How well did visitation at Gateway Arch, other sites bounce back from COVID closures?
The Gateway Arch National Park welcomed more than a million visitors in 2021, a strong rebound for tourism after COVID-related closures the year prior.
The site, located on N. Fourth Street in St. Louis, welcomed 1,145,081 visitors last year, according to the NPS annual visitation report released Feb. 16. The park ranked 68th in the nation for visitation and was one of 73 sites to crack a million visits for the calendar year.
The so-called “Gateway to the West” stands as a monument to former President Thomas Jefferson’s 1803 Louisiana Purchase and westward American expansion. Importantly, it also commemorates the lives of Dred and Harriet Scott, an enslaved couple who sued for their freedom in a landmark case eventually decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1857. Site attractions include a tram to the top of the 630-foot arch, the Old Courthouse Museum and riverboat cruises.
The park reached peak visitation after the completion of the arch itself in 1965. The following year, more than 3 million people visited, and in 1966, the park saw record visitation with 4.6 million visits, according to NPS data. The park has never reached the 4 million mark again, but maintained more than a million visitors – often far more – annually through 2019.
Tourism to the site plummeted in 2020 when the park closed in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic. At the time, the grounds remained open, but the attractions, like the arch tram and the Old Courthouse, were shuttered. In June 2020, the park began a phased reopening, though the Old Courthouse remains closed for renovations.
Since 1942, Gateway Arch National Park has hosted more than 141.9 million visits.
Other NPS sites in the metro-east area and greater Illinois attracted far fewer recreation visits in 2021.
The Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, Illinois, tallied 89,964 visitors last year, ranking 224th overall in the park system. The site includes the only home ever owned by President Abraham Lincoln, as well as several other buildings.
That site’s visitation also rebounded from pandemic closures last year, welcoming 62,220 more visitors than in 2020, though not returning to its pre-coronavirus popularity.
Also in the St. Louis area, the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site was visited by 27,823 individuals, pulling up at the 289th most-visited NPS holding. That’s up from 15,236 visitors in 2020.
The 9.65-acre historic site, also known as White Haven, was the home of the 18th president, his family and enslaved individuals who worked the larger plantation.
Several NPS holdings in Illinois or crossing the state were not included in the visitation report, including Pullman National Monument, the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail and the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.
The 2021 annual visitor spending report has not yet been released, but according to the NPS, visitors to national parks in Illinois spent an estimated $1.7million in gateway communities in 2020, supporting 123 jobs. For Missouri, home to Gateway Arch and 12 other NPS holdings, that spending came in at $127 million, enabling 2,050 jobs.
Across the entire park system, visitation in 2021 was up by about 25% from the prior year, with the Blue Ridge Parkway leading with 15.9 million visitors. That site and two others — Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Golden Gate National Recreation Area — all exceeded 10 million recreational visits over the calendar year. The NPS credits much of the overall system increase to shifting COVID-19 protocols and the reopening of some attractions.
“It’s wonderful to see so many Americans continuing to find solace and inspiration in these incredible places during the second year of the pandemic,” NPS Director Chuck Sams said in a release announcing the visitation report. “We’re happy to see so many visitors returning to iconic parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite, but there are hundreds more that should be on everyone’s bucket list. Whatever experience you’re looking for in 2022, national parks are here to discover.”
This story was originally published February 27, 2022 at 9:00 AM.