During the spring of 2022, my family and I went to St. Louis for a vacation. I think St. Louis is underrated. Most of its activities are free (including a phenomenal zoo and many museums). We had a great time and hope to go back!
It is 6.5 hours from Lincoln to St. Louis and if you feel like taking a break halfway you can stop in Kansas City for a lunch. We stayed at the Drury Hotel next to the Arch and I recommend it. We got a great deal and this hotel has free breakfast and free light dinner (vacations are expensive so this is appreciated). Plus, there is a great pool on the 8th level with an outdoor balcony next to the arch.
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Day 1: the Arch, St. Louis Zoo and Forest Park. The Arch Museum is free but to ride in the pods to the top costs $15 for adults and $11 for kids. It is 4 minutes up and 4 minutes down with 7 minutes to enjoy the view at the top. My girls and I got in the teeny tiny pod and rode it 630 feet up to see the view from the top of the St Louis Arch. It is not for the claustrophobic or one scared of heights but the view is spectacular! My husband and son stayed in the museum and weren't even close to being done going through it when we found them.
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I really went back and forth about going to the St. Louis Zoo since we have the Lincoln Children's Zoo and Henry Doorly but I'm glad that we went. First, it is FREE to go. I love this! By making their city so accessible, people get to experience more of it. Their zoo has so much space, it is wide open. The architecture of the Zoo is beautiful.
St. Louis has a park in the middle of the city that is larger than Central Park! You could spend just a day in this park alone. We played on giant turtle statues for hours and saw only a tiny portion of it.
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Day 2: City Museum
What kind of a museum says kids need headlamps and parents need knee pads and nothing loose in their pockets? The City Museum in St Louis is like nothing I’ve ever seen. You are encouraged to touch everything, you are told that you will get lost (we did lose our girls for an hour in the tunnels). There are hundreds of tunnels, a ten story slide and seemingly endless things to explore! We felt like Alice in Wonderland.
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Tips:
- Bring headlamps for your kids.
- If adults plan on going in the tunnels wear knee pads.
- Bring a fanny pack or a backpack to carry around your belongings (stuff will fall out of pockets and purses get tangled)
- A large portion of the museum is outside. Dress for it.
- Have a place to meet your older kids so they can explore freely and you won't spend an hour going "Where are you?!"
- Get there early. One day is barely enough.
- Don't go on the weekends if you can help it.
Places that we didn't get to go to when we were in St Louis (and are all free): art museum, the history museum, and the science center!
St. Louis bookended our trip to Mississippi. We could easily have spent 4-5 days there.
