This Unexpected National Park In The Midwest Is Rated The Safest In America

Missouri's is the safest U.S. national park, according to a 2024 analysis by the outdoor clothing company Kühl. The urban park, formerly called Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, to reflect its central landmark, the in St. Louis. That landmark is also the state's most-visited tourist attraction. It was designed by architect Eero Saarinen to be the , encompassing 91 acres in . However, as the National Park Service notes, the Arch has become so famous that it's eclipsed the surrounding park in public awareness. Some may think of it as a city landmark without realizing it's also part of one of America's

What makes Gateway Arch National Park's rating in Kühl's new safety index so unexpected is that, just five years ago, St. Louis ranked as the , based on national crime data from the FBI. The city rang in the 2020s with its  and an annual report by MoneyGeek (via Forbes) pegged it as the  in both 2020 and 2021.

For many travelers, the image of a national park might be somewhere in the great outdoors, where you can escape the hustle and bustle of the city and not have to worry about crime. Yet Gateway Arch's urban location puts it near city hospitals. That's one of the very things that in the safety index.

A high ratio of park rangers to visitors and a low number of deaths and missing persons are among the other factors that help Gateway Arch National Park rate safest in Kühl's index. The grounds of the Arch itself cover , with the other 30-plus acres being dedicated to adjacent facilities like the Old Courthouse (currently closed for a ). Contrast this with America's , the Grand Canyon, which doubles as the in the index. The Grand Canyon occupies over in Arizona, so it's spread out across a much wider area than the Gateway Arch.

Simply put, there's much less ground to cover around the Arch for both tourists and emergency personnel. Frequent trail closures and search and rescue missions — two factors contributing to the Grand Canyon's rating — aren't as much of an issue when you're dealing with under 100 acres in St. Louis. , falls are also the leading cause of death in national parks, followed by medical issues, drownings, and vehicle crashes. While the Grand Canyon's natural features are undeniably beautiful, its steep trails and the waters of the Colorado River can also be hazardous for and . The Ferris wheel-style  up to the observation deck in the Arch might feel vertigo-inducing, but there are windows at the top, so you don't have to worry about falling from an open-air height.

For those still on the fence about visiting Gateway Arch National Park, it's worth noting that St. Louis began 2024 with its  in 10 years. It's or even its . The safety index also puts the odds of a fatality happening on the Arch grounds or in any U.S. national park at 1 in 664,099. Citing National Safety Council statistics, it stresses that you're more likely to fall off a ladder or get hit by a car while walking than to die in a national park. What's more, you have a greater chance of being among the 1 in 3,407 people who live to be 100 than dying in a national park.

Even if you just stick to the surrounding downtown area, the Gateway Arch could be an essential stop-off on a riverside road trip route across 10 states. Peaking at 630 feet, the Arch is considered when distinguished from buildings. It's the city as a gateway for expansion into the West after the Louisiana Purchase.

You can learn more about the park's history in its . When the Old Courthouse , you can also see the historic site where the enslaved  started his . If nothing else, your chances of getting lost or hurt in the middle of nowhere are way lower in Gateway Arch than in other national parks.