spring break in St. Louis
For spring break this year, we drove six hours to St. Louis, Missouri. This spot had been on my travel list for a while, and I’m so glad we finally prioritized it and checked it off! St. Louis is very kid-friendly with lots of free family activities. Our itinerary was pretty solid thanks to other families sharing their experiences, so I’m going to list out what we did in order!
DAY 1
St. Louis is a six-hour drive from Des Moines. Hannibal, Missouri (home of Mark Twain), was situated right along our route and was a natural stopping point four hours into the drive. We arrived at the Mark Twain Cave around 1:30 pm and bought tickets for the 2:00 pm tour. The Mark Twain Cave is a National Natural Landmark and something Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) wrote about in his classic book “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.” The tour is about an hour long and very well done. We wished it had been a more strenuous hike rather than a leisurely walk, but there was a lot of history shared, and it felt good to get some steps in. Our kids each picked out something from the gift shop, and then we were back on the road.
We completed the rest of the two-hour drive in the pouring rain and a tornado warning(!), then checked into Element St. Louis Midtown. I would recommend this hotel! It is centrally located, was close to everything on our itinerary, and offers a continental breakfast. Our room was spacious, and the kids also enjoyed swimming in the indoor pool.
For dinner, we walked across the street to the City Foundry, a food hall with more than a dozen restaurant options. It has a low-key vibe and is kid-friendly (our kids played giant chess while we waited for our pizza). I was really excited to eat there, but unfortunately, no one loved their meal. I would try it again but get something different next time.
Our kids saw The Escape Game while at the City Foundry and begged to do it! It was not on our agenda, but we ended up doing it and loving it! We chose Cosmic Crisis and escaped with less than a minute left! It was exhilarating! The escape room itself was really well done. Finch had never done an escape room before, and none of us had ever done one together. I was amazed at how well we worked together and how both kids solved puzzles that Eric and I struggled with. It felt like the next level of parenting that we can do this type of stuff with our kids.
Pro tip: Search for an online coupon or Groupon before you go!
DAY 2
On our first full day, we knew we wanted to check out the City Museum. This was the main attraction that made us pick St. Louis, and it’s quite an interesting place! I think the best way I’ve heard it described is an architectural playground. It would be very easy for kids to get lost, so you will want to stay with your kids, have a way to contact them, or stay in one place so they can come back to you when they’re done exploring. Our kids were almost too big for the small spaces and tunnels, so I would say it’s best for kids under 10 years of age.
Pro tips: Buy tickets and a parking pass online before you go, arrive right when they open, bring refillable water bottles, and have your kids wear knee pads and head lamps.
After six hours at the museum, we were ready to rest and swim at the hotel. Then we walked to Tacos 4 Life next door, which Rooney loved!
We loved the escape room so much the night before that we went back and did another one! This time we did Ruins, and we escaped again! I will definitely be looking for The Escape Game in other cities when we travel so we can try more of them!
DAY 3
After breakfast at the hotel, we drove to the World Chess Hall of Fame. St. Louis is the chess capital of the world, with several chess tables scattered around the city and the World’s Largest Chess Piece. Finch loves chess, so we knew we had to make this a stop. We spent two hours at the museum learning fun facts and playing chess, including three- and four-person chess. If you’re a chess fan, you might like to eat at Kingside Diner!
Next, we did two things we like to do when we are in a big city: Shake Shack and IKEA. It was fun to get some new things for the house! It was at this point in our trip that I could tell we were waning. We tend to go hard for the first two days and then start to drag. So, we ate dinner at Tacos 4 Life (again), then grabbed popcorn from the movie theater across the street and snuggled in to watch a movie in our hotel room.
DAY 4
We saved the best for last! Gateway Arch National Park was definitely my favorite part of the trip! The arch is beautiful, and beneath it is a museum. The gift shop is also fantastic!
We all decided to take the tram ride up to the top. If you get motion sickness, you might want to take medicine beforehand. I wish I had brought my neck fan, as the air movement was minimal in the elevator.
We arrived at 9:30 am, and it was not busy. It sounds like it gets busier as the day goes on. In total, we were there for 1.5 hours. Then we drove six hours home!
RECAP
We had a great trip! I think three nights and four days was the perfect amount of time. I wish the weather had been warmer so we could have visited the (free!) zoo, but we tried to stay indoors. I also have noticed that we tend to go hard the first day or two of our trips and then we lose steam, so we need to be better about building in rest on the front end.
One big reason we took this trip was for family bonding. We often travel with extended family and our kids have cousins to entertain them. While cousins are amazing and I am so thankful for them, we also want our kids to grow closer together with each other and create memories as a family unit.
It’s always important to remember, when traveling with kids, to keep expectations low. The kids will fight with each other, complain about certain activities, or ask to do more (or less) than you had planned or budgeted for.
One fun thing we did for our road trip was create a shared Spotify playlist that we could all add songs to. We listened to it nonstop and have continued to do so since returning home. We are excited to take more trips as a family!