A Missouri wine country day trip from St. Louis: Hermann and Augusta
This Missouri wine country day trip from St. Louis puts two old German river towns in one Saturday. You drive west to Hermann first, take the 10:00 house tour at Deutschheim, see the town museum, eat lunch at Stone Hill Winery and walk its cellars. Then you drive back east to Augusta for a tasting at two wineries on the same street, and you're home in St. Louis by about 19:45. Each town is small enough to walk once you've parked.
I built the day in Passage AI for Saturday 31 October 2026 and checked every hour and price against the official pages: Missouri State Parks for Deutschheim, Historic Hermann, Visit Hermann, Visit Augusta and each winery's own site. Saturday works best: in November the Hermann museum and the Deutschheim tours run Thursday to Sunday only, and Augusta Winery stays open latest on Saturdays.
Last checked: Oct 2026. Winery hours change with the seasons. Open the linked official page before you go.
This page is the short version of the Hermann half. For the full walking day in town, with breakfast, Hermannhof and dinner, see my Hermann, MO one day itinerary.
The Missouri wine country day trip from St. Louis at a glance
| # | Stop | Town | Time | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Visitor Information Center at Amtrak | Hermann | 9:45 | about 79 miles from the Gateway Arch |
| 2 | Deutschheim State Historic Site (tour) | Hermann | 10:00 | 6 min walk |
| 3 | Historic Hermann Museum | Hermann | 11:15 | 4 min walk |
| 4 | Vintage 1847 Restaurant (lunch) | Hermann | 12:30 | short drive uphill, under 2 miles |
| 5 | Stone Hill Winery cellar tour and tasting | Hermann | 14:00 | same hilltop |
| 6 | Mount Pleasant Estates | Augusta | 16:15 | about 38 miles |
| 7 | Augusta Winery | Augusta | 17:00 | 2 min walk on High Street |
Drive distances are my estimates from OpenStreetMap routing: about 1 hour 45 minutes from downtown St. Louis to Hermann, a bit over an hour from Hermann to Augusta, and about 1 hour 15 minutes from Augusta back to the Arch, more with traffic. In Passage AI each leg shows walk, bike and drive times between stops; walk times are straight-line estimates, and Directions opens your phone's maps app for the street route.
A day of tastings needs a driver who isn't tasting. Agree on that before you leave the city.
Morning in Hermann
Leave downtown St. Louis around 8:00. Hermann sits on the south bank of the Missouri River, and the historic center is a few blocks from the Amtrak station. Park near the station and walk the first three stops.
1. Visitor Information Center at Amtrak, 9:45
The visitor center at 301 Wharf Street is open every day from 8:00 to 20:00, with staff on duty 9:00 to 16:00 Monday to Saturday and 9:00 to 15:00 on Sunday. Inside are restrooms, maps and local restaurant menus. (Visit Hermann) After 1 hour 45 minutes in the car, this is the stop for the restroom.
2. Deutschheim State Historic Site, 10:00
A few minutes' walk west. In 1836 the German Settlement Society of Philadelphia set out to found Deutschheim, "German home", a place where immigrants could keep the language and customs they brought with them. The state historic site shows two houses from those first years: the brick Pommer-Gentner House, built for Caroline Pommer in 1840, and the Strehly House, built around 1842. Behind the Strehly House, an arbor holds grapevines more than 100 years old. (Missouri State Parks)
Tours start at 10:00, 12:30 and 14:30, daily from 1 April to 31 October and Thursday to Sunday from 1 November to 31 March. The grounds and gardens are open sunrise to sunset every day. (Missouri State Parks) Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for ages 6 to 17, and you can reserve online or at the site.
