Sight · Gateway Arch National Park
A bench and an Arch reflection on the south lawn.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Gateway Arch Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Gateway Arch National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Gateway Arch and Visitor Center“You're approaching the Gateway Arch and its Visitor Center. For the tram, book ahead and allow about an hour. You'll ride in a small five-person capsule, but the round trip still involves at least ninety-six steps.”
Plays as you drive up to South Pond in the Parkwolf Gateway Arch Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
South Pond is a curving reflection pond on the south side of Gateway Arch National Park, set among lawns and tree-lined paths. It’s a modest stop, but a good one for a bench and a different angle on the Arch. Paved paths and benches run beside the water. Keep to the path: the grassy edges can be damp and steeply sloped.
The far end of the pond is a good place to frame the Arch reflected in the water, with the curved shoreline in front of it. Walk to that end if the reflection is what you came for; you can enjoy the pond from the paved path without heading down the grass.
Architect Eero Saarinen positioned the north and south ponds among landscape architect Dan Kiley’s tree-lined walks. They have a practical role too: water drained from the underground visitor center’s exterior surfaces and ramps is pumped to the ponds. The Arch and its grounds were designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987 as a unified work of architecture and landscape.
Wildlife
17 sightingsRed-tailed HawkMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
14 sightingsGroundhogMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
11 sightingsOpossumMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
16 sightingsCottontailMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
113 sightingsCanada GooseMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
70 sightingsMallardMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Gateway Arch. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyGateway Arch Loop1.6 mi · 45 min · 0.2 mi awayA short city loop for Arch reflections and riverfront views.
EasyNorth Pond Loop1 mi · 30 min · 0.2 mi awayThe Arch gets a second frame in the pond.
ChallengingSt. Louis Riverfront Trail23 mi · 11.5 hr · 1 mi awayFlat riverfront miles lead to a mile-long Route 66 bridge.
Sight · 0.1 mi awaySouth OverlookCurved concrete carries Saarinen and Kiley’s design to the river.
Restaurant · 0.2 mi awayPaddlewheel CaféA dockside burger stop with the Arch and river in view.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayRiverboats at the Gateway ArchSee the Arch from the river, with the working waterfront in frame.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayOld CathedralA living church with a deep St. Louis story beside the Arch.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayGateway ArchRide up the 630-foot arch for a city and river view.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayGrand StaircaseA 65-step link from the Arch grounds to the riverfront.
Restaurant · 0.2 mi awayArch CaféA convenient place to try St. Louis toasted ravioli.
Store · 0.3 mi awayThe Arch StoreArch gifts, park-history books and homemade fudge.Parkwolf’s Gateway Arch ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
