MLB ballpark road trip ideas: Go chasing baseball stadiums in 2024!

Camden Yards home plate view

If you want to hit the road for an MLB ballpark road trip in 2024, we’d like to help you get started.

The pursuit of seeing multiple ballparks in one road trip is the most common thing we get asked about here at Itinerant Fan, so it’s no surprise that even with winter fast approaching, we still have baseball on our minds.

Because Major League Baseball has already released the 2024 schedule (the slate for the next season is usually ready by August or September of the current season), we’ve got plenty of time to plan out ballpark itineraries.

The fact that MLB teams play nearly every day during the season means that the potential for interesting ballpark road trips are nearly endless, and we’ve pored over the 2024 schedule to come up with just a handful of intriguing trip ideas. However, we know we’ve just scratched the surface, so at the very least we hope this serves as a springboard for inspiration.

It’s certainly fun to follow a team on a lengthy road trip, but we tend to lean toward itineraries that serve the “ballpark chaser,” aka someone who wants to visit as many parks as possible over a certain period of days.

Longtime readers of this blog know that we do road trip suggestions for all the major leagues each season, including the NFL, NBA and NHL. We find it much easier to find good road trip itineraries in baseball because of the fact that the teams play nearly every day, so if anything, let this guide be a jumping-off point to finding an itinerary that works for your specific schedule.

Like the other leagues, we try to apply a few ground rules to these itineraries:

  • We looked to pack as many games into as small a timeframe as possible, at least considering typical travel times by car (we won’t suggest you travel cross-country for games on back-to-back days, for instance).
  • We try to look only at trips where you’re traveling in the same general direction as you go from city to city (so no zig-zagging around).
  • We tried to limit the number of times you see a particular team to twice.
  • We looked only at minimum four-city trips, because longer trips are always more fun.
  • Because starting times can fluctuate, it’s possible that scheduled day games can impact travel. However, in nearly all of the below cases, itineraries can be stretched out by a day or two to allow for a less hectic travel schedule.

Check out all our ideas for MLB ballpark road trips for the 2024 season below. Also, don’t forget to check out our post about seeing two games at two ballparks on one day.

1) Opening week on the East Coast

Sunday, March 31: Angels at Orioles
Monday, April 1: Pirates at Nationals
Tuesday, April 2: Reds at Phillies
Wednesday, April 3: Tigers at Mets
Friday, April 5: Blue Jays at Yankees

Thursday, March 28 marks Opening Day of the 2024 MLB season, but you can put together a pretty good Eastern Seaboard road trip just by waiting a few days.

Start the trip in Baltimore as the Orioles host the Angels at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, then spend the week making stops at Nationals Park in Washington and Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia before doing a New York City double-dip, with games at the Citi Field and Yankee Stadium.

Oh, and yes, we know we broke a cardinal rule — but just barely since Baltimore is about 30 miles north of Washington, D.C. Consider it just a contiguous stay in the Beltway.

View from the main concourse at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago

2) Springtime in the Midwest

Tuesday, April 30: Rays at Brewers
Wednesday, May 1: Twins at White Sox
Friday, May 3: Brewers at Cubs
Saturday, May 4: White Sox at Cardinals

Sunday, May 5: Rangers at Royals

Snake your way through the Midwest with this MLB ballpark road trip, stopping at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Guaranteed Rate Field and Wrigley Field in Chicago, Busch Stadium in St. Louis and Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. An added bonus: You’ll be spending the trip’s off day in Chicago!

Note that the final three games on this trip are scheduled day games, so you might want to consider traveling during the evening to get to your intended destination in time for the next game.

3) The all-California (+1) ballpark trip

Monday, May 13: Reds at Diamondbacks
Tuesday, May 14: Rockies at Padres
Wednesday, May 15: Cardinals at Angels
Thursday, May 16: Reds at Dodgers
Saturday, May 18: Rockies at Giants

Take a tour of the Southwest’s MLB ballparks with this road trip beginning in Phoenix, where the defending NL champion Diamondbacks will host the Reds at Chase Field. From there, visit San Diego’s Petco Park and Angel Stadium of Anaheim, then check in on Shohei Ohtani’s new digs at Dodger Stadium. Finally, spend an extra day traveling up the California coast before catching the Giants at Oracle Park.

