St. Louis is known for it’s melting pot culture and variety of things to do in the lou. However, in all of my years here in this awesome town, I have never ridden the Riverboats down by the Gateway Arch. That is until a few weekends ago. The chance to ride the riverboats with my family came across my email with the added bonus of brunch! In our house there is nothing better than eating breakfast for lunch, except maybe breakfast for dinner, but I think that’s an entirely different post.
So the opportunity came about for my family and I to take a ride on the Riverboats at The Gateway Arch and enjoy a delicious Sunday Brunch. We were extra excited because the day of this event was also our baby girls birthday! So we got the chance to take her on an unique experience riding the Mississippi river near downtown St. Louis! How cool is that?
I don’t want to go into all of the details of our visit but I will offer up a few tidbits of information that will help your Riverboat experience go smooth sailing (fyi, it’s not a sailboat lol).
For starters, plan ahead, figure out your route and where you will park. Be sure you have plenty of time to make it to the boat. It will leave without you. We parked in a parking garage by Laclede’s landing, however there is parking a lot closer as well on the cobblestone road right next to the river. So be sure to plan accordingly.
If you have plenty of extra time, check out the new Gateway Arch Museum. It is worth a visit. There is a lot of St. Louis history packed into that space that is full of interaction and information!
There is a photo service provided by the Riverboat crew that you can purchase a print of when you arrive back to the dock. The crew will get your photo when you board and the prints are ready when you get back. Pretty cool memento!
Since this was a brunch we made sure we checked out the menu posted on GatewayArch.com before our arrival. This way we knew what we wanted and could prepare if the kiddos weren’t having any of it. They enjoyed the french toast and ham and other goodies that were available in the buffet. A good tip to know is that water, tea, and a few select juices are included in your meal, soda and other alcoholic beverages are an additional cost. So be sure to bring cash or your card if you are wanting any of those amenities.
After eating you can check out the dixie music playing, or head out on top of the boat to scope out the beautiful St. Louis scenery. Yeah, there is some graffiti on the big wall, but if you’re an artist like me you can appreciate some of the work that went into those pieces.
A nice ride down the mighty Mississippi is quite calming and relaxing and the Riverboats really do help provide that comfort you may need to beat the heat downtown. A nice meal, beautiful sites, and some nice A/C is sometimes all you need to make your day amazing!
Curious to learn about some other experiences? Check out STLMotherhood’s post about her visit on the Riverboats as well! St. Louis Dad and family even make a cameo in one of her photos! See if you can spot us! So be sure to reserve your tickets online! Tickets are $45 for adults, $18 for kids 3-12 and free for children under 2.
The boats are docked at the foot of the Gateway Arch. Stop by the ticket office to pick up your tickets by 12:30 — the boat will leave without you at 1pm!
St. Louis Dad was provided complimentary tickets to a Sunday Brunch on the Gateway Arch Riverboats in exchange for this blog post.
Discover more from St. Louis Dad
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.
