For spring break this year, we decided to go to St. Louis and I’m so glad we did! We live in the Madison, WI area, making a road trip extremely manageable (only 5 hours!). We wanted a Midwest destination with plenty of activities to do with kids and where the temperature would be slightly warmer. St. Louis was the perfect spot. I would highly recommend St. Louis to anyone with kids.

Stay

The hotel we stayed at was the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch. If you want to stay close to the Arch, there is no better location because it is just steps away. But if a pool is mandatory for your stay, be warned, this hotel does NOT have a pool. This fact actually worked in our favor as one of our children was not allowed to swim for a few months following a medical procedure.

Tip: This location DOES offer the Hyatt Family Plan Rate (1/2 off a second room). The second room can only be paid in cash (not points) and you do need to call to get it. You may need to talk to multiple people before you reach someone who knows what they are talking about. The first reservation person I spoke with had absolutely no idea about this program. The second person was extremely helpful and knowledgeable.

Our family of six no longer fits in a single room so we got two adjoining rooms which worked out perfectly. We stayed for four nights. I thought that was the perfect amount of time to be in St. Louis.

Wednesday

On Wednesday, we drove from Madison to St. Louis, stopping in Kickapoo Creek Park to eat our packed lunches and to get some wiggles out on the playground and hiking trails.

After arriving in St. Louis, we checked in, got settled, and headed to Union Station.

Union Station

Union Station has restaurants, an aquarium, a Ferris wheel, mini golf, a carousel, and more.

For dinner, we ate at the Soda Fountain. The food was underwhelming, but the atmosphere was fun. I ordered a special shake for the family to share which the kids enjoyed very much.

Then the majority of the family (we had one scared child) took the Ferris wheel around five times to see the sights from up high.

The koi fish in the large water feature in the middle of Union Station were a big hit.

We didn’t go to the aquarium as it was closed by the time we arrived. In hindsight, I’m glad we didn’t pay for it because we saw plenty of fish and aquatic animals throughout the rest of our trip at various places (Zoo, Science Center, and City Museum).

If you are limited on time, I don’t think Union Station is a St. Louis must-do.

Thursday

Being that it was a rainy day, museums were on the docket.

Science Center

The Science Center was busy and loud (also free except for parking!). It had floors of very cool exhibits for kids to enjoy. We spent the entire morning exploring from dinosaurs to bugs, LEGOS to electricity experiments, and more – there was so much to do.

Next, we walked across the bridge to the Planetarium (neat but small).

I had planned on having a lovely picnic lunch and playground time in Forest Park but a downpour canceled those plans. Instead, our packed lunches were eaten in the car on the drive over to the History Museum.

History Museum

I thought the children were going to like the Science Center a lot more than the History Museum but I was wrong. The History Museum is fantastic and it’s free!

The children’s area (History Clubhouse) has multiple areas to play in, many focusing on the 1904 World’s Fair. My kids played there for hours. In fact, I explored the museum’s other exhibits with my oldest while my husband stayed with our three younger kids in the Clubhouse. The 1904 World’s Fair exhibit was fascinating and I learned a ton.

Gateway Arch

The Gateway Arch is certainly the main tourist attraction for most visitors to St. Louis.

Tip: Look into buying your Arch tickets well in advance of your trip. Days and times sell out, especially during popular vacation times. When I went to purchase tickets a week or so before our trip, all of the mornings were completely sold out and just a few afternoon timeslots were left.

Go early before your assigned time to go up the Arch because there is a great museum to check out once you go through security. I regret not allowing us more time to check out everything the museum had to offer. I felt a little rushed to make our timeslot.

Once you check in for your allotted time, you will wait in line again. Then there is a video and a spiel by the tour guide. Then you and your group will get in your pod to ride up to the Arch.

I wasn’t sure how scary it was going to be for my kids but it wasn’t scary at all. The pod is like a tiny elevator you can sit down in. My family of six fit into one pod because our toddler was allowed to sit on my husband’s lap.

At the top, we had about 10 minutes to look through the windows and take pictures. I think going up to the Arch is worth it. A unique experience.

From the Arch we walked to dinner.

The Old Spaghetti Factory

For a family-friendly dining experience head to The Old Spaghetti Factory. You get a three-course meal that ends with a dish of yummy ice cream. No one leaves hungry.

The restaurant has a neat vibe with a trolley car in the middle of the dining room for some guests to dine in. Plus, we received a commemorative glass to take home at the end of our meal.

Friday

Thankfully, the weather changed and we got a full day of sun and high temps (80!) for a day at the zoo.