By the way, if you want to complete the California circuit and see the A’s at Oakland Coliseum, hang out in the Bay Area a couple extra days and catch them against the Rockies on Tuesday, May 21. It’s not known where the A’s will play beyond this season as they prepare to relocate to Las Vegas, so take advantage of this chance to see the old Coliseum if you can.

View from the upper deck at Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers

4) The Great Lakes-dodging tour

Monday, June 17: Red Sox at Blue Jays
Wednesday, June 19: Reds at Pirates
Thursday, June 20: Mariners at Guardians
Friday, June 21: White Sox at Tigers
Saturday, June 22: Red Sox at Reds

There’s no way to drive in a straight line when visiting the MLB ballparks of the Great Lakes, but at least the distances are manageable on this road trip. Plus, you’re starting north of the border here, with a visit to Rogers Centre to see the Blue Jays take on the Red Sox.

Once you’re back stateside, this trip also includes stops at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Progressive Field in Cleveland, Comerica Park in Detroit and Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

5) All-Star Weekend and more

Saturday, July 13: Rangers at Astros
Monday, July 15: MLB Home Run Derby in Arlington
Tuesday, July 11: MLB All-Star Game in Arlington

Friday, July 19: White Sox at Royals

The defending World Series champion Texas Rangers will host the 2024 MLB All-Star Weekend at Globe Life Field. While Arlington is a bit of a far-flung location in terms of piecing together an MLB ballpark road trip, you can attach a couple ballpark visits to the front and back of this itinerary.

Start off in Houston with a trip to Minute Maid Park as the first half of the MLB season finishes up (added bonus: You’ll get to see the Rangers themselves in action, too). Then, after a few days in the Metroplex, spend the ensuing off days leisurely making your way north before finishing the trip with a game at Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium.

View of the field from behind home plate at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia

6) The I-95 ballpark tour

Saturday, Aug. 10: Astros at Red Sox
Sunday, Aug. 11: Rangers at Yankees
Tuesday, Aug. 13: Athletics at Mets
Wednesday, Aug. 14: Marlins at Phillies
Thursday, Aug. 15: Red Sox at Orioles

Another potential MLB ballpark road trip on the East Coast includes Boston’s Fenway Park this time — in fact, that’s the starting point before you head south. An extended stay in New York awaits, with games at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, as well as Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia and Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

If you want to take the “road” out of road-tripping, you can definitely do it on this itinerary. Amtrak stops at all of these cities and is quite convenient for ballpark hopping.

7) The Midwest closer

Tuesday, Sept. 24: Brewers at Pirates
Wednesday, Sept. 25: Reds at Guardians
Thursday, Sept. 26: Rays at Tigers
Friday, Sept. 27: Reds at Cubs
Saturday, Sept. 28: Mets at Brewers
Sunday, Sept. 29: Orioles at Twins

Close out the 2024 MLB regular season in style with this six-stop ballpark road trip, stopping at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Progressive Field in Cleveland, Comerica Park in Detroit, Wrigley Field in Chicago, American Family Field in Milwaukee and Target Field in Minneapolis. Whew, that’s a lot of ballparks!

Plus, five of the teams on this docket made the postseason in 2023, so the chances are pretty good that one of these games will be key in the playoff race. One thing to consider: There are several day games here, but the schedule is such that you can add in an off day without sacrificing a stop on the trip.

 * * *

Got an MLB ballpark road trip idea for the 2023 season that we didn’t cover? Or want to share tales of your ballpark travels? Hit us up at [email protected].


Share this post:
This entry was posted in MLB, News, Road Trips. Bookmark the permalink.
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Archives