Special Mom’s blog

The Gateway Arch National Park

At 4.50 pm today we went up The Gateway Arch at St Louis and checked off our 14th National Park! Out of 63 National parks, completing 14 in a span of two years, I feel very proud. We have been using my young man’s access pass to get entry into these parks but this one charged us all the normal rate and gave him a ten percent discount.

The trip is not over. The weather is great and we would be doing some hiking the new two days. This park was a monument and was recently made into a National Park. It is in St. Louis and our hiking was from the parking garage to the Arch!

We climbed up or traveled on a pod 630 feet and stayed on top for 10 minutes and came back down.

We have had lot of adventures along the way and autism moments too but we made it.

Here are some pictures of The Gateway Arch National Park.

Shadow of the arch from the top, thanks to my younger son! Photo courtesy
Arch museum had a section dedicated to the builders
The pod that was 4 feet took us 630 feet up the arch
We spent 10 minutes on top to get the city view.

It was a beautiful clear sunny day! The Arch was built to commemorate the Louisiana Purchase followed by the Lewis and Clark expedition. Will blog more about their expedition and Pittsburgh connection sometime soon.

With this we complete all the parks close to our home. From now on, more planning needs to be done amd extra money to be saved 😊🤷‍♀️! Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon and the Rockies are waiting to be conquered. When? Time alone will tell!

3 responses to “The Gateway Arch National Park”

  1. Ab Avatar
    Ab

    I’m trying to imagine how you get to the top of the Arch. It looks so narrow from the outside. I’ll have to do more research. Looks like a beautiful day and fun outing!

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    1. ganga1996 Avatar
      ganga1996

      I am not an engineer and I did a very bad job explaining it to my civil engineer dad just now😂! So didn’t blog about it. My dad will also be researching it ! For me it was getting to the top without fear! 😃

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  2. SRIKANTH Avatar
    SRIKANTH

    What a wonderful achievement Ganga—congratulations on checking off your 14th National Park! 🎉 The Gateway Arch is such a unique addition to the park system, and your description of the “hike” from the parking garage to the Arch gave me a smile. It sounds like a perfect, sunny day for it.

    I love that you’re embracing every part of the journey, including the “autism moments”—those are part of what makes your family’s adventures uniquely yours. And how special that you’ve been able to use the access pass along the way; it’s a great program. Even with the pass, it’s funny how some sites still find ways to surprise you—like that 10% discount instead of full entry!

    The Arch is a stunning monument, and its connection to the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition gives it so much historical weight. Standing 630 feet up and looking out over the Mississippi must have been incredible. I’d love to read more about the Pittsburgh connection when you blog about it!

    It’s bittersweet but exciting that you’ve now visited all the parks close to home. Now the real adventure planning begins—Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and the Rockies are absolute gems. They’ll take more saving and planning, but they’ll be worth every bit of effort. When the time is right, they’ll be ready for you.

    Wishing you safe travels and more beautiful weather for the hiking days ahead. You’re doing something truly special—making memories, celebrating progress, and exploring this beautiful country together. 🌲🏞️ 🌷🤝

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