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flintsters's avatar
flintsters
Explorer
Feb 05, 2018

Driving in St. Louis?

I made reservations at 370 Lakeside Park in St. Charles as a stopping point for our cross country trip this summer and plan to spend a day or 2 exploring St.Louis before heading out to Colorado. When thinking about it, if we stay at Lakeside Park it looks like we're at best we'll have a 40 minute drive each way or we can drive to a train station (20 minutes) and ride for another 30ish minutes. St. Louis RV Park is right downtown and looks like we could walk to City Museum or take a quick Uber to the Arch. Staying downtown would help keep our kids out of the truck a little, which I'm expecting they'll be ready for at that point (driving from Vermont). My concern is driving with a 34 foot travel trailer right into downtown St. Louis. I have read all of the reviews about St. Louis RV Park but none of them talk about the drive in or out of there, just their time inside the park (which is really just a parking lot with a pool....it's all about location). The reviews for 370 Lakeside are outstanding so perhaps I'd be best just to stick with what I have. Thoughts? Help save me from myself!!!!!!
  • Another vote for the Casino Queen campground, we visited there with our full size Kenworth and 40' 5th wheel, no problem getting in or out to the interstate and having the security take us to and from the train station saved us unloading the Smart car off to drive around.
  • I can't tell you about any parks but I can say that at times driving through St Louis can be trying. I have made the trip both ways for the last ten years and if there is construction pay attention. Also try not to head west as the sun is setting because I70 drives right into the sun.
  • We frequent St Louis quite a bit for weekend trips coming from KC. We have stayed at many different RV parks but my favorite is 370 Lakeside.
    It's large, spread out, lots of space between RV's, super easy to get to, and tons of stuff for the kids. Maybe someone from the area can correct me but I thought St Charles was only maybe a 25 drive to down town St. Louis.
  • I would suggest the Casino Queen RV Park if the things you want to see are near metro stops (and lots of things are). We have stayed there and it is, as others have said, kind of a glorified parking lot with full hook-ups. But, customer service was great. Security vans will shuttle you back and forth between the adjacent metro station or the casino. We rode the metro across the river to visit Ballpark Village and historical sites.

  • Matt_Colie wrote:
    Flintsters
    I have three things for you to look up.
    The RV Park at Casino Queen RV Park across the river. I am told it is not a bad park, but we seem to go through there when it is not open. But the lot has a great place to dry camp.

    Look at maps because that park is walking distance to the Tunerville Trolly that will take you into St. Louis. You will be looking right at the arch and the Museum of Western Expansion. (Plan half a day.) You don't have to fire up the truck and then find a place to park.

    As you are traveling with kids, maybe even if not, look up Chahokia Mounds State Park. This is worth a half a day even if you don't go through the grounds. The might be a better stop on the way in as it is off I-55. Most people don't know that there were First People's cities as large as London of the same period.

    To be completely honest, Chahokia is what started us paying attention of historic mounds in the country. We were amazed.

    Matt


    I'll echo what Matt posted- we stayed at the Casino Queen RV Park. To be honest, it's little more than a parking lot with stone between the sites and expensive for what it is ($50/night back in 2015). But honestly, I'd stay there again- we took the train to the Arch (using the casino's shuttle to get us from the RV park to the train stop).

    And, we went out to Cahokia Mounds. We had a little trouble keeping our then 3 year old interested but he liked the million steps. I'm still mesmerized that they built these huge mounts one backpack of dirt at a time.

    We drove to the St. Louis Zoo. It's free to get in, though there is a cost for a couple of things inside (like the train ride). We had a good day there, though.

    Here are pictures from our stay, including some shots of the RV Park, view of the arch from the camper, our sight-seeing, and some random geyser thing that is nearby.

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/dougsetzer/albums/72157657959389616

    For the OP- if it were me, for a 2-day stay, I wouldn't want a 40 minute commute to go sight-seeing. If there is a RV park in the center of the city, I'm sure you can get to it. Maybe check RVParkReviews to see if anyone commented about difficulty in getting to it.
  • If you don't want to drive downtown from St Charles then consider the Casino Queen RV Park. It's in E St Louis. Full hook ups. It's not dry camp. You definitely won't want to be driving around E St Louis but the Casino Queen is right off I-55 exit so you're not really driving thru ESL. A lot easier to get to than the St Louis RV Park, a lot less traffic. Just outside the Casino Queen is the metro which crosses the Mississippi River and drops off at several places in the downtown area. The view of St Louis at night is pretty good from the Casino Queen. You'd be right across the river from the Arch. You will also see a lot of river traffic. If barge traffic is moving you'll see a lot of it.
    If you can avoid pulling your 32 ft trailer thru St Louis you'll be happier. It can get kind of nuts. Rush hours definitely not and if there's a crash on any of the interstates thru town you can be in a real mess in short order. If the Cards are playing in town it's going to be backed up on the interstates but particularly side streets.
    You could spend a couple of days downtown St Louis at the Arch, Museum, Budweiser Brewery, Grants Farm, Zoo, Busch Stadium. A lot to see in the area. Cahokia Mounds is interesting and something kids should see.
    Lots of history in that area.
  • Flintsters
    I have three things for you to look up.
    The RV Park at Casino Queen RV Park across the river. I am told it is not a bad park, but we seem to go through there when it is not open. But the lot has a great place to dry camp.

    Look at maps because that park is walking distance to the Tunerville Trolly that will take you into St. Louis. You will be looking right at the arch and the Museum of Western Expansion. (Plan half a day.) You don't have to fire up the truck and then find a place to park.

    As you are traveling with kids, maybe even if not, look up Chahokia Mounds State Park. This is worth a half a day even if you don't go through the grounds. The might be a better stop on the way in as it is off I-55. Most people don't know that there were First People's cities as large as London of the same period.

    To be completely honest, Chahokia is what started us paying attention of historic mounds in the country. We were amazed.

    Matt
  • The few times I have been in downtown St.Louis proper it has not been all that bad really. I would avoid it in rush hour times though if you are pulling the trailer at that time. The Interstates through STL can be crazy. Just remember that you are bigger and most people will move for you to let you go where you need to go.

    I would call the park and ask the best route to take into them.

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