Zoo

The Saint Louis Zoo is free but parking is not. I would highly recommend getting to the zoo early as getting into the parking lots is a bit of a nightmare and seems to continue to be throughout the entire day. This could be because it was spring break and a great weather day, but still – arrive early.

This zoo is wonderful. There is a large variety of animals, it’s clean and well-maintained.

We did buy the all-day train tickets. I’m torn about whether I would recommend this. The train is fun and you can ride it with on-off privileges as many times as you want. BUT, waiting in line to get on the train can take a long time. It’s your call if you think the price and possible wait time is worth it.

Our family goes to zoos all the time and we’ve been to a number of them. I can say the St. Louis Zoo is one of the better ones I’ve been to and would go again.

There is currently construction where a new children’s area is going to open (I believe in 2026). That is going to be a great addition.

For food, we brought in our packed lunches and then didn’t want to wait in line for treats at the end of the day so we headed a short drive away to . . .

Clementine’s

Wow, the ice cream at Clementine’s is delicious. I had the gooey butter cake and it is one of the best flavors I’ve ever had in my life. Worth every penny.

Salt + Smoke

For dinner, we walked from our hotel to Salt + Smoke.

Tip: While waiting for your table to be ready, walk down the sidewalk and have the kids run around the plaza.

Again, I wasn’t overly impressed by the food. It was fine. St. Louis food in general, I found to be lacking but we were with our young kids and not trying any fancy places. Maybe in the future we’ll have to come back and try some nicer establishments.

Saturday

For this day, the family split up into two groups. I took the two older kids (ages 6 and 8) to City Museum while my husband took the two younger kids (ages 2 and 4) to the Children’s Museum. I knew from reading other “mom blogs” that I would be stressed out the entire time if my younger kids were at City Museum. My 4-year-old is a runner and he would have gotten lost within the first three minutes of arriving.

Rooster

Since my husband took the littles in the car, the bigs and I walked to Rooster for breakfast. We had crepes (a little thick but good) and an egg sandwich (wonderful!).

The restaurant was the perfect location between our hotel and City Museum. It’s family-family, the portions are well-sized, and it has a cheery decor to start your morning.

City Museum

Probably our kids’ favorite place of the entire trip. City Museum is wild! There are slides and climbing apparatuses everywhere you look. Each floor has different rooms with different themes.

There is an aquarium section, an area with ramps and ropes, a castle, a treehouse, etc. You can take a slide and end up on a totally different floor.

Tip: Pick a meeting place immediately in case you and your child(ren) get separated. Many places are dark. Slides and stairs take you all over the place. It is very common to be split up. Even when my girls tried to stay together, they constantly took different paths.

My children wore long pants and didn’t need knee pads. Some kids did have headlamps (I don’t think they’re necessary unless you have a kid afraid of the dark).

We spent many hours at City Museum. Unfortunately, the outside area was closed the day we went due to rain but that didn’t dampen the fun we had.

I would NOT bring young kids who can’t get to a meet-up spot on their own if they get lost. The toddler section is small and not worth it. If you have a toddler, instead, take them to The Magic House.

The Magic House Children’s Museum

Our two younger children spent the day at The Magic House and had the best time. We’ve been to many different children’s museums over the years and this one is wonderful. The fact that it entertained my kids all day means it’s a winner!

The kids got to play with vehicles, an outdoor maze, storybook areas, and much more.

Mellow Mushroom

On their way back to the hotel, my husband picked up pizza from Mellow Mushroom. We were all pretty beat and pizza in bed with a movie sounded like the perfect way to end a fun-filled day.

Sunday

Before we got in the car to head back to Wisconsin for another 5-hour-long car ride, we needed to burn off some energy (and get closer to nap time).

Missouri Botanical Garden

We went to the Missouri Botanical Garden and headed straight to the Children’s Garden. What an amazing place! There are slides and ropes, rocks to climb, sand to dig, and many different areas to play in. It is adorable and wore our kids out.

After a couple of hours in the Children’s Garden, it started to rain so we quickly headed inside to the Climatron and looked at the beautiful plants and flowers. Right before entering the Climatron is another cool educational spot for kids where we spent a significant amount of time.

My only regret is that we weren’t able to spend more time walking the gardens before we had to get on the road. I think visiting the gardens later in the season when more is blooming would be really neat to see.

Then we picked up Jimmy John’s and got on the road.

All in all, St. Louis is the perfect Midwest destination for a quick spring break trip with tons to do for families with young kids.

Interested in more Midwest destinations? Check out a few of our other travels;

• Twin Cities weekend
• Door County