I will be driving east on I 70 and will need to stop in St. Louis for a night. Can somebody recommend a safe area, preferably right off the interstate? I am travelling by myself, so a safe area is my main priority.
Unless you just want to see the Gateway Arch (which is quite a landmark) you probably want to avoid the city, stay on I-270 perimeter to the north, and pick up I-70 again in Illinois.
You could stop in St. Charles (just west of the Missouri River Crossing), Earth City (which has some casino hotels which are probably low cost if you don’t hate Casinos), or Bridgeton (just after you get on I-270). Or you could press on to Illinois.
If you are looking for something right off I-70, I have stayed at the Embassy Suites near the airport while traveling solo and felt safe. The Drury near the airport looked pretty safe too. Other than that, I would be choosy about hotels near the airport. Earth City is a little west of the airport, and St. Charles is just a bit farther west than that. Either of those areas seemed safe to me. Last time I was through there was 2 or 3 years ago, but St. Charles looked a bit more developed than Earth City. looked like there were a few newer hotels in Earth City, plus a large casino with an attached hotel and a Charlie Gittos (decent Italian restaurant) in it.
St. Charles area if you are just passing through on the north side. And fill up your gas there.
@MomofJandL, thanks for that info, but all I need is a safe area to pull off I 70 for one night, just to sleep. If the area around the perimeter is safer, I am definitely up to that as well. I just don’t want to pull off the highway to stop at what seems like a decent hotel, only to find I’m not in a safe area.
@gclsports @atomom, I will be driving east on I 70 for about 6 hours which is about my daily limit, so St. Charles may be a good option. Thanks.
Just want to give you the opportunity to save some time and miles. Check a map and you’ll see what I mean.
The “straight path” to go through the area from the west is to take the northern part of the perimeter. If you stay on I-70 instead, you’ll swing way down south to go through the city, and then way back north to pick up the trail in Illinois. More traffic, more congestion, more curves.
If you’re using GPS, it will almost certainly route you from I-70 to I-270, then back to I-70 in Illinois. Unless you put in the Arch a waypoint.
St. Charles sounds like a good area to stop.
edited to add: The eastbound traffic over the bridge (any or all of them) in the morning is a mess. If you’re in St. Charles on a weeknight, take your time with breakfast before you head out.
Thanks all, just booked a room for tomorrow in St. Charles.
Whatever you do avoid East St. Louis