Gateway Arch Wellness Challenge

Welcome to your wellness challenge at Gateway Arch National Park! Personal wellness is well within reach if you get out and explore. 

Known globally for its iconic architecture and engineering, the Gateway Arch is a monument commemorating westward expansion and acknowleding its impact on indigenous peoples and the environment. It sits within a 91-acre urban national park located in downtown St. Louis, one of the few urban national parks west of the Mississippi River. The park grounds provide an oasis within the heart of the city. Gateway Arch National Park offers you multiple opportunities to improve your health through physical, mental and learning challenges. 

What is the Wellness Challenge? 

The National Park Service Wellness Challenge promotes the unique health resources that you can find in all seven Missouri National Parks.   

Challenge yourself by choosing from a wide range of activities – physical, mental, and learning - to promote your health and well-being. 

Learn more about the Physical, Mental and Learning Wellness Challenges and learn how to earn your badges.  

Details

Activity

Self-Guided Tours - Walking

Pets Allowed

Yes

Pets are allowed for the outside portions of this challenge. 

Activity Fee

Yes

There is a fee for some aspects of this Wellness Challenge, the film and the trip to the top. The other parts of the challege do not have a fee. 

Reservations

Yes

Reservations are required for the trip to the top of the Arch and for the film. The other challenges do not require reservations. 

Season

Year Round

Time of Day

Day, Dawn, Dusk

Accessibility Information

The park brochure is available in text-only and audio description formats on our website and through the UniDescription App. 

Accessibility Information for the individual challenges: 

Get Active: The Grand Staircase has about 65 steps with hand railings on its outer edges. The height and depth of the steps are not consistent. There are two ramps on either side of the Staircase that also connect Lenore K. Sullivan Boulevard to the Gateway Arch grounds. 

Carve Your Own Path: The grounds of Gateway Arch have wide concrete paths with gentle slopes and benches. 

Move Along the Mississippi River: There is a sidewalk elevated over the Mississippi River along Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard and a sidewalk at the level of the Mississippi River along Levee Road. A ramp and stairs with railings connects the sidewalks along Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard and the levee. The conditions of these sidewalks vary. 
 

Report for Duty: The Junior Ranger booklets are only available in print format at this time. 

Monument to the Dream: The theater is accessible for people using mobility devices and wheelchairs. Assistive listening devices are available for use in the theater and can be requested devices at the Information Desk in the lobby. The film is fully audio described. 

Make Connections:  The Museum’s exhibits and media in its six galleries have multiple accessibility features for physical and programmatic accessibility including: tactile exhibits, audio description and computer simulations that are visitor directed through a touchpad. 
 

A View from the Top: To reach the tram to the top of Gateway Arch and return, you must manage 96 steps, which are separated into 6 flights of stairs. You may need to stand at least 30-60 minutes, especially during the busy summer season. There is no seating or restrooms at the top of the Arch. 

·     There is a representation of the keystone piece of the Gateway Arch in the Museum which replicates the experience as much as possible for visitors who cannot make the trip to the top. There is also a live stream feed of view from the top. 

A Moment of Reflection: Both Reflection Ponds are located along paved paths. These are benches along the paths. The grassy areas by the ponds are damp and have steep slopes. 

Explore Lewis and Clark Garden: There are paved paths in the Explorer’s Garden with stone benches.