Ste. Genevieve adds weekend trolley service

Tourism in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, just got a little easier and a lot more endearing, thanks to a new trolley service.

Co-owner Sam Oberle of the Ste. Genevieve Trolley poses for a photo Saturday at the Watertower Winery.Glenn Landberg

The trolley runs from 10 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and hits several wineries and other locations around town.

"Every weekend, it's started to pick up more and more," co-owner Sam Oberle said.

He said he wanted to add to the community's existing historic appeal.

"I grew up in Ste. Genevieve," he said. "I graduated high school in 1999, and I always had an idea in the back of my mind to try out and see how it would go."

Oberle found the inspiration he needed to make the jump into entrepreneurship while he and his girlfriend were on a trip to visit his father in Nebraska. While making the regular tourist stops, he thought a similar trolley aesthetic would fit in Ste. Genevieve.

The Ste. Genevieve Trolley rests outside Watertower Winery on Saturday.Glenn Landberg

"It made the overall experience that much greater," he said.

He figured area residents would feel far more comfortable in a trolley than, say, a limousine, while a trolley ride also had a certain novelty charm a taxi or bus couldn't duplicate.

So he shared the idea with his now business partner, Jon Debold, who immediately hopped on board.

"He loved the idea just as much as I did, and we just ran with it," Oberle said.

Then, all they needed was a trolley.

A birthday party piles into the Ste. Genevieve Trolley outside Watertower Winery on Saturday.Glenn Landberg

"It's crazy how it worked out," Oberle said. "We were looking at one out of state from Colorado at first."

But after an 11th-hour hiccup, that trolley was sold elsewhere. What they initially thought was a setback, however, turned out to be a boon when the Colorado dealer referred them to a dealer just hours away in St. Louis.

The St. Louis trolley turned out to be even more in line with what they had in mind, down to the fleur de lis decorations, which Oberle said fit the Ste. Genevieve historic district vibe perfectly.

"It was like it was meant to be or something," he said. "It's pretty cool."

Plus, he said, it's something the community can come together around.

Co-owner Sam Oberle of the Ste. Genevieve Trolley poses for a photo Saturday at the Watertower Winery.Glenn Landberg

"The nursing home reached out to us, and we took the residents out for a two-hour ride around," Oberle said. "It was really cool to see the elderly have such a big smile on their face."

He said the trolley is a way for people to see the wineries and the historical town, whereas before, they typically had to pick one or the other.

"It's sort of like a connection between those worlds to really get all that Ste. Genevieve has to offer," he said.

The cost for an all-day trolley pass is $20. For more information or to reserve the trolley for special events, call (573) 535-1911 or email stegentrolley@gmail.com.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627

Pertinent address:

Ste. Genevieve, Mo.