Sight · Gateway Arch National Park
Ten minutes of headsets puts you on the 1850s riverfront.
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 Virtual Reality Theater 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
The Virtual Reality Theater is a ticketed, indoor 10-minute 3D headset experience in the Gateway Arch Visitor Center. Cobblestones & Courage puts you in a 360-degree recreation of the St. Louis Mississippi River levee in the 1850s. If you want a quick, immersive history add-on, it’s an appealing stop. It’s short by design, though, so treat it as a companion to the free Museum under the Arch, not your whole history visit.
After security, look just past the Museum, next to The Arch Store. The experience has timed tickets, and the operator recommends booking your preferred showtime ahead; leave time to clear security before it. It’s recommended for ages 3 and older and is wheelchair accessible.
The headset recreates the cobblestone levee with 360-degree sights and sound. Steamboats bring travelers and goods into a St. Louis that was an important crossroads for westward migration. This is a quick, vivid way to picture the riverfront where the Arch now stands.
The story follows John Parker, an enslaved dock worker; Anna Hormann, a German immigrant; and James Eads, who designed a submarine to recover cargo from sunken Mississippi steamboats. Their very different lives give the waterfront history a human scale, beyond the boats and movement.
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
EasyNorth Pond Loop1 mi · 30 min · 0.1 mi awayThe Arch gets a second frame in the pond.
EasyGateway Arch Loop1.6 mi · 45 min · 0.1 mi awayA short city loop for Arch reflections and riverfront views.
ChallengingSt. Louis Riverfront Trail23 mi · 11.5 hr · 0.7 mi awayFlat riverfront miles lead to a mile-long Route 66 bridge.
Sight · At the trailheadMuseum at the Gateway ArchSix galleries span colonial St. Louis through Arch construction.
Sight · At the trailheadTucker TheaterSee how Saarinen’s design became the Arch in 35 minutes.
Store · At the trailheadThe Arch StoreArch gifts, park-history books and homemade fudge.
Sight · At the trailheadLuther Ely Smith SquareA leafy garden link between downtown and the Arch.
Restaurant · 0.1 mi awayArch CaféA convenient place to try St. Louis toasted ravioli.
Sight · 0.1 mi awayOld CathedralA living church with a deep St. Louis story beside the Arch.
Sight · 0.1 mi awayDred and Harriet Scott StatueA courthouse memorial to the fight for the Scotts' freedom.
Sight · 0.1 mi awayNorth PondA small reflection pond whose curves repeat the Arch.Parkwolf’s Gateway Arch ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