3. Historic Hermann Museum, 11:15
The town museum fills the old German School at 312 Schiller Street. From 15 March to 31 October it opens every day except Wednesday; in November it opens Thursday to Sunday, and in December on the first two weekends only. Hours are 10:00 to 16:00 Monday to Saturday and noon to 16:00 on Sunday. Admission is $8 for adults and $3 for students 6 to 18. There's an elevator. (Historic Hermann)
Midday on the hill: Stone Hill Winery
Stone Hill sits on the hill south of downtown, under 2 miles by road. You can walk it, but it's uphill, and you need the car for Augusta anyway.
4. Lunch at Vintage 1847 Restaurant, 12:30
The winery's restaurant serves German dishes and American ones in the original winery barn. It's open 11:30 to 20:00 Monday and Thursday to Saturday, 11:30 to 16:00 on Sunday, and closed Tuesday and Wednesday; the closing times are last seating. (Stone Hill Winery) The site takes table reservations, which is worth doing on a fall Saturday.
5. Stone Hill cellar tour and tasting, 14:00
Stone Hill was founded in 1847, and the winery describes its arched cellars as the largest underground cellars in North America. (Stone Hill Winery) The Hermann Cellar Tour is free and takes 30 minutes. On Saturdays it runs on the hour from 11:00 to 16:00, walk-in only, first come, first served. The cellars are reached by stairs.
After the tour, the walk-in tasting is $15 for six wines from the list, and you keep the glass. Winery hours are 10:00 to 17:00 Monday to Thursday, 10:00 to 17:30 Friday and Saturday, and 11:00 to 16:00 Sunday. (Stone Hill Winery)
If you'd rather taste downtown, Hermannhof's tasting room at 330 East 1st Street is open 10:00 to 17:00 Monday to Saturday and 11:00 to 17:00 on Sunday. (Hermannhof)
Late afternoon in Augusta
Leave Stone Hill around 15:00. Augusta is about 38 miles east, a bit over an hour by my OpenStreetMap estimate, and it puts you 40 miles closer to home for the end of the day. Visit Augusta says the Augusta AVA, designated in 1980, was the first wine region recognized by the federal government. (Visit Augusta) The two wineries in town face each other on High Street, so park once.
6. Mount Pleasant Estates, 16:15
Mount Pleasant's campus at 5634 High Street was built in 1859, the oldest in Augusta, and the winery calls it the place where America's first AVA was signed. Its own site lists current hours as daily, 11:00 to 17:00, with live music on Saturdays and Sundays from April to mid-November. The Appellation Café closes 30 minutes before the winery. (Mount Pleasant Estates) The tourism board lists longer summer and fall hours, so check before you go. If the winery is open later on your day, you get more time on the patio.
7. Augusta Winery, 17:00
Across the street at 5601 High Street. Augusta Winery has a wine and beer garden with live music on weekends from April to October, and a Core or a Premium tasting in the tasting room. Sales for drinking on site stop 30 minutes before closing. Picnic baskets are welcome, outside drinks aren't, and pets aren't allowed. (Augusta Winery)
Visit Augusta lists the summer and fall hours as Sunday to Friday 11:00 to 18:00 and Saturday 11:00 to 21:00, and says to check the winery's site for winter hours. (Visit Augusta) That late Saturday close is the reason this plan ends here. Check before you go in November, when winter hours may start.
No restaurant in Augusta is on this plan, so pack a picnic for the wine garden or eat on the way home. St. Charles is roughly on the route back, and by my estimate the detour adds about 15 to 20 minutes; my St. Charles day on foot covers its historic Main Street. Leave Augusta by about 18:30 and you're back at the Arch around 19:45.
Miss Augusta runs sightseeing, sunset and dinner cruises on the Missouri River from Augusta. (Miss Augusta) Check its schedule if you want to swap the second tasting for a boat.
How I built the day in Passage AI
I made one trip in Passage AI for Saturday 31 October, added the seven stops with Add a stop, and set each time around the fixed points: the 10:00 Deutschheim tour, the museum's 16:00 close and the Saturday cellar tours on the hour. Both towns fit on one map, so you see the long drive between them as well as the short walks inside each one.
