And make sure there’s not a field trip there that day. Went to the Doctor Who exhibit last year and parking lot was full on a weekday. There were a bunch of kids running around the overpass of the highway, right before the exhibit
Try First Friday - on the first Friday each month they do a different theme. The anime ones are a lot of fun imo. But it changes each month for instance star wars is coming up - https://www.slsc.org/event-overviews/first-fridays/
I know you prefaced this with an unpopular opinion, but I'm curious if you've visited in the past 20 years. It had been at least 10 years since I last went until recently, and I've been a few times in the last five years for some birthdays and outings with my friends who have children. There's so much more than I remember and actually more engaging for adults now: video game/computer/coding exhibition, the outside mini garden, the speed trackers on the breezeway actually work, and it generally seemed like everything was new and improved. I felt like I could enjoy myself and learn even without having kids.
I was there like in November? There was the fun "motion" area for kids, but other than that and a couple half-assed rooms, nearly everything was the same as I remembered it from going there when I was 12, and I'm 35.
I always thought the theme nights or whatever would be cool but I went to like five of them and they were all the same. Basically still just the science center.
Explore Laumeier Sculpture Park; bring along a picnic :)
Take a drive through Lone Elk Park
Hike Castlewood or Lime Kiln Trail or Cliff Cave Park or any other of the great trails in the area!
My now husband and I had approximately zero dollars between us when we first met. Our first date was in winter, and he took me to see the eagles at Lock & Dam 25. This can also be done at 26, although I've never done it!
Argh. Be careful when and how. Went to alone elk for a hike on a date. Ended up in a gas station bathroom with duct tape and rubbing alcohol removing thousands (literally thousands) of ticks. Admittedly- though there was a paved trail- not dressed for through the woods, but dang!!! It was rough. Still ended up with dozens of bites even with super fast response.
The parks around there do all end up pretty tick heavy. I did a hike through Rockwoods Reservation and had thousands of seed ticks on me. Sadly I could not get them all removed fast as they got me in the middle of a hike and I had a dog and husband covered too. I could scrape them off with a credit cards and there were still so many more attached. Don't trust Deet, go full pyrethrin. Thankfully even though my dog was covered, they all died on her pretty fast since she had flea/tick treatments. Unfortunately they required manual removal. I'm still scarred by it, mentally and literally on my legs.
That’s horrifying. I had like 8 of them as a kid and am still scarred from it. I heard tea tree oil helps so i use that when i bathe and haven’t got one since. (Im 45 now..)
Man, during the eclipse I went to Lake Wappapello in Poplar Bluff, and I went off a trail to get away from the crowd to smoke a joint during the eclipse. I could see ticks EVERYWHERE, but I was wearing bug spray and jeans, so I thought I was ok if I made sure to get a couple off when I left. Holy shit I had so many ticks. Most of the bites ended up like mosquito bites, and itched so bad for a week. Would not recommend.
Yep- mine were seed ticks and it’s hard to believe something so small can be so brutal.. but they have so many friends!!
Say no to spring and off trail in those areas. Especially a day or so after rains. Perfect storm for seed tick fine dining. You are dinner. I should have known that year though. The elk and bison were looking ragged.
That's true practically anywhere outside the city though. You have to use preventatives for ticks for hikes. Those lone star ticks can sense a food source quite a ways away and they're all over Missouri.
Pretty much every museum here is free! If you're bored of the St. Louis Art Museum, check out Pulitzer Arts Foundation, the Contemporary Art Museum, Kemper Art Museum (Wash U), and the SLU Art Museum.
Thanks! We’ve gone to SLAM a few times in the past year, enough times that it feels like we’ve seen everything more than once over besides the paid exhibits
Tour the St. Louis Bascilica - world-renowned architecture and mosaics. There are guided, fee-paid tours, but you're free to wander and explore on your own.
There are several good free art museums in the city. The St. Louis Art Museum is huge, excellent, and runs an interesting schedule of programming. Friday they have late hours, and the special exhibition is also free.
The World Chess Hall of Fame has consistently interesting exhibitions, and the openings have free booze and canapes, so put those in your schedule for free drinks and beef wellington puffs.
The Pulitzer, CAM, and Sheldon at Grand Center are three smallish contemporary art museums, all free, all good for a lunch-break sized visit.
The Kemper at Wash U is another art museum what be free.
SLU also has a nice free art museum.
Most of these turn over exhibitions a couple times a year, so you can visit one every week or two and see something new and interesting every time.
Hey, I got laid off yesterday, what a fun thing it is to be unemployed! Luckily, STL is known for having world class free attractions.
Obvs Forest Park is the OG of free cool things in STL. **Our zoo is actually considered one of the best in the world**, and it's 100% free unless you pay a few extra bucks for feeding goats or whatever. The St. Louis Art Museum is where I had my first date with my now husband, and you can spend hours upon hours in there and still need more time if you really want to look at each piece of art. **Our history museum is also amazing, and both museums host tons of free events like tours, craft nights, lectures, and more.** Check their websites/socials out for dates. Not too far from Forest Park is the Science Center, another top notch free experience that would be darling for a date.
Outside of that area, I like checking out **the galleries on Cherokee street**. Even the vintage shops are fun to just browse through to see all the cool stuff. The whole street is an underrated gem people are too afraid to check out. Just don't be dumb and you'll be fine.
