Back to the Arch: Our Family’s Return to St. Louis with Teens
A few years ago, our family visited St. Louis and loved how much there was to do — especially for younger kids. This summer, with two teens in tow, we made our way back to the Gateway City. Some attractions we had visited before, and some we hadn’t. It was a fun mix of new experiences and returning favorites — and great for both kids and teens!
Here’s a look at what we did and what we’d recommend to other families planning a St. Louis getaway.
A Quick Look Back: St. Louis in 2019
Our first trip to St. Louis in 2019 was a fun hosted trip with other bloggers, and included stops at the St. Louis Zoo, Science Center, the Gateway Arch, and a peek at the St. Louis Aquarium — which was still under construction back then. The kids were younger, and the city felt fresh and exciting. (Read about our visit then!)
Coming back years later, with older kids and a different pace, gave us a whole new perspective.
Returning in 2025
St. Louis is about 8- 9 hours south of the Twin Cities. There are different routes to get there – specifically either through Wisconsin/Illinois or Iowa – but we drove south through Iowa this time. Because it’s a bit of a long drive, we broke it up with a stop in Waterloo each way. On the way down, we spent a day in Lost Island Theme Park, and on the way back, a day at Lost Island Water Park. Both are amazing and well worth a visit. Read about our fun experience there.
Arrival
We arrived in St. Louis on a Sunday afternoon. We checked into our hotel – the Hampton Inn at the Arch – and had a great view of the Arch from our room. The hotel also had great amenities like a pool that also had a view of the Arch, a fitness room, a game room, and my favorite – free breakfast!I chose this hotel because I wanted a hotel close to the arch and with good amenities, but not crazy expensive. This one was the best fit. (Book a stay here!)
We walked over to the Gateway Arch for a trip up to the top and visit to the free Arch museum. We had done this during our last visit but it was at night, so we came back for a daytime experience. It was well worth it!
Gateway Arch – A Classic That’s Still Worth It
Even having done it before, the experience still felt special. The museum underneath has so much to interact with, and is beautifully done, and the views from the top never get old.
The museum below the Arch is free – be sure to allow a good amount of time for this. There’s a lot to see! We ran out of time during both visits to St. Louis – note that they do close strictly on time, so don’t wait until the end of the day to see it – it’s best to explore the museum earlier in the day.
The elevator ride to the top is unique – you get in a small car that looks like the inside of a dryer, and ride up for 3-4 minutes. Then you get 15 minutes at the top. My kids loved the views as much as me.
Tip: book tickets in advance — even midweek mornings can fill up fast in summer.
St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station
In 2019, I got a construction hat tour of the St. Louis Aquarium and was excited to come back after it opened after our visit. However, then COVID happened, and our return plans were delayed for a few years. Finally we returned this year and it didn’t disappoint!
The aquarium is very family-friendly but also visually impressive. There’s a strong focus on interactivity, with plenty of hands-on exhibits, tech-enhanced storytelling, and unique aquatic creatures.
The beginning of the tour felt the most magical of any aquarium we had been to. You start in a waiting area with screens above showing realistic animations of fish and water. Then you board a “train” that takes you through St. Louis history. Finally, you get out and find many interactive stations with fish that spit (yes, spit!), or crawl all over your hands, or you can feel a stingray, and many other sea – and land – creatures.
There are educational demonstrations and chats about animals including otters and even armadillos, plus there’s a kid zone, sharks, and much more. We had an amazing visit here and learned so much.
St. Louis Aquarium is actually located at Union Station, which has a hotel and other attractions like the St. Louis Wheel (a huge ferris wheel), a ropes course, mirror maze, carousel, mini golf, and even a selfie studio called Selfie Express. You can easily make a full day of it without leaving the area!
City Museum – Wild & Wonderful
This was hands-down one of the most memorable stops for my teens. The City Museum isn’t really a museum at all — it’s an industrial art-meets-jungle-gym playground housed in a giant warehouse. Think massive slides, rooftop thrills, tunnels to climb through, and quirky sculptures around every corner.
Honestly, this is the most insane, wackiest place on earth, I’m pretty sure. Nothing made sense here, but I think that’s the whole point. You go in and climb, explore and get lost in bizarre, dream (or nightmare)-like things. Literally. There are tunnels and places definitely not for anyone with claustrophobia yet clearly many people don’t have claustrophobia as every crevice of this place was filled with people, particularly kids who could fit in tiny crevices.
The rooftop is an additional ticket where you can go in a school bus that extends over the edge of the building, a ferris wheel, giant slide, and many wire mesh tunnels. Wire mesh tunnels were everywhere here. A dad and his young kid climbed in one together high up as effortlessly as they would throw a ball together. I couldn’t do the wire tunnels, but it was fascinating just walking across bridges, climbing stairs into unique places, finding surprises at every turn.
You really have to see this place to believe it!
RYZE Adventure Park – High Up and All In
If you have active kids or adrenaline junkies, this one’s for you. At RYZE Adventure Park, we harnessed up and climbed through a ropes course that offered various difficulty levels — perfect for teens who like to push limits (and parents who maybe don’t). Even I got harnessed and did a few challenges. That’s what I liked best about this place – it has levels for everyone and you can go as far as you want from easier to challenging.
I also liked that you learn how to harness yourself here – other places I’ve been to do it for you.
My son and I did challenges together (I took this photo of him doing this course before I did – I’ll admit he was a little braver than me).
The staff were great, safety was a priority, and it was one of those experiences that sticks with you after the trip ends. Definitely recommend.
FREE Attractions we Visited
St. Louis Zoo – Still One of the Best (Free)
The St. Louis Zoo is consistently ranked as one of the best free zoos in the country — and for good reason. It’s beautifully designed, has a wide range of animals, and doesn’t feel like a “budget” experience in any way.
It’s a solid, full day adventure. They even have a train that goes around the perimeter of the zoo, though it’s at cost (but reasonably priced).
Sweet Surprise: A Chocolate Factory Tour (Free)
One unexpected gem? A free tour of a local chocolate factory!
The chocolate factory is called Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Company (yes, that’s a lot of chocolate in their name), and they’ve been around since 1981. It’s a store and a factory in one, so you can buy chocolate before or after your tour. For the free tours, just sign up on their website. They do fill up though so try to book in advance.
We got a tour for late morning on a weekday. The tour lasted about 20 minutes and we got to see the factory workers making chocolate. It wasn’t flashy, but it was fun, informative, and of course, involved free samples at the end.
Great for a quick break in the day, especially if you need something low-key and sweet!
Final Thoughts: Worth the Return
Revisiting St. Louis with older kids was a totally different — but equally fun — experience. The city has a great mix of affordable (even free) options and unique attractions that are worth the trip.
Whether your kids are climbing through tunnels at City Museum, staring at jellyfish at the Aquarium, or balancing high above the ground at RYZE, there’s something for every age and energy level.
And if you’ve been before? It’s worth coming back. Things change, kids grow, and new memories are always waiting to be made!
Learn more about St. Louis on the Explore St. Louis website here.
(Disclosure: Thank you to Explore St. Louis for providing us with complimentary attraction passes to facilitate some of this review. There are also affiliate links in this post that help support this site at no cost to you. All opinions are 100% mine.)