National Park Service to Turn Off Gateway Arch Exterior Lights for Bird Migration Season

Tuesday, Sept. 1, to Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026

Gateway Arch National Park
11 North Fourth Street, St. Louis, MO 63102

The National Park Service will not illuminate the Gateway Arch at night throughout the month of September to protect birds in fall migration.

According to the National Park Service, 40% of the nation’s migratory waterfowl use the Mississippi River corridor during their spring and fall migration.  

Upgraded lighting installed in December 2023 significantly reduced flare in the night sky. Turning the lights off helps ensure migrating birds’ safe passage during heavy migration periods.

The National Park Service began turning the Gateway Arch’s exterior lights off in 2002 to protect migrating birds. The lights will be turned back on beginning the evening of Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, and the monument will be lit nightly thereafter. Since 2001, exterior lighting of the Gateway Arch has been generously funded and maintained exclusively by the Gateway Foundation, a longtime steward of public art and urban design dedicated to enriching the life and culture of St. Louis since 1986.