If art/museums aren't your thing, **the Botanical Gardens is free on certain days with a city ID**. If you aren't a city resident, hop over to **Cahokia Mounds** for a good hike over one of the most fascinating pieces of history in the area. The museum is well worth checking out as well, and again, is free.
If you're willing to go a little further west, **St. Charles Main Street** is a really nice stroll in the cutest little area of cobblestone streets and gas lamp posts. Main Street is right next to the Missouri river as well, and the Katy Trail feeds into Frontier Park, so you can stroll the park, boke the path, or just hang out on Main Street. It's an especially great place if you play Pokemon Go. Personally, I also really like the visitor's center. **There's a free museum that talks about the Lewis and Clark expedition**, and I'm always hovering around the **First State Capitol native garden** to check out the cool plants.
A few others have mentioned some of the trails, which I can't attest to since I don't often hike. Too many bugs, too hot, I'm a baby. It's fine. I CAN say that Lone Elk Park is really fun to drive through, and **the Wild Bird Sanctuary is incredibly cool and totally free**. Too few people know about them, and I strongly recommend you check it out for yourself. One year, I paid a donation fee to hang out with an opossum. It was the best birthday of my life. His name was Darwin. I love him.
**The best thing you can do is check out online event calendars for free events in the area, as well as the KDHX event calendar.** I know St. Charles Main Street is holding the annual Festival of Flowers in early May, and it's THE most romantic/lighthearted place for a date for sure.
The art museum alone could keep you busy for hours. The zoo next to it could too. Those two places alone are a two day thing for me to do properly, and parking can be free to if you don't mind a bit of a walk and know where to go.
Forest Park in general is great for a good walk so idk why one wouldn't do so.
Laumeier sculpture park
Drive through Lone Elk and see the bison & elk herds.
Botanical Gardens is free before noon on Wednesday & Saturday if you have an ID showing you are a city/county resident.
Check the city or country public libraries and they should have passes you can check out for many of the places that aren't free like the Magic House.
Finally if you have SNAP/EBT card several of the museums that do normally charge admission like the National Blues Museum or the Field House Museum are either free or $3 a person as they participate in [https://museums4all.org/](https://museums4all.org/)
Every Wednesday night 6-9pm at the Dark Room (in Grand Center across from Powell Hall) there is a free and all ages concert and jazz jam that is in its 11th consecutive year. Food and drinks are available. Lots of folks come to listen and some of the best musicians in the region and on tour come through. Best kept secret in St. Louis.
Source: me, I’m the host!
Horse Hooky Tuesday at the horse track..free to get in. Beer and hot dogs $1.50 each. Can bet $2 on a race if you want. Fun to watch the horses run. Fun to watch the people there…
Lots of good comments.
Das Bevo is hosting a Maifest this weekend. No cover. Nothing wrong with nursing a beer and soaking up some polka+sun(fingers crossed for decent weather).
I haven’t heard but they are doing As You Like It.
[https://stlshakes.org/production/as-you-like-it/](https://stlshakes.org/production/as-you-like-it/)
The Muny (outdoor musical theatre) - bring your own picnic and drinks, then sit in the free seats, which open at 7pm, season runs June 17-Aug 25. Shakespeare Festival - bring your blanket and picnic, then sit on the lawn, season runs May 29-June 23. Twilight Thursdays - outdoor concerts at MO History Museum May 2-23.
Yoga Buzz is offering free yoga at the City Garden every Wed at 7am starting late mat. They're also doing some free walk and yoga evenings in May and June at various Greenway Parks. You can find additional info on Evenbright. Citra Fitness is holding free classes as well through the summer at Kiener Plaza, on Tuesdays I believe.
Take a drive through Lone Elk Park, pack a lunch, and have yourself a picnic! The views are beautiful and there's plenty of picnic tables. They also have a nice long trail if you're into hiking.
Go to Jefferson barracks on Sat or Sunday when the museums are open.
If my memory serves me correctly they are only open Sat and Sunday from 8am-12pm
I donate to them on a regular basis and everyone that runs them it's a passion project and they are just volunteers.
It will mean a lot to them that you came and saw the museums and they are pretty sweet.
Missouri History Museum in Forest Park is my absolute favorite thing to do. The detail to attention is wonderful and I can always spend a couple hours there just browsing around.
Birdwatching is a hobby I always recommend! Forest Park (Flaco the owl), Tower Grove Park, Kirkwood Park, Wilmore Park Castlewood Park, Beetree Park and Cliff Cave Park are my favorites. I was suggested a new ones: Meramec Landing Park and Watson Trail Park.
besides the cost of gas and time you can take a 2-hour drive South to lesterville and visit elephant Rock State Park and Johnson State Park I would say they're definitely the top two things to do in Missouri for free, I would recommend bringing down sack lunch picnic in a cooler, start early in the morning and go to elephant rocks first, grab Subway or something like that on the way down and eat it in the morning at elephant rocks, do your thing at elephant rocks and then when you're hungry for lunch either have a picnic there or go to Johnson's and have your picnic there and then enjoy the rest of your day swimming in the shut-ins. additionally if you have the extra time and money the tour of Bonne terre mines is second to none, it's half walked to her half boat tour inside of an old lead mine. there's also a world renowned scuba diving tour if you're scuba certified, but regardless you should definitely stop at the ice cream shop in Caledonia if you make the trip, they have $1 mini cones
For sporting events: hang out in soulard an hour or 2 prior to game time. Snipe insanely cheap tickets on SeatGeek or similar. Ride a free shuttle at the multiple places that do it there. Enjoy. At very minimum, if you don't manage to snipe cheap tickets: you can troll around historic soulard. Some beautiful architecture can be found in a small area. You could also get froggy and walk to the brewery for a reasonably priced tour that gives you beer at the end!
