Chapter 25: Gateway Arch National Park, St. Louis Missouri & The Cahokia Mounds
- traci wilson
- Jun 27
- 6 min read
For this stop we stayed at the Cahokia RV Parque (yes that’s the correct spelling) in Sauget, Illinois across the river from St. Louis Missouri. We came to this location to visit the Gateway Arch National Park, which was just across the river. The RV park wasn’t anything special but it was a place to park the trailer and had good access to the national park so it worked okay for us. The road through the park was paved but quite narrow, as were the sites, so Dave had to do some negotiating to get our large 5th Wheel into our space. He had to park the truck cross ways in front of the trailer and couldn’t completely get off the road as there wasn’t enough space. Most people there had to do this, which made the roads even narrower. It was a full hookup site with 50 amp electric, but you weren’t allowed to use your clothes dryer from May through September. When we made the reservations for this spot nothing was said about this. I would have been more annoyed if we were going to be there longer but since we were only there for one full day it didn’t matter as much.
We decided to get a Lyft to take us to the Arch since it was in downtown St. Louis and we’d heard the parking was very expensive, not to mention dealing with all the traffic in an unknown city—not worth the hassle, especially since it only cost us $25 total to be dropped off and picked back up—and it made for a stress-free experience getting to the national park.
We just happened to be in the area during the first major heat wave of the summer and temperatures were expected to reach 100 degrees in the city. Not only that, but it wasn’t cooling off at night, with lows around 75 degrees. Because of the expected heat, we got up at 5 a.m. to hike around the Cahokia Mounds with the dogs, knowing we were going to be leaving them in the trailer when we went into St. Louis later that day.
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site was the location of the largest pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico. There were once about 120 manmade mounds that were created by this ancient Indian civilization from about 700 to 1400 CE. There are currently 70 mounds that have been preserved, some of which had to be rebuilt after dirt had been removed by previous owners of the land. It is believed to have been the home of between 10,000 and 20,000 people. The largest of the mounds is called Monks Mound, a massive platform mound that has a base larger than the great pyramid in Giza in Egypt!
There are two levels to Monks Mound (you can’t see the top level when standing at the base) and two long sets of stairs climbing to the top where, on a clear day, you can see the whole valley below, including the cityscape of St. Louis. Climbing all those stairs was a real butt-kicker, but it paid off because we were lucky enough to have a clear morning. As far as a place to hike, it wasn’t set up very well to get any real distance. We managed to piece together about 4 miles on several different trails, weaving in and out of stands of trees and across grassy fields that passed by the various mounds. We saw several deer and other small critters. The mounds are located next to the Mississippi River floodplain so there were also many waterfowl in the area. I would say this was a very interesting historical site, and I marveled at the fact that those ancient peoples created such massive earthen structures all by hand, but as far as a place to hike, it wasn’t the best.
We decided to get picked up by our Lyft driver at 1:15 p.m. so we’d have some time to check out other parts of the national park before our scheduled ride to the top of the arch. There are over 90 acres of national parkland to explore around the arch, with paved paths winding through sweeping grass-covered hills dotted with deciduous trees and flowering plants, following the Mississippi River. Unfortunately it was too hot that day to spend a lot of time outside without feeling as if you were melting. So we opted for the free museum inside the air-conditioned building instead.
The museum was interesting, with one half dedicated to the history of the westward expansion and the other half covering the history of the arch itself. I learned that I’m the same age as the Gateway Arch—I was born in August 1965 and the arch was completed on October 28, 1965—so that was kind of cool. Neither Dave nor I were sure this should have been turned into a national park, it seemed that a national monument was a more fitting designation, but it was interesting just the same. In fact it had been a national monument—in 1935 President Franklin D. Roosevelt designated it as a the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, but was redesignated as the Gateway Arch National Park in 2018 by Congress.
Riding to the top of the arch was a trip! We had to wait in a long line for quite a while, then we were given instructions and a numbered card telling us what ‘pod’ we’d be boarding. The pods fit up to five people, so depending on the size of your group, you may be riding with people you don’t know or split up if you’re with a larger group. After receiving instructions, we were taken to a pre-boarding room where a 60s era trivia video short was projected on the walls to get us pumped up for the journey to the top.
Dave and I got matched up with another couple who didn’t speak very good English so there were some awkward moments. The pods are hooked together like a train, and operate sort of like a Ferris Wheel, so as you go up the pod moves to keep you upright. It was very cozy inside the pods (it reminded me of an egg) with the space age looking seats all touching each other in a semi-circle—I wouldn’t recommend it if you happen to be claustrophobic! I have a fear of heights so going up in the pod itself (it had glass doors that let you see down the elevator shaft as you go) made me a bit nervous. Interestingly enough, I wasn’t nervous at all at the top of the arch.
Once we arrived at the top (it’s a four-minute ride up and three-minute ride down) we were ushered to the viewing area. You are allowed ten minutes to look out and take your pictures. The viewing area was a long skinny space with small windows all along both sides so you could look out over the city to the West on one side, and the Mississippi River to the East on the other. Again, the space was very cozy (read, cramped)! We could see the Cahokia Mounds area we’d visited that morning from up there. On a clear day you can see 30 miles in each direction. It was partly cloudy by the time we went up so our visibility was good but probably not the best it could be. It was cool looking out across the landscape below—the cars and buildings far below appeared so tiny—but the small viewing windows seemed a little hazy. Dave and I had a good laugh at the idea of some poor sucker hanging precariously from the outside of the arch trying to wash those little windows! The arch is 630 feet tall and 630 feet wide and covered entirely with stainless steel plates. It’s blinding trying and look directly at it when the sun is shining on it—yes, we tried.
We’d had mixed feelings going into this location, wondering if it was worth the money and the time, not to mention dealing with the extreme heat, but we actually really enjoyed it. This is yet another national park that doesn’t require a park pass but you have to pay to ride to the top. The museum is free and just being able to hang out around this amazing structure and see it up close and personal might be good enough in itself if you didn’t want to spend the money to do the ride to the top. So, there are options. Should it be considered a national park though? Hmm…jury’s still out on that one.
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