How to Plan a Baseball Stadium Road Trip This Summer
The fans in your family will be thrilled to see five Major League games during this one epic vacay. The rest of the crew will soak up the fun stadium atmosphere.
You can hit all four of these cities (and catch 5 MLB games) in 5 or 6 days without spending more than 4.5 hours in the car on a single drive. Just plan out your trip based on the teams’ schedules and plan your starting and stopping cities accordingly so you can catch the games you want to see most!
Pittsburgh
Roll into the Embassy Suites by Hilton Pittsburgh Downtown, near PNC Park, where the Pirates play. Before the game, take the advice of Justin Meccage, Pirates assistant pitching coach and dad of three:
“Walk to the Highmark SportsWorks section of the Carnegie Science Center. There, kids can measure the speed of their swing and determine if they have enough power to hit a home run. My kids love it!”
Eat at places the players frequent: “They’re regulars at Täkō, Burgatory, and Pork & Beans,” says Meccage. Get to the park early so you can stop by Guest Relations for a free photo to mark your first visit, and check out the kid-size baseball diamond at the Chevron STEM Zone inside the right-field gate.
Early risers can snag the hotel’s free made-to-order breakfast and splash around the indoor pool before leaving.
Cleveland
Settle in at the Hilton Garden Inn Cleveland Downtown, adjacent to Progressive Field, the home of the Cleveland Indians. Your first stop: Voinovich Bicentennial Park.
“We let our kids, ages 6 and 11, run around in the green space, and showed them Lake Erie,” says Shawna White, of San Antonio, whose family hopes to visit all 30 Major League parks by the time her oldest graduates from high school. (They’ve been to eight so far.)
Afterward, head to the stadium to watch player warm-ups and scope out food. “We loved the stands from local restaurants in the right-field district,” she says. “Barrio, where our kids could build their own tacos, was a hit.” If you’re getting a hot dog, top it with a local favorite—Bertman Original Ball Park mustard.
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Detroit
Check into Aloft Detroit at The David Whitney, the closest hotel to Comerica Park, the Tigers’ home base. You can see the stadium from many of the “city view” rooms—request one when booking! Plan on arriving at the park early so your kids can ride the Fly Ball Ferris Wheel (its cars look like baseballs) and the Comerica Carousel (instead of horses, it has tigers). Behind section 106, let kids see how fast they can pitch and hit a few balls.
For eats, your fam must try a Coney Dog, which is topped with chili (aka coney sauce). Get an early start the next morning so you can stop at Polk Penguin Conservation Center at the Detroit Zoo on your way to Chicago.
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Chicago
The Windy City gives your crew a chance to cross two ballparks off your bucket list—historic Wrigley Field (Cubs territory) and Guaranteed Rate Field (White Sox stomping ground). The stadiums are about 30 minutes apart. Mom of two Angela Marquez, of Fresno, California, recommends staying near Navy Pier (an in-between spot close to family attractions) or at a hotel near Wrigley, which has a lot of local flavor.
While the Sox’s stadium has more to do, including the Xfinity Kids Zone, photo ops, and baseball memorabilia, Marquez’s fam preferred the vibe at Wrigley. “We felt the energy of the Cubs fans, even on a midweek day game,” she says.
For a room with a Wrigley view, look into Hotel Zachary. The W Chicago-Lakeshore and Loews Chicago Hotel are good picks near Navy Pier.