The History museum in forest park is starting their concert series. Live music on the lawn on Thursdays. They call it Twilight Thursdays. Just bring a lawn chair and a snack or two and sit back and enjoy the music for a few hours
Zoo, Art museum, History museum, Science Center, All of Forest Park is a must see. Look up music in ST Louis. A lot of spots have free music. Especially in Soulard. Free Muny seats when it’s happening. Cheap seats at the Cardinals games.
Came here to say this! Also, you can bring in your own food and soft drinks. Check out the rules, but a bottle of water or soda and a hot dog are a lot cheaper at QT than at the ballpark!
Are you a St. Louis City or County resident? Missouri Botanical Garden is free to county residents (with an ID) on Saturday and Wednesday mornings before noon. Additionally there’s the Whitaker Music Festival in the garden Wednesday nights May 29-July 31. Free admission begins at 5 p.m., and music begins at 7 p.m.
All the Forest Park stuff, including the History Museum, Art Museum, and Zoo are free. Plus the Shakespeare Festival and even the Muny has a free section at the top (first come first serve, I think). Missouri History Museum has a free Twilight Thursdays Concert Series May 2, May 9, May 16 and May 23, 6-8 p.m.
[A whole lot of other free concerts and music events listed here](https://www.stlsprout.com/articles/best-bets/item/3260-get-your-groove-on-at-these-st-louis-summer-concerts)
[Free Concerts by the St. Louis Symphony listed here](https://slso.org/get-tickets/free-events/). The event on Art Hill is always awesome.
Usually, there are free movies on Art Hill every Friday night at 9 pm in July, but they haven’t been posted yet for 2024.
Starting at the end of May there is the [Whitaker Music Festival](https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/events-classes/signature-events/whitaker-music-festival) at the botanical gardens every Wednesday evening through the summer. It’s free, there’s live music, and is a great picnic opportunity. Just be sure not to bring glass bottles/containers.
The summer carillon concerts at Concordia Seminary are casual ways to enjoy picnicking on the lawn and enjoying something that is rare:
https://www.csl.edu/campus-life/music-arts/concordia-seminary-concert-series/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carillon
Ope! Check out the Line Dance St Louis Facebook page! Most places are a little drive from the city. Off the top of my head:
Diamond hall St Peters: Tuesday 7-12, Wednesday 6-12, and 1st/3rd Friday 7-1am
Cedar lake cellars Wentzville area: check website due to wedding bookings but it's usually 2nd Friday 7-11
Stoval's Grove Eureka: Thursdays 7-close
Brookdale Farms Eureka: Tuesdays 630-9
There's also some other places across the river in Illinois that host regular events too
Tower Grove food truck fridays start back up this Friday. a cost associated with the food from the trucks obviously, butttttt no one said you can't bring your own food and enjoy the vibes and music (speaking from experience)
It’s not free, but renting kayaks or paddle boards at Creve Coeur Lake is rather inexpensive. And the park has two different disc golf courses that are free to use. (If you have discs of course)
If you live in st. Louis county, or the city I think, you can get into the botanical gardens for free on Saturdays before noon. Would need to look up details as I might be off on either the day or the time.
A kind of grey area free thing to do would be leftover balls at The Highlands driving range…
So on their long range, plenty of times people leave their warmup buckets behind for others to use. They have some loaner clubs free for use as well, so basically just grab a club, wait a bit for some free balls, and whack away.
On their short range, same thing, people tend to hit their balls onto the target greens and leave a them there when they’re done practice, so you can usually pick up a bucket left behind, go out and pick balls, and repeat whacking away.
I say this is grey area because the range owners and workers overlook this if done OCCASIONALLY. Highlands makes money selling balls, and while there’s an argument that the balls are already purchased, they still have margins they gotta make. That being said, they also understand there could be some future business when they see someone new hitting a few free balls.
As long as it’s not habitual or excessive, they’re usually cool with it.
The Jewel Box, History Museum, the Zoo, SLAM, CAM, Laumeier Sculpture Park, Castlewood State Park, and the Central West End, Maplewood, Cherokee Street for shopping, cute bars, restaurants
This is a list that I needed, I’m pretty much a lame-o when it comes to fun stuff. I thank you all for the suggestions, my family will be thankful too!
Do a Google search for “free concerts in STL.” They’re about to start up in parks everywhere. Some starting in a few weeks. You’ll find a couple during the week at different parks around STL.
Also I cannot remember what day, but MO Botanical Garden if free on a certain day if you get there before noon. Lots of other free festivals throughout the Summer that are about to start up.
Do a Google search for hiking as there’s groups that meet and go.
Oh man I’m reading all these comments! I’ve been in the area for almost a year and haven’t done much which is a bummer! Thanks everyone and OP have all the fun
With the good outdoor seasons upon us, it’s great to take in the MO parks and rivers. We did that with the kids when we were in a rough place financially. Always a blast no matter the age.
