News Release

National Park Service Updates Methodology for Counting Visitors at Gateway Arch National Park

Date: November 21, 2023
Contact: Pam Sanfilippo, 314-655-1634
Contact: Lindsay Pattan, Pattan & Co., 314-620-0023

Following a study of park visitation in 2021 and 2022, the National Park Service (NPS) adopted a more precise and accurate way to estimate visitors to Gateway Arch National Park, which includes the Gateway Arch Visitor Center, Museum at the Arch, the Old Courthouse, and the park grounds. The park had not significantly updated visitor counting methodology in decades, and new technologies allow for more accurate estimation of visitation to the park grounds.  

The two-year study used location-based mobile device data to track visitors’ movement throughout the park. This type of technology is important because Gateway Arch National Park has numerous access points and a variety of recreational use patterns, making traditional counting methods challenging.  

“We have long suspected that we were undercounting visitors on the park grounds, and I am pleased that we now have a more accurate way of counting how many people are enjoying the park,” said Jeremy Sweat, Superintendent of Gateway Arch National Park. “Before the CityArchRiver renovations, most of the park was separated from Downtown St. Louis by the Interstate. One of the main goals of that project was to connect the park with the local community and it’s great to see so many visitors recreating and enjoying special events on the park grounds.” 

The previous counting methodology, based on visitor use surveys from the 1990s, assumed that for every 4 visitors who enter the visitor center, there is one additional visitor on the park grounds that did not enter the visitor center. Based on mobile device data over a 24-month period in 2021 and 2022, the study found that for every visitor who entered the visitor center, there were an additional 1.1 visitors to the park that did not enter the visitor center. The study’s methodology went through academic peer review and was approved by the NPS Social Science Program. This new, more accurate methodology will likely result in higher visitation numbers for 2023, but the final annual visitation results will not be released until 2024, when all of the prior year’s numbers have been reviewed and finalized. 

For the most up-to-date visitor counts for Gateway Arch National Park, click here. For more information about Gateway Arch National Park, visit nps.gov/jeff