Gateway Arch Nat’l Park – The Ride To The Top

Our busy day at the Gateway Arch National Park continued. Time for a ride to the top….

Being somewhat claustrophobic, Rob was a little nervous because there was a replica of one of the pods – they looked pretty small and cramped, but supposedly able to seat up to 5 people (must be pretty small ones). Envision a round, five foot diameter porta-potty that you can’t even fully stand up in, then cram five people into it!

Our tram was supposed to leave from the leg on the North Side but they had the North Side shut down, so we were told to go to the South Side. Also there was no 11:30 a.m. as booked on our ticket, so instead they allowed us to take the 11:25 a.m. tram. Once in the queue, we were given green boarding passes for tram #7. I kiddingly asked the guide not to put anyone else in that tram so we would have more room – yippee she agreed! Whew!

The trams are unique and one of a kind. Not really an elevator, not really a train and not really a Ferris wheel, but they contain elements of all of those. Like a Ferris wheel they need to rotate 155 degrees to stay level as they progress up the curve of the arch. They are like a train in that there is a series of eight tram cars that are connected together, and like an elevator in that they are pulled up and let down by a cable.

The doors into the tram car are only 4′ high, so you have to duck low to enter. It’s a four minute ride up and a 3 minute ride down. Rob was fully concentrating on taking a video and noticing all of the pipes, cables, etc. on the way up in an effort to ward off his claustrophobic tendencies. Once we reached the highest point the doors opened. Since we were in car #7 we were close to the end of the “train” and therefore near the lowest point and had to walk up a few flights of stairs to get to the top. It was difficult to walk – the arch was swaying a tad due to the wind.

Here are a few interesting facts – the Arch is the nation’s tallest monument at 630 feet and is as wide as it is tall. It is 75 feet taller than the Washington Monument and almost twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty.

The windows are only about 4″ x 17″ – anything bigger than that wouldn’t withstand the pressure. Cool views!

We were only allowed to be there for 10 minutes. Good thing, with it swaying in the wind, it was a little disconcerting! It was enough to see all the views of the city. We rode the same car down that we rode up.