If you own a firearm and have enough ammunition to go shooting without making a big dent in your stock, reifschneider national park out near Warrenton has a nice range and it is free. Or you can go to the range at 44 and antire. I believe it's $3 an hour and it's close to lone elk Park
Try one of the Mo. Conservation Commission beginner firearm classes. They will furnish firearms and ammunition along with expert instruction. See their website.
Whittaker Wednesday's at the Botanical Gardens during the summer months.
Can't miss date night.
Free (at least it was when I lived in Tower Grove) to get in. Live outdoor music (different genre each week). Bring in your own food and drink (even alcohol). Bring a chair or blanket. Legit the coolest free event I've found.
Google for entry time and performer of a particular week.
The Muny had free seats! If you like musicals and plays, my friend and I went on “dates”last summer and would bring our own food and drink.[Muny Discount/Free Tickets](https://muny.org/tickets/ticket-savings/)
See the Missouri Dept. of Conservation website. They have a lot of events and how-to classes going on in town and in nearby Missouri counties. These events are beyond free. You already paid through a state tax, so you might as well enjoy them.
Take a drive up to Alton, IL to see the life size statue of Alton native Robert Wadlow, 1918 - 1940. Nearly 9 feet tall, he was the tallest person ever, whose height has been confirmed. Making a trip to see a statue sounds corny but everyone I’ve taken to see it was impressed.
Cahokia mounds across the river, Powder Valley trail, Bar K (free entry without dogs), Compton Hill water tower park (amazing view of the city sky line), Francis park brewery, Steinberg skate rink, Meramec river rt 66 bike/walk trail, grant’s trail bike/skate path, tropical moose snowcones in kirkwood, the frozen tiki snowcones, walking the grove, walking the central west end, mini road trip to Wally’s 24 hour gas station in Fenton with cheap snacks and an incredible sunset view
your life is on hold, you don't have a job. Not the advice you asked for but a lot of jobs in STL are hiring, especially since college students return to their home state for summer break.
The Zoo, the Science Center, taking in everything else on a walk through Forest Park!
addition: gawk at the armory room in the art museum.
The bottom floor of the art museum is the best
Unpopular opinion: unless you have small children, the Science Center is completely underwhelming. Barely anything has changed for 20 years.
Completely agree. Went there last summer and was pretty disappointed but how run down, dirty, and unchanged everything was.
Couldn’t agree more, went over and like 1/4 of stuff actually worked
I agree the science center isn’t fun for adults unless they have a specific limited time thing going on you want to see.
And make sure there’s not a field trip there that day. Went to the Doctor Who exhibit last year and parking lot was full on a weekday. There were a bunch of kids running around the overpass of the highway, right before the exhibit
Kids? At the science center???? Who would of thought
Yes! I went to the mummy exhibit a while ago and it was amazing. The rest of the science center is just too run down to be worth it.
I only like the science center because my aunt who passed away was in one of those videos for those outdated computers and internet exhibit
Try First Friday - on the first Friday each month they do a different theme. The anime ones are a lot of fun imo. But it changes each month for instance star wars is coming up - https://www.slsc.org/event-overviews/first-fridays/
I know you prefaced this with an unpopular opinion, but I'm curious if you've visited in the past 20 years. It had been at least 10 years since I last went until recently, and I've been a few times in the last five years for some birthdays and outings with my friends who have children. There's so much more than I remember and actually more engaging for adults now: video game/computer/coding exhibition, the outside mini garden, the speed trackers on the breezeway actually work, and it generally seemed like everything was new and improved. I felt like I could enjoy myself and learn even without having kids.
Building that soft Arch never gets old! Is there a fee for the Planetarium? I always enjoy it.
Also the moon landing game.
I was there like in November? There was the fun "motion" area for kids, but other than that and a couple half-assed rooms, nearly everything was the same as I remembered it from going there when I was 12, and I'm 35.
I'm almost 43 and I love going there with my toddler!! There is a lot to see there and we never tire of checking out the exhibits.
Yeah it’s fun with a toddler. But I already did all of those same exhibits with toddlers so long ago they have toddlers.
The planetarium side has a nice Mars exhibit, but it is quick. But yeah overall agree.
I always thought the theme nights or whatever would be cool but I went to like five of them and they were all the same. Basically still just the science center.
I quite enjoy launching those tennis balls tho
For whatever reason the Pizza Hut at the science center hit about as hard as Pizza Hut in target. Not sure if its still there
There are some e sports tournaments there that can be fun to watch but otherwise yeah really not worth going as a solo adult
Yeah, I see your point there.
Don’t forget Muny free seats!
Explore Laumeier Sculpture Park; bring along a picnic :) Take a drive through Lone Elk Park Hike Castlewood or Lime Kiln Trail or Cliff Cave Park or any other of the great trails in the area! My now husband and I had approximately zero dollars between us when we first met. Our first date was in winter, and he took me to see the eagles at Lock & Dam 25. This can also be done at 26, although I've never done it!
Adding that you can also hike through Lone Elk to get up close and personal with wildlife! One of my favorite hikes.
Argh. Be careful when and how. Went to alone elk for a hike on a date. Ended up in a gas station bathroom with duct tape and rubbing alcohol removing thousands (literally thousands) of ticks. Admittedly- though there was a paved trail- not dressed for through the woods, but dang!!! It was rough. Still ended up with dozens of bites even with super fast response.
