University City, MO Road Trips

1 Delmar Loop. The vibrant Delmar Loop district is shared between St. Louis city and the inner suburb of University City. This culturally, ethnically, and economically diverse neighborhood is a popular area for college students and post-graduates to live and interact. The Loop is one main street of storefronts, restaurants, music venues, bookstores, and a great independent movie theatre. 2 Museum of Transportation, 2933 Barrett Station Road, Kirkwood, ☏ +1 314-965-6212. M-Sa 9AM-4PM, Su 11AM-4PM. Planes, trains, and automobiles! Take a step back into history and explore this unique collection of cars, locomotives, trolleys and airplanes. Train and trolley rides, guided tours, car shows and even boats are on offer here. Good fun for adults and kids alike. Rail and transit collections encompass more than 190 major exhibits, ranging from an 1833 Boston & Providence Railroad passenger coach and the largest successful steam locomotive ever built to a 6,600-hp, two-engine Union Pacific diesel #6944 (“Centennial”) built in 1971. $8/adult, additional $5/person for rides and $2/person for Creation Station.. (updated Apr 2016) 3 Laumeier Sculpture Park. Accredited by the American Association of Museums, Laumeier Sculpture Park is one of a handful of open-air museums around the world and a unique compliment to the cultural landscape of St. Louis. Free to all and well worth a visit. 4 Downtown Kirkwood. Kirkwood's newly developed downtown area contains many local shops and restaurants. Also located downtown are Kirkwood City Hall and Kirkwood's historic Amtrak station.

1 Sky Zone Fenton. , 2 Swing-A-Round Fenton. - located in Fenton 3 Sky Zone St. Louis. - located in Chesterfield 4 Six Flags St. Louis, ☏ +1 636-938-5300. An amusement park with 40 rides, including 9 roller coasters and a water park. $53 at the gate. 5 Hidden Valley Ski Resort, 17409 Hidden Valley Drive, ☏ +1 636-938-5373. A small ski area with 14 runs, 3 aerial lifts, and 3 surface lifts. Generally open in the months December to March. 6 Greentree Festival. Held every year in September in Kirkwood city park. At this festival are live band, arts and crafts, shops selling hand-crafted items, and many games and fun for kids. A staple of the festival is the addition of Folk Life which features folk crafts, foods, and displays showing what life was like nearly 250 years ago. 7 Westport Plaza. Over 18 restaurants, bars and entertainment spots in suburban St. Louis. 8 Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Opera festival every May and June at the Loretto-Hilton Center in Webster Groves. 9 Ryze Adventure Park, 12420 Grace Church Rd., Maryland Heights. An outdoor adventure park with climbing and other facilities. (updated Aug 2023) 10 Lone Elk County Park. 11 World Bird Sanctuary, 125 Bald Eagle Ridge Rd., Valley Park. 12 Castlewood State Park, 1401 Kiefer Creek Rd, Ballwin, ☏ +1 636-227-4433. A beautiful park with forested hills overlooking the Meramec River. There are extensive hiking trails, and it's a good place for a picnic. (updated May 2020) 13 Greensfelder County Park, 4515 Hencken Road, Wildwood. 8AM to 30 minutes past sunset.

BARcelona, 34 N Central, ☏ +1 314-863-9909. One of the best places in St. Louis for tapas, this place is great for large parties and hanging out with friends. One of the louder places in the city, expect a long wait - but it's worth it. City Coffeehouse and Crèperie, 36 N. Brentwood Blvd, ☏ +1 314-862-2489. Always busy and crowded for a reason. Best crèpes in the city - and about two dozen of them. A Clayton landmark. Benito's Gelato, 14 North Central Ave, ☏ +1 314-863-3366. A friendly staff and a colorful and chilled-out atmosphere only make the handmade gelato taste better. Try the blood orange and dark chocolate combination: yum. Pomme, 40 N Central, ☏ +1 314-727-4141. A very small, very intimate French restaurant. On the pricy side, this is a great place to have a romantic, elegant, amazingly delicious dinner in Clayton. Kaldi's Coffee, 700 Demun Ave, ☏ +1 314-727-9955. St. Louis's finest coffee roaster. Delicious vegetarian food, traditional espresso drinks, hand-brewed drip coffee, and a relaxed atmosphere. Chick-n-Elly's, 122A S. Central Ave, ☏ +1 636-938-6705. China King, 185 Hilltop Village Center, ☏ +1 636-587-7888. China Wok, 98 The Legends Parkway #100, ☏ +1 636-587-8288. Gibby's, 108 Hilltop Village Center Dr, ☏ +1 636-777-2333. Joe Boccardi's Ristorante, 128 Boccardi Lane, ☏ +1 636-938-6100. Michelle's Cafe, 104 S. Central Ave, ☏ +1 636-938-5595. O'Dell's Irish Pub, 141 Main St, ☏ +1 314-587-2552. Poor Richard's Restaurant, 108a Hilltop Village Center, ☏ +1 636-938-4666.

