Find Your Park
Road Trip
Activities
Nature
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Plan Your Visit
The Gateway Arch will close at 4:00 pm on December 24th and will reopen on December 26th at 9:00am. Enjoy the holiday. Hours The Old Courthouse is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Winter Hours For most of the year, the Gateway Arch and Museum of Westward Expansion are open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The first tram to the top of the Arch departs at 9:50 AM and the last tram of the day departs at 4:50 PM. We are closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Summer Hours The remainder of the year from Memorial Day through Labor Day, the Arch and Museum are open from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The trams to the top of the Arch run from 8:15 a.m. to 9:10 p.m. Visitors wanting to avoid the busy late-morning and mid-day periods should take advantage of the less crowded evening hours to visit the Gateway Arch. Security Note: Due to security measures at the Gateway Arch, all visitors to the Arch must pass through a security checkpoint. No weapons--including knives--are allowed. If you have pre-purchased your tram ticket, please arrive at least 30 minutes before your tram time. When to Visit Summer is high season at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Come early, or come late (the crowds are light during the evening). Make a day of it -- plan a visit to another of the city's terrific attractions. During August and September, the crowds thin out as kids return to school. Fall is a busy time due to many group tours. The day after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest days so be sure to arrive early! Winter is a perfect time to visit! There are no lines for the trams, no waiting for movies, and the weather is surprisingly mild. Prolonged periods of extremely cold weather are rare, and in fact, records show that the temperature doesn't get lower than 32 degrees more than 25 days throughout the winter! When spring returns, so do the group tours. In May and early June, there are light crowds with minimal waiting. The weather is mild and the extended hours give your plans flexibility.
The park is located in the heart of downtown St. Louis on the Mississippi River. Interstate routes 44,55,64, and 70 converge near the park. Parking is available in the Arch Parking Garage on the north end of the park grounds on Washington St. or at privately run surface lots and garages nearby. The Arch Parking Garage has a seven foot height restriction. A passenger drop-off area is available for visitors with mobility impairments near the Old Cathedral on Memorial Drive.
Public Transportation
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial is located at the Laclede's Landing Metro Stop.
Maine ocean islands provide the only nesting sites for Atlantic puffins in the United States. Eastern Egg Rock in the midcoast region, Seal Island and Matinicus Rock at the mouth of Penobscot Bay, and Machias Seal Island and Petit Manan Island off the downeast coast provide habitat for more than 4,000 puffins each summer.