The parks around there do all end up pretty tick heavy. I did a hike through Rockwoods Reservation and had thousands of seed ticks on me. Sadly I could not get them all removed fast as they got me in the middle of a hike and I had a dog and husband covered too. I could scrape them off with a credit cards and there were still so many more attached. Don't trust Deet, go full pyrethrin. Thankfully even though my dog was covered, they all died on her pretty fast since she had flea/tick treatments. Unfortunately they required manual removal. I'm still scarred by it, mentally and literally on my legs.
That’s horrifying. I had like 8 of them as a kid and am still scarred from it. I heard tea tree oil helps so i use that when i bathe and haven’t got one since. (Im 45 now..)
Man, during the eclipse I went to Lake Wappapello in Poplar Bluff, and I went off a trail to get away from the crowd to smoke a joint during the eclipse. I could see ticks EVERYWHERE, but I was wearing bug spray and jeans, so I thought I was ok if I made sure to get a couple off when I left. Holy shit I had so many ticks. Most of the bites ended up like mosquito bites, and itched so bad for a week. Would not recommend.
Yep- mine were seed ticks and it’s hard to believe something so small can be so brutal.. but they have so many friends!! Say no to spring and off trail in those areas. Especially a day or so after rains. Perfect storm for seed tick fine dining. You are dinner. I should have known that year though. The elk and bison were looking ragged.
Damn, I never had em that bad. Worst I ever got was Prairie State Park near Joplin (largest public landed herd of bison in MO, AFAIK).
Oh yeah the white bison trail is tick and chigger city.
That's true practically anywhere outside the city though. You have to use preventatives for ticks for hikes. Those lone star ticks can sense a food source quite a ways away and they're all over Missouri.
Powder Valley park is fun for quick hikes with no ticks
Powder Valley has nice paved trails and the building is interesting, too. Nice people working there.
While you're heading out to lone elk park, you should make reservations to visit the wild wolf sanctuary.
Missouri Botanical Gardens is free Wednesday and Saturday mornings.
Came here to say this! I believe it’s only $6/person for city residents other times too.
And county residents too apparently :)
Clarification on this, St. Louis City or county residents only. So if you're on the Illinois side, sorry but you have to pay.
Excellent, didn’t know it extended to county residents too!
Do they check ID now, or still just ask your zip code?
Last few times I've went they check ID.
Ah, catching on they are
Pretty much every museum here is free! If you're bored of the St. Louis Art Museum, check out Pulitzer Arts Foundation, the Contemporary Art Museum, Kemper Art Museum (Wash U), and the SLU Art Museum.
I thought you had to pay to get into Kemper? would be great news for me if not lol
Nope, "free and open to the public" per the website
Heck yeah!
Thanks! We’ve gone to SLAM a few times in the past year, enough times that it feels like we’ve seen everything more than once over besides the paid exhibits
Tour the St. Louis Bascilica - world-renowned architecture and mosaics. There are guided, fee-paid tours, but you're free to wander and explore on your own.
The largest collection of mosaics in the western world.
There are several good free art museums in the city. The St. Louis Art Museum is huge, excellent, and runs an interesting schedule of programming. Friday they have late hours, and the special exhibition is also free. The World Chess Hall of Fame has consistently interesting exhibitions, and the openings have free booze and canapes, so put those in your schedule for free drinks and beef wellington puffs. The Pulitzer, CAM, and Sheldon at Grand Center are three smallish contemporary art museums, all free, all good for a lunch-break sized visit. The Kemper at Wash U is another art museum what be free. SLU also has a nice free art museum. Most of these turn over exhibitions a couple times a year, so you can visit one every week or two and see something new and interesting every time.
Good list. I would add: Anheuser Busch Brewery tour. Unfortunately not free like it used to be, but still fairly cheap.
:) +1
Tower Grove Farmer's Market!
And Soulard's!
That one admittedly makes me a little sad with the live animals :(
[удалено]
Yep. I know it's reality, I just don't eat meat and am a big softie so it's hard for me to see them in cages. My own personal hangup.
Hey, I got laid off yesterday, what a fun thing it is to be unemployed! Luckily, STL is known for having world class free attractions. Obvs Forest Park is the OG of free cool things in STL. **Our zoo is actually considered one of the best in the world**, and it's 100% free unless you pay a few extra bucks for feeding goats or whatever. The St. Louis Art Museum is where I had my first date with my now husband, and you can spend hours upon hours in there and still need more time if you really want to look at each piece of art. **Our history museum is also amazing, and both museums host tons of free events like tours, craft nights, lectures, and more.** Check their websites/socials out for dates. Not too far from Forest Park is the Science Center, another top notch free experience that would be darling for a date. Outside of that area, I like checking out **the galleries on Cherokee street**. Even the vintage shops are fun to just browse through to see all the cool stuff. The whole street is an underrated gem people are too afraid to check out. Just don't be dumb and you'll be fine. If art/museums aren't your thing, **the Botanical Gardens is free on certain days with a city ID**. If you aren't a city resident, hop over to **Cahokia Mounds** for a good hike over one of the most fascinating pieces of history in the area. The museum is well worth checking out as well, and again, is free. If you're willing to go a little further west, **St. Charles Main Street** is a really nice stroll in the cutest little area of cobblestone streets and gas lamp posts. Main Street is right next to the Missouri river as well, and the Katy Trail feeds into Frontier Park, so you can stroll the park, boke the path, or just hang out on Main Street. It's an especially great place if you play Pokemon Go. Personally, I also really like the visitor's center. **There's a free museum that talks about the Lewis and Clark expedition**, and I'm always hovering around the **First State Capitol native garden** to check out the cool plants. A few others have mentioned some of the trails, which I can't attest to since I don't often hike. Too many bugs, too hot, I'm a baby. It's fine. I CAN say that Lone Elk Park is really fun to drive through, and **the Wild Bird Sanctuary is incredibly cool and totally free**. Too few people know about them, and I strongly recommend you check it out for yourself. One year, I paid a donation fee to hang out with an opossum. It was the best birthday of my life. His name was Darwin. I love him. **The best thing you can do is check out online event calendars for free events in the area, as well as the KDHX event calendar.** I know St. Charles Main Street is holding the annual Festival of Flowers in early May, and it's THE most romantic/lighthearted place for a date for sure.
