Explorer’s Garden

Explorer’s Garden is a native-plant garden and pollinator habitat in North Gateway, at the north end of Gateway Arch National Park. It’s a worthwhile detour if you want a greener corner of the riverfront, with flower beds under the historic Eads Bridge. Most of the plants are native, and the garden was designed to support pollinators.

Paved paths wind through the beds, with large flat rocks and stone benches for a rest. The NPS lists potable water and a bottle-filling station here, and says pets are allowed. It’s a good place to slow down and look at the planting rather than make another quick skyline stop.

The NPS reports something in bloom through the growing season, from February to October. The garden also connects to a self-guided Lewis and Clark walk, with plants linked to expedition journals and Native American uses.

Dead brush is left standing through winter to give pollinators food and shelter. Those untrimmed stems are part of the garden’s habitat work, especially when the flower beds are past their main blooming season.

Until 2015, a concrete parking garage covered this part of the park. It was removed during the CityArchRiver renovation to open green space and reconnect downtown attractions. The soil underneath had been heavily compacted, a reminder of how much the landscape here has changed.

For a photo, get close to a flower bed and leave Eads Bridge in the background. The plants and steel truss in one frame make this garden’s North Gateway setting clear.