Missouri Fall Magic- Spectacular Cathedrals and Caves in St. Louis!

St. Louis Attractions!

There are lots of things that people think of when they think of St. Louis, MO.- the Gateway Arch… great barbeque… the Mississippi River… the zoo… Things that probably don’t pop as quickly into people’s minds are the cathedrals, botanic gardens, or the nearby caves. Luckily for you, readers, I enjoyed these attractions the most during our visit to the St. Louis area.

The “Normal” attractions

Of course I visited the most well-known attraction in the area. The Gateway Arch is amazing. It is so huge that it is hard to take it all in. The museum underneath, which chronicles the history of St. Louis as well as a description of why and how the arch was built is very well done. I had to chuckle a bit at the airport style security that each visitor has to endure when wanting to enter the museum, but that in no way took away from what the museum had to offer. The exhibits covered everything from the French vs. United States’ treatment of the native peoples and women to the death of the riverboat industry. It was very informative and well worth the time spent there.

I am a chicken who is super afraid of heights, so I didn’t take the tram up to the top of the arch, but standing outside along the river is pretty awe-inspiring and definitely something I recommend for anyone traveling to St. Louis for the first time.

Now for the slightly less… normal

The Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis is also a pretty amazing attraction that I highly recommend plant lovers visit when they are in the area. While I was there, they had a Chihuly glass exhibit installed throughout the garden. I love his work and have seen it at the Denver Botanical Garden. It is always fun to see how they install each of the pieces of glass to create the amazing plant and glass landscapes throughout the garden.

One of the coolest things about the Missouri Botanical Garden is the giant Japanese garden that is installed there. The paths of this garden meander along a peaceful rock garden with bonsai trees and pagodas. I could have wandered through the garden for much longer, but alas, they were close to closing time. There is always next time, though!

Finally, the offbeat attractions!

If you have been reading and watching us for very long, you know that we are not fans of touristy places and much prefer the quiet, off-the-beaten path places when we travel. These next attractions are most definitely that!

St. Francis de Sales Oratory in St. Louis, MO

An attraction that I was most excited to see in the St. Louis area was the St. Francis de Sales Oratory. Built in the late 1860’s by German immigrants who had settled in the area, the cathedral is called the “Cathedral of South St. Louis” by locals because it is so huge! It is the only remaining church using German Gothic-style architecture in the St. Louis area and boasts a 300 ft. tall spire, 130 ft. long nave, and 50 ft. tall altar.

When you walk in, you are immediately engulfed in a sense of holiness and peace. You can definitely sense that God is present. I went to see the beautiful old German architecture, and left having felt the presence of God that day. It was such a beautiful and humbling experience. My only regret is that I was not able to attend mass, which is performed in Latin. Most people would happily skip that part, but as a musician who studied and sang the Latin mass in college, there is nothing more beautiful to me than a well done Latin mass setting.

Thankfully, the cathedral was given to the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. They have been charged with the upkeep and renovation of the building as well as the authority to hold mass there. So, the next time we are in the St. Louis area, I will definitely be visiting during a mass.

Bonus Cathedral!

While in the St. Louis area, I also visited the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. Work started in the early 1900’s, but the Basilica took 80 years to complete! Part of the reason for this are the ornate mosaics that cover almost every inch of the Cathedral. They were completed by local artisans and depict various scenes from the Bible. While this cathedral was absolutely beautiful, there were lots of visitors there. It was still an amazing place to visit and I recommend it to anyone who is visiting the St. Louis area.

And Finally… the Caves near St. Louis!

We stayed at Meramec State Park, which is about an hour outside of St. Louis. We chose to stay here because we had heard great things about the park, and it definitely didn’t disappoint! The campground sits on the banks of the Meramec River and has fishing, boating, and over 13 miles of hiking trails. The one we took, Walking Fern trail, led us past several caves. It was a great fall hike- beautiful scenery, the leaves crunching under our feet and the smell of fall in the crisp air. It was a memorable way to spend an afternoon in the St. Louis area and definitely made our Missouri fall a bit more magical.

We will have a hike-a-long video of our hike in Meramec State Park coming out soon. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the preview that we included in this video.

For more fun with Traveling with Terriers, please check out our other Travel-A-Long Adventures, Behind-the-Scenes Blogs, relaxing Drive-A-Longs, and our Top 5 Tips and Tricks. Just in time for the holidays, our brand new Merch Store is open! Visit it to find Traveling with Terriers apparel, swag, and our newly released book available now on Amazon! Until next time, happy traveling!