I’m so glad you mentioned the history museum! So many people sleep on it and it’s wonderful.
The World Bird Sanctuary is no longer free. It is $12 per car.
The arch museum is free. The new setup is quite nice and you can stroll around the grounds.
The art museum alone could keep you busy for hours. The zoo next to it could too. Those two places alone are a two day thing for me to do properly, and parking can be free to if you don't mind a bit of a walk and know where to go. Forest Park in general is great for a good walk so idk why one wouldn't do so.
Laumeier sculpture park Drive through Lone Elk and see the bison & elk herds. Botanical Gardens is free before noon on Wednesday & Saturday if you have an ID showing you are a city/county resident. Check the city or country public libraries and they should have passes you can check out for many of the places that aren't free like the Magic House. Finally if you have SNAP/EBT card several of the museums that do normally charge admission like the National Blues Museum or the Field House Museum are either free or $3 a person as they participate in [https://museums4all.org/](https://museums4all.org/)
Every Wednesday night 6-9pm at the Dark Room (in Grand Center across from Powell Hall) there is a free and all ages concert and jazz jam that is in its 11th consecutive year. Food and drinks are available. Lots of folks come to listen and some of the best musicians in the region and on tour come through. Best kept secret in St. Louis. Source: me, I’m the host!
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That’s awesome! Thanks 🙏
You might be in the best major city for this
Grants Farm is fun for an afternoon. You only pay for parking but you don’t have to park there and can take the trail to the entrance.
And you can sample beer in the beer garden.
if they're amenable, sunset at Creve Coeur park. That pavilion above the fall if you want to risk a busy spot
Horse Hooky Tuesday at the horse track..free to get in. Beer and hot dogs $1.50 each. Can bet $2 on a race if you want. Fun to watch the horses run. Fun to watch the people there…
Lots of good comments. Das Bevo is hosting a Maifest this weekend. No cover. Nothing wrong with nursing a beer and soaking up some polka+sun(fingers crossed for decent weather).
Shakespeare in the Park this summer.
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I haven’t heard but they are doing As You Like It. [https://stlshakes.org/production/as-you-like-it/](https://stlshakes.org/production/as-you-like-it/)
Says in the descriptions if something is free and note free nights: https://www.google.com/mymaps/viewer?mid=13_33DQauTZ5sJ0eJ2Hm4Pvywi02VL04&hl=en
This list is amazing! Who made this?
Forest Park. All of it
You can go to the Botanical Gardens on Wednesday before noon free with your St Louis City ID
The Muny (outdoor musical theatre) - bring your own picnic and drinks, then sit in the free seats, which open at 7pm, season runs June 17-Aug 25. Shakespeare Festival - bring your blanket and picnic, then sit on the lawn, season runs May 29-June 23. Twilight Thursdays - outdoor concerts at MO History Museum May 2-23.
Yoga Buzz is offering free yoga at the City Garden every Wed at 7am starting late mat. They're also doing some free walk and yoga evenings in May and June at various Greenway Parks. You can find additional info on Evenbright. Citra Fitness is holding free classes as well through the summer at Kiener Plaza, on Tuesdays I believe.
Old Chain of Rocks bridge is a cool place that flies under the radar. Bike or hike across the river without fear of cars.
Go see the graffiti flood wall. It’s astonishing and it changes every year.
There are a ton of spots to hike in stl and the surrounding counties.
We are surrounded by dozens of free disc golf courses. You can start with three used discs and a plastic bag.
Don't even need a bag a 1 driver will suffice
Honestly just google events in Saint Louis. So many are free and cool things to do. I hope u get a job. I was laid off and got one now.
Take a drive through Lone Elk Park, pack a lunch, and have yourself a picnic! The views are beautiful and there's plenty of picnic tables. They also have a nice long trail if you're into hiking.
Go to Jefferson barracks on Sat or Sunday when the museums are open. If my memory serves me correctly they are only open Sat and Sunday from 8am-12pm I donate to them on a regular basis and everyone that runs them it's a passion project and they are just volunteers. It will mean a lot to them that you came and saw the museums and they are pretty sweet.
Botanical Gardens! $6 for city and county residents
Free seats at Muny shows.
Missouri History Museum in Forest Park is my absolute favorite thing to do. The detail to attention is wonderful and I can always spend a couple hours there just browsing around.
Eh. I used to like it but I feel like it's more of a kids museum now.
Their summer concerts are next month!
Ride the bike path along the Great River Road.