Eureka Wine House, 107 South Central, Eureka, ☏ +1 636-938-5411.

Hotels tend to be clustered near the Clayton business district, or near the airport. For each of these entries, the municipality in which the hotel is found (example: Clayton) is written after the address. Comfort Inn, 1320 Thornton St., Pacific, ☏ +1 636-257-4600, fax: +1 636-257-4601. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11AM. $80-110 (double). Quality Inn, 1400 West Osage St., Pacific, ☏ +1 636-257-8400, fax: +1 636-257-3112. $60-100 (doubles). 1 Super 8 Eureka/Six Flags, 1733 West 5th Street, Eureka (I-44 Exit 261). Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11AM. 2 Jellystone Park Campground, 5300 Fox Creek Rd, Eureka, ☏ +1 636-938-5925, toll-free: +1-800-861-3020, [email protected]. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11AM. $30-90 (basic campsite/cabin). Seven Gables Inn, 26 N Meramec St, Clayton. A historic Tudor-style boutique hotel offering 32 lodging accommodations and meeting space. Clayton Plaza Hotel, 7750 Carondelet Ave, Clayton (3 blocks from Clayton Metrolink station), ☏ +1 314-726-5400, toll-free: +1-844-615-5557, [email protected]. Rooms equipped with fridge, microwave and coffee maker. Restaurant offers an extensive free breakfast buffet. Pool and fitness center. Hotel bus offers free rides to the airport and nearby attractions. (updated Sep 2016) 3 Holiday Inn, 4901 Six Flags Rd., Pacific, ☏ +1 636-938-6661. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11AM. Westport Plaza Sheraton, 900 Westport Plaza, Maryland Heights, ☏ +1 314-878-1500. Well-appointed, full-service Sheraton hotel. Candlewood Suites, 3250 Rider Trail South, Earth City, ☏ +1 314-770-2744.

1 Lambert St. Louis International Airport (STL IATA) is the largest airport serving St. Louis, with annual passenger traffic of approximately 13 million people. The airport is 14 miles northwest of the city center and is directly served by the MetroLink light rail line. A 2-hour MetroLink transfer ticket costs $4 from the airport. Uber vehicles are not allowed to pick up at the airport, although they may drop off passengers. 2 Spirit of St. Louis Airport (SUS IATA). Serves charter and cargo flights only. 3 Creve Coeur Airport (FAA LID: 1HO). Serves charter and cargo flights only. It has a large collection of flying antique aircraft as well as the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum.

For the most part, public transportation in St. Louis County is not a viable option. Bus routes are slow, sparse, and infrequent. So unless you are willing to do a lot of waiting and walking, you need a car. However, a few central locations are located near light rail (MetroLink) stops, particularly the Delmar Loop, downtown Clayton, and the Galleria shopping mall. MetroLink is a fast, comfortable, and relatively frequent way of getting around. 1 Clayton. The county seat of St. Louis County, Clayton has an important downtown business district that is also home to several hotels, many coffeehouses, and upscale dining. It is one of the older suburbs of St. Louis, and has many large early 20th-century homes wonderfully preserved by old-monied families, while the area's nouveau riche help keep the area trendy. It has a great school system and is home to the main campus of Washington University. Clayton begins where Forest Park ends on the west. Delmar Loop/University City - Located just north of Clayton and beginning at the northwest edge of Forest Park/Washington University is this culturally, ethnically, and economically diverse neighborhood of St. Louis. One of the more liberal areas of the region, it is a popular area for college students and post-graduates to live and interact. "The Loop" (a.k.a. Delmar Blvd) itself is one main street of storefronts, restaurants, hotels, music venues, and bookstores. West County - Includes most areas west of Clayton, especially upper-class neighborhoods like Frontenac, Ladue, Huntleigh, Town and Country, and Creve Coeur.

The southern and western parts of St. Louis County are mostly well-off suburbs which are as safe as anywhere around. However, some of the northern suburbs, particularly those adjacent to north St. Louis City, have high poverty and crime rates. In University City, the area north of Olive Boulevard is best avoided, particularly at night. Further north, the suburbs of Wellston and Pagedale are very dangerous and should never be visited on foot. However, there is little reason for visitors to go to any of these areas. In 2014, the suburb of Ferguson was subject to sporadic but considerably dangerous rioting, protesting, and other violence over the Michael Brown death. However, by 2016 things were quiet again. Although most of Kirkwood is quite safe, the Meacham Park neighborhood (the area between I-44, Kirkwood Road and Big Bend Road) should be avoided after dark. Meacham Park has had a number of shootings. This small neighborhood is one of the few dangerous areas in the south or west of the county.