Two National Parks · 265 miles apart
Indiana Dunes or Gateway Arch
Crowds are close. Indiana Dunes had 2,629,497 recreation visits in 2025 and Gateway Arch had 2,209,028. Gateway Arch charges no entrance fee while Indiana Dunes charges $25 per private vehicle. Indiana Dunes lists 3 campgrounds and Gateway Arch lists none. On the rest they match, since neither uses timed entry. The two parks are 265 miles apart in a straight line.
| Indiana Dunes National Park | Gateway Arch National Park | |
|---|---|---|
| Designation | National Park | National Park |
| States | Indiana | Missouri |
| Recreation visits, 2025 | 2,629,497 | 2,209,028 |
| Entrance fee, private vehicle | $25 (Private Vehicle) | None, free to enter |
| Timed entry reservation | No | No |
| Campgrounds | 3 | None listed |
| International Dark Sky Park | No | No |
| Bird species, NPSpecies | 301 | Not listed |
| Hours or season | The general areas of the park are open year-round. | The Gateway Arch is open year-round, closed only on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. |
Indiana Dunes visits by yearGateway Arch visits by year
Fees, hours, campgrounds and timed entry from the NPS API. Visits from the NPS Visitor Use Statistics system. Dark sky status from DarkSky International. Bird counts from the NPSpecies inventory. Data refreshed October 14, 2026. Other pairs.