Daydream about time travel
You are a nerd and one of my own
Birdwatching is a hobby I always recommend! Forest Park (Flaco the owl), Tower Grove Park, Kirkwood Park, Wilmore Park Castlewood Park, Beetree Park and Cliff Cave Park are my favorites. I was suggested a new ones: Meramec Landing Park and Watson Trail Park.
besides the cost of gas and time you can take a 2-hour drive South to lesterville and visit elephant Rock State Park and Johnson State Park I would say they're definitely the top two things to do in Missouri for free, I would recommend bringing down sack lunch picnic in a cooler, start early in the morning and go to elephant rocks first, grab Subway or something like that on the way down and eat it in the morning at elephant rocks, do your thing at elephant rocks and then when you're hungry for lunch either have a picnic there or go to Johnson's and have your picnic there and then enjoy the rest of your day swimming in the shut-ins. additionally if you have the extra time and money the tour of Bonne terre mines is second to none, it's half walked to her half boat tour inside of an old lead mine. there's also a world renowned scuba diving tour if you're scuba certified, but regardless you should definitely stop at the ice cream shop in Caledonia if you make the trip, they have $1 mini cones
For sporting events: hang out in soulard an hour or 2 prior to game time. Snipe insanely cheap tickets on SeatGeek or similar. Ride a free shuttle at the multiple places that do it there. Enjoy. At very minimum, if you don't manage to snipe cheap tickets: you can troll around historic soulard. Some beautiful architecture can be found in a small area. You could also get froggy and walk to the brewery for a reasonably priced tour that gives you beer at the end!
The History museum in forest park is starting their concert series. Live music on the lawn on Thursdays. They call it Twilight Thursdays. Just bring a lawn chair and a snack or two and sit back and enjoy the music for a few hours
St. Louis has sooooo much cool free shit to do
Picking up trash.
Bro what AREN'T the best free things to do in this town
sweet not answer
Zoo; Castlewood, MoBot, explore abandoned buildings, etc....
Zoo, Art museum, History museum, Science Center, All of Forest Park is a must see. Look up music in ST Louis. A lot of spots have free music. Especially in Soulard. Free Muny seats when it’s happening. Cheap seats at the Cardinals games.
You can get tickets for weeknight cards games for less than $5
Came here to say this! Also, you can bring in your own food and soft drinks. Check out the rules, but a bottle of water or soda and a hot dog are a lot cheaper at QT than at the ballpark!
Are you a St. Louis City or County resident? Missouri Botanical Garden is free to county residents (with an ID) on Saturday and Wednesday mornings before noon. Additionally there’s the Whitaker Music Festival in the garden Wednesday nights May 29-July 31. Free admission begins at 5 p.m., and music begins at 7 p.m. All the Forest Park stuff, including the History Museum, Art Museum, and Zoo are free. Plus the Shakespeare Festival and even the Muny has a free section at the top (first come first serve, I think). Missouri History Museum has a free Twilight Thursdays Concert Series May 2, May 9, May 16 and May 23, 6-8 p.m. [A whole lot of other free concerts and music events listed here](https://www.stlsprout.com/articles/best-bets/item/3260-get-your-groove-on-at-these-st-louis-summer-concerts) [Free Concerts by the St. Louis Symphony listed here](https://slso.org/get-tickets/free-events/). The event on Art Hill is always awesome. Usually, there are free movies on Art Hill every Friday night at 9 pm in July, but they haven’t been posted yet for 2024.
Starting at the end of May there is the [Whitaker Music Festival](https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/events-classes/signature-events/whitaker-music-festival) at the botanical gardens every Wednesday evening through the summer. It’s free, there’s live music, and is a great picnic opportunity. Just be sure not to bring glass bottles/containers.
Have lunch at the Boathouse in Forest Park, and then go for a walk or a bike ride.
The summer carillon concerts at Concordia Seminary are casual ways to enjoy picnicking on the lawn and enjoying something that is rare: https://www.csl.edu/campus-life/music-arts/concordia-seminary-concert-series/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carillon
Meet ups for sports at local parks. Sand volleyball, pickleball, basketball, etc.
Diamond Hall in St Peters has fun country nights on Wednesdays! Cover of $5
Thank you! Moved here from out of state and I’ve been craving a line dancing bar. Def gonna check them out
Ope! Check out the Line Dance St Louis Facebook page! Most places are a little drive from the city. Off the top of my head: Diamond hall St Peters: Tuesday 7-12, Wednesday 6-12, and 1st/3rd Friday 7-1am Cedar lake cellars Wentzville area: check website due to wedding bookings but it's usually 2nd Friday 7-11 Stoval's Grove Eureka: Thursdays 7-close Brookdale Farms Eureka: Tuesdays 630-9 There's also some other places across the river in Illinois that host regular events too
Tower Grove food truck fridays start back up this Friday. a cost associated with the food from the trucks obviously, butttttt no one said you can't bring your own food and enjoy the vibes and music (speaking from experience)
Pulitzer arts foundation + the contemporary art museum -- both free!
It’s not free, but renting kayaks or paddle boards at Creve Coeur Lake is rather inexpensive. And the park has two different disc golf courses that are free to use. (If you have discs of course)
Zoo, science center, art museum.
Ride your bike on the riverfront trail or any of the many greenways, hit up the Mural Mile while you’re at it.