Optimize previews a reordered day and changes nothing until you tap Apply; here it showed an order with 11 fewer minutes of walking around Hermann. I kept my order because it is built around the 10:00 Deutschheim tour and the Saturday cellar tours on the hour. On a day without fixed tour times, tap Apply for the shorter walk.
Need tickets? marked Vintage 1847 as likely worth booking and the three wineries as maybe, with a link to each official site. Passage AI links you to the official ticket site, so you reserve with the venue directly.
What to book ahead
From each official page:
| Stop | Booking | Cost (Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Visitor Information Center | Walk in | Free |
| Deutschheim house tour | Reserve online or at the site | $5 adults, $3 ages 6 to 17 |
| Historic Hermann Museum | Walk in | $8 adults, $3 students 6 to 18 |
| Vintage 1847 Restaurant | Reserve a table on the winery site | Menu prices |
| Stone Hill cellar tour | Walk in, first come | Free |
| Stone Hill tasting | Walk in, first come | $15 |
| Mount Pleasant Estates | Walk in | Check on site |
| Augusta Winery | Walk in; groups by bus or limo reserve | Check on site |
The 10:00 Deutschheim tour is the one fixed time in the morning, so reserve it if you're driving 80 miles for it. Augusta Winery asks groups arriving by bus, RV or limo to reserve ahead. (Augusta Winery)
When to go
- Fall (September to October): the Hermann museum and the Deutschheim tours keep their full schedule to 31 October, and Augusta Winery has its summer and fall hours. Saturdays are the busiest days, so reserve lunch.
- November: the plan still works on a Saturday. The Hermann museum and the Deutschheim tours switch to Thursday to Sunday, and Mount Pleasant's live music runs to mid-November. Check Augusta Winery's winter hours.
- December to mid-March: the Hermann museum opens only on the first two weekends of December and then closes until 15 March. Deutschheim tours still run Thursday to Sunday.
- Weekdays: skip Tuesday and Wednesday, when Vintage 1847 is closed (and the museum closes on Wednesdays). On other weekdays Augusta Winery closes at 18:00 in summer and fall, so move Augusta earlier or keep the visit short.
If you'd rather stay in the city, my one day in St. Louis on foot covers the Gateway Arch, the Old Courthouse and City Museum.
FAQ
How far is Missouri wine country from St. Louis?
By my OpenStreetMap estimate, Augusta is about 48 miles from the Gateway Arch (about 1 hour 15 minutes) and Hermann about 79 miles (about 1 hour 45 minutes). Mount Pleasant Estates describes Augusta as 45 minutes from the greater St. Louis area.
Can you do Hermann and Augusta in one day?
Yes, with a car. This plan gives Hermann the morning and early afternoon, because its museum closes at 16:00 and the last Deutschheim tour is at 14:30, and saves Augusta for the late afternoon, when Augusta Winery is open until 21:00 on Saturdays in summer and fall.
What is the best day of the week for this trip?
Saturday. The Deutschheim tours and the Hermann museum run on Saturdays all autumn, Vintage 1847 is open, Stone Hill runs cellar tours every hour, and Augusta Winery stays open latest. Avoid Tuesday and Wednesday.
Do you need reservations for the wineries?
Not for a standard visit. Stone Hill's tasting and cellar tour are walk-in only, first come, first served. Reserve the Deutschheim tour and a lunch table at Vintage 1847, and if you're arriving in a group by bus or limo, reserve at Augusta Winery.
Is Augusta the first wine region in the United States?
Visit Augusta says the Augusta AVA, designated in 1980, was the first wine region recognized by the federal government, before Napa and Sonoma.
How this was made: planned in Passage AI on 29 October 2026, facts checked against the official sites of Missouri State Parks, Historic Hermann, Visit Hermann, Visit Augusta, Stone Hill Winery, Hermannhof, Mount Pleasant Estates, Augusta Winery and Miss Augusta, written by Edward.
Cover photo: TCP04 on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0, cropped)
