arch is just a part. I agree that there is much more to St. Louis (my wife's hometown BTW) than this, and your list is a great reminder of all that this city has to offer. Just a few more:

Museum of Transportation
Mastodon State Historic Site
Lewis and Clark State Memorial Park (IL)
Forest Park, home of the 1904 World's Fair (St. Louis also hosted the Olympics that year!)

AZBuck

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Originally Posted by jcorb2d

I have been reading a lot around RTA lately and maybe I have just been unlucky, but the only thing I see mentioned regarding St. Louis is the Arch and the trip up it. I do have to say that I have lived here for 13 years now and have never actually gone up in the Arch.

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Jon, Well then, it is high time. Seriously, at some point the park service will close the contraption that carries folks to the observation platform and that will be a shame. Also, be sure to watch the movie in the visitor's center -- the fact that the arch was completed in the manner that it was makes for a very compelling movie. I trust that you have "done" 4th of July at the Arch? I love sitting on the steps adjacent to the hotel and watching them fire the massive fireworks from the barges.

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The Cahokia mounds

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Absoutely, I like visiting these in winter, when the trees are bare -- it is mush easier to see the shapes!

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Ted Drewes Frozen custard (the one on old 66)

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A standard for many years -- here is a gravity defying photo of some of this frozen custard: http://www.roadtripamerica.com/eats/drewes5.jpg
Thanks for the rest of the recommendations!

Another place we have enjoyed for years is Vivian's in St. Charles although the previous owners are now living elsewhere and we haven't checked there in a while. And although not really close to St. Louis, this classic navigational sign has remained a favorite for a while....

Mark

That navigational sign is hysterical!

I'm curious, why do you think that the passenger transport up The Arch will eventually close? Is it unsafe or rickety or something?

I'm hoping to make that a stop on my Route 66 trip next summer. Hope it's still open then, rickety or not.

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Originally Posted by Judy

That navigational sign is hysterical!

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Have you looked around at the rest of the collection recently? There are 371 signs in the current collection. Here is this newest one and some other featured ones are listed here.

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I'm curious, why do you think that the passenger transport up The Arch will eventually close? Is it unsafe or rickety or something?

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Your US tax dollars at work -- it is currently safe, but it hardly matches OSHA standards. I am six foot tall and the cages one rides are in a little small... It really is an amazing contraption!

Mark

I especially like the Buffet - Crap one.

Sounds like The Arch ride is a bit of an adrenaline rush. I'll definitely have to do this!

This was a helpful post.
Still, it's 4 years later and I want to know about your additions and corrections to these suggestions.

We are going for a weekend in early August, including a Cards game and want to know what else to do.
I have 3 kids 14 and under.
We probably will skip zoo, 6flags, and science museum because we have excellent versions by us.
We like quirky; we like history, music, local eats and flavor.

A tip for parking if you go to a Cards game - park in the Arch garage for 6 bucks and walk over to the park. It's about 8 blocks. See the Arch and the Museum of Westward Expansion and the old courthouse.

If you like good BBQ, go to Super Smokers in Eureka.

I had fun walking over the Mississippi River from Missouri to Illinois via the Old Chain of Rocks Route 66 bridge.

• Lunch at Pappy's Smokehouse, arriving BEFORE opening for shorter line (shhh...)
• The Grant Home NATIONAL PARK-- NOT the farm owned by Anheiser Busch
• If we had time, would've done Crown Candy Kitchen OR Iron Barley
• We ate at Cards game-- game & stadium were good, expense of food was not
• Next day, did Arch at 8 am on a summer Sunday. At that time, crowd was small at bottom & top. Family really enjoyed, even the "rickety" tram--it does rattle but safety so far is okay (google st louis post dispatch for August 2010 relevant story).
• Did the Museum of Westward Expansion, which had a Baseball exhibit
• Did the "riverboat" trip right near Arch; probably okay to skip
• Shoulda done instead the Park Ranger tour at 10 am summer weekends
• Did the Old Courthouse, which was a sobering and wonderful stop
• Had lunch/dinner at Sweetie Pies, so WELL worth the wait
• Had frozen custard and Concrete at Ted Drewes

We then drove up to Springfield Illinois to stay a few days for Lincoln sightseeing, an awesome experience about an hour away.
All restaurants were chosen based on info from Travel Channel and other sites.