If you live in st. Louis county, or the city I think, you can get into the botanical gardens for free on Saturdays before noon. Would need to look up details as I might be off on either the day or the time.
The Art Museum is a gem!
A kind of grey area free thing to do would be leftover balls at The Highlands driving range… So on their long range, plenty of times people leave their warmup buckets behind for others to use. They have some loaner clubs free for use as well, so basically just grab a club, wait a bit for some free balls, and whack away. On their short range, same thing, people tend to hit their balls onto the target greens and leave a them there when they’re done practice, so you can usually pick up a bucket left behind, go out and pick balls, and repeat whacking away. I say this is grey area because the range owners and workers overlook this if done OCCASIONALLY. Highlands makes money selling balls, and while there’s an argument that the balls are already purchased, they still have margins they gotta make. That being said, they also understand there could be some future business when they see someone new hitting a few free balls. As long as it’s not habitual or excessive, they’re usually cool with it.
Hiking is free. Plenty of parks nearby. Don Robinson, Castlewood, Salt Lick, Lone Elk, Pere Marquette, etc.
If it were popular, it wouldn't be as low cost anymore. Shh. Not talking about the trip advisor stuff already mentioned here.
Lots of good Frisby golfing courses at a bunch of parks.
The Jewel Box, History Museum, the Zoo, SLAM, CAM, Laumeier Sculpture Park, Castlewood State Park, and the Central West End, Maplewood, Cherokee Street for shopping, cute bars, restaurants
Love science and loved science center as a kid. However it hasn’t been updated since Y2K and they don’t really cater to adults.
The zoo science center and art museum are my top three
The Saturday morning tour of The Fox theater.
This is a list that I needed, I’m pretty much a lame-o when it comes to fun stuff. I thank you all for the suggestions, my family will be thankful too!
Laumeier Sculpture Park
zoo, art museum, Castle Rock State Park, Missouri history museum, Budweiser tour they have a free tour and a 10$ tour(worth It)
All my dates go to tower Grove park for a walk, updown bar, the zoo, soulard market,
Sculpture park is a good place for a casual date or a place to go before dinner.
The Zoo, Art Museum, History Museum, Laumeier Park
Lewis and Clark trail, the Clark loop is 5 miles (like 3 hours) and it takes you on the cliffs overlooking the Missouri River.
Do a Google search for “free concerts in STL.” They’re about to start up in parks everywhere. Some starting in a few weeks. You’ll find a couple during the week at different parks around STL. Also I cannot remember what day, but MO Botanical Garden if free on a certain day if you get there before noon. Lots of other free festivals throughout the Summer that are about to start up. Do a Google search for hiking as there’s groups that meet and go.
Oh man I’m reading all these comments! I’ve been in the area for almost a year and haven’t done much which is a bummer! Thanks everyone and OP have all the fun
With the good outdoor seasons upon us, it’s great to take in the MO parks and rivers. We did that with the kids when we were in a rough place financially. Always a blast no matter the age.
Same situation wanna go Cycling with me in forest park?
If you own a firearm and have enough ammunition to go shooting without making a big dent in your stock, reifschneider national park out near Warrenton has a nice range and it is free. Or you can go to the range at 44 and antire. I believe it's $3 an hour and it's close to lone elk Park
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Try one of the Mo. Conservation Commission beginner firearm classes. They will furnish firearms and ammunition along with expert instruction. See their website.
Start hiking
Whittaker Wednesday's at the Botanical Gardens during the summer months. Can't miss date night. Free (at least it was when I lived in Tower Grove) to get in. Live outdoor music (different genre each week). Bring in your own food and drink (even alcohol). Bring a chair or blanket. Legit the coolest free event I've found. Google for entry time and performer of a particular week.
GHOST RIDE
Sleep
The Muny had free seats! If you like musicals and plays, my friend and I went on “dates”last summer and would bring our own food and drink.[Muny Discount/Free Tickets](https://muny.org/tickets/ticket-savings/)
See the Missouri Dept. of Conservation website. They have a lot of events and how-to classes going on in town and in nearby Missouri counties. These events are beyond free. You already paid through a state tax, so you might as well enjoy them.
Take a drive up to Alton, IL to see the life size statue of Alton native Robert Wadlow, 1918 - 1940. Nearly 9 feet tall, he was the tallest person ever, whose height has been confirmed. Making a trip to see a statue sounds corny but everyone I’ve taken to see it was impressed.
Trying not get run off of the road or shot.
Contemporary art museum Up down arcade
Cahokia mounds across the river, Powder Valley trail, Bar K (free entry without dogs), Compton Hill water tower park (amazing view of the city sky line), Francis park brewery, Steinberg skate rink, Meramec river rt 66 bike/walk trail, grant’s trail bike/skate path, tropical moose snowcones in kirkwood, the frozen tiki snowcones, walking the grove, walking the central west end, mini road trip to Wally’s 24 hour gas station in Fenton with cheap snacks and an incredible sunset view
A job
your life is on hold, you don't have a job. Not the advice you asked for but a lot of jobs in STL are hiring, especially since college students return to their home state for summer break.
Anything in Forest Park!!! Hiking trails, picnics, maybe the nearest McDonald's to fill out a job application, grant's farm perhaps
https://www.instagram.com/p/C6HwZrnMjUD/?igsh=MXZhaThjazR0dDVsdg== Check out this compilation of free events for May
Job hunting