Hermann - - we went there last summer. There are a bunch of wineries there, so mostly it's for adults. We first went to the Hermanoff Winery. They have a self-guided tour and a tasting that you may choose up to a certain amount of wines to taste.

Then we drove a little further out and went to the Stone Hill Winery. It was a guided tour, which cost money, but then the tasting room was the best tasting we've ever done (and we've done a few!!!!). My husband then went away with 12 bottles of wine, and a special bottle of grape juice for our very patient 8-1/2 year old niece. My MIL bought several bottles, as did our older daughter. Some of those bottles that my MIL bought, reappeared at Christmastime as gifts.

If you have children in your party, Hermann might not be a lot of fun.

I don't think I saw Six Flags Over Mid-America listed, which is off I-44 southwest of town. There's a water park there now, too. I haven't done this in years, but my daughter and her husband like to go to Six Flags.

Also, down in Bonne Terre (southwest of St Louis, even further south of I-44) is Bonne Terre Mine. A college friend of mine raved about it a few years back. http://www.2dive.com/btm.htm This is a mine in which you can go diving in.





Donna

I had almost forgotten about this thread - it has been a long time.

Lunch at Pappy's Smokehouse, arriving BEFORE opening for shorter line (shhh...)

Five minutes walk from my office - need to go there more often.

The Grant Home NATIONAL PARK-- NOT the farm owned by Anheiser Busch

Five minutes walk from my house. My wife takes my daughter there at least once a week to go through the barn, etc. My five-year old likes it much better than Grant's Farm. Plus, it's not nearly as crowded as Grant's Farm.

Had frozen custard and Concrete at Ted Drewes

Absolute must.

BTW, if you are into Olympic history, you can visit the site of the 1904 Olympics and run around the track, etc. It's been refurbished since then, but it is the correct site. It's on the campus of Washington University at the corner of Big Bend and Forsythe (google "Francis Field."

As an aside, I have lived here for 18 years now and have yet to go up the Arch. Only visited the Arch grounds once. Funny how you ignore a lot of those things in your own backyard.

A couple of my new favorites over the past few years:

• Walking the Missouri River riverside in St. Charles
• The Muny on a warm (but not too hot) Summer night. There are free seats available in the back. Bring some binoculars.
• the Turtle Park - near the Zoo but across Highway 40 - younger kids really like it

Notes:

The Laumeier Sculpture Park has had a lot of remodeling done. It's a great place to let the kids run and enjoy some art outdoors.

The Botanical Garden has a new Children's Garden. I know Visitors love the Zoo, Art Museum, and Science Center for the free admission, but I would take the Botanical Garden over any of them. Combine with a lunch on South Grand (I like Cafe Natasha and the Lemongrass - lots of other people here like the Pho Grand but if I am doing Vietnamese I am going to Lemongrass for a clay pot).

I haven't been to the new Busch Stadium, but I hear good things and baseball in St. Louis is special.

--Jon

Jon, what's the latest on the Arch? We heard that it is under refurbishment, so we didn't go down there this summer. Of course I didn't bother to check the Arch website for information ... I think we were tired of the drive on I-70 between Columbia and St Louis by then.

There's always Hannibal, too - - it's only 2 hours north of St Louis!



Donna

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Originally Posted by DonnaR57

Jon, what's the latest on the Arch? We heard that it is under refurbishment, so we didn't go down there this summer. Of course I didn't bother to check the Arch website for information ... I think we were tired of the drive on I-70 between Columbia and St Louis by then.

There's always Hannibal, too - - it's only 2 hours north of St Louis!



Donna

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Unfortunately, I couldn't tell you anything about the Arch that couldn't be found on the web site. As far as I know, it is open for all of the usual functions. It really doesn't play much of a part in the lives of people here - it's just kind of always there.

My iconic places are things like the Chain of Rocks, Ted Drewes, The Hill, the Central West End, the Delmar Loop, etc. These are the places I take visitors when they are in town.

There's also Ste. Genevieve, Hermann/Washington, and St. Charles...

--Jon