Visit these 7 Minor League stadiums -- and the neighboring national park!
Dan Cichalski
@NJ_baseballFor those who are looking for one last great summer road trip, there are innumerable options for destinations, attractions and diversions to make memories and fill a camera roll before the leaves start falling -- or to plan on visiting next year.
For many travelers, the end point of the GPS directions will be a national park. The U.S. National Park Service manages more than 400 individual units, with 63 of those designated as national parks. (There are also battlefields, historic sites, lakeshores, monuments, parkways, preserves, seashores and more.) So why not combine two of Ken Burns¡¯ loves and add a Minor League ballgame to the itinerary while celebrating America¡¯s Best Idea?
To help with your planning, we¡¯ve identified seven Minor League teams that play within about an hour¡¯s drive (pending traffic) of one of America¡¯s 63 national parks. If your journey takes you across more of our highways and backroads, you can easily fit in more of both. Let the pairings on this list, presented by Wyndham, inspire you.
2 states, 2 ballparks and our most popular national park
Tennessee Smokies
3540 Line Drive
Kodak, Tennessee 37764
(865) 286-2300
Smokies Stadium Ballpark Guide ?
Let¡¯s begin with a ballpark two-fer. Take your pick between the Cubs¡¯ Double-A affiliate in Tennessee or the Astros¡¯ High-A farm club in North Carolina, and on the way from one to the other, take the scenic route through Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The Smokies became a Cubs affiliate in 2007, and in ¡¯15 they reintroduced a black bear in their logo -- both a nod to the parent club and to the ursine inhabitants of the Smokies. Black bears are so prevalent in the national park that the NPS reports an average of nearly one negative human-bear encounter per day.
Asheville Tourists
30 Buchanan Pl.
Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 258-0528
McCormick Field Ballpark Guide ?
On the eastern side of those Smoky Mountains are the Asheville Tourists, a moniker that applies to more than 12 million people each year (not counting the two-dozen-plus ballplayers who suit up for the team during the season).
Unlike the Cubs affiliate some 97 miles to the west, this team does have a bear mascot -- Ted E. Tourist, a brown bear who apparently let one of his ursine cousins crash in the dugout back in 2022.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park: The most-visited site in the National Parks System (more than 13 million visitors in 2023) features four visitors centers. The Tennessee Smokies are closest to the Sugarlands Visitor Center (27 miles), while the Asheville Tourists are nearest to Oconaluftee Visitor Center (67 miles).
The national park covers more than half a million acres in North Carolina and Tennessee and features 800 miles of hiking trails that take you to majestic waterfalls, expansive vistas and wide-open meadows. Just remember to save the selfies for Ted E. Tourist and not any bears you spot in the park.
Don¡¯t miss: At an elevation of 6,643 feet, Clingmans Dome is the highest peak in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the highest point in Tennessee and the highest point on the 2,192 miles of the Appalachian Trail that winds from Georgia to Maine. A one-mile roundtrip paved trail -- at a steep 12-percent grade -- leads from the parking lot to an observation tower that offers 360-degree views of the mountains.
Rev up for a subterranean adventure
Bowling Green Hot Rods
300 E. 8th Ave.
Bowling Green, KY 42101
270-901-2121
Bowling Green Ballpark Guide ?
The Hot Rods rolled off the assembly line as a Rays affiliate in 2009 and currently play in the High-A South Atlantic League. Their name is a nod to the automotive and racing industries in the region, which includes the National Corvette Museum, where a sinkhole in 2014 swallowed eight cars. The team memorialized that catastrophe (car-tastrophe?) in 2019 by becoming the Bowling Green Sinkholes.
Mammoth Cave National Park: The longest known cave system in the world features more than 400 miles of known passageways and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve. The visitor center -- along with an adjacent lodge and nearby campground -- is 32 miles northeast of the Hot Rods¡¯ ballpark. Park activities include more than just cave tours beneath the earth -- canoeing, kayaking, fishing, hiking and horseback riding are other popular activities. And as a designated International Dark Sky Park, the adventures continue after sunset.
Don¡¯t miss: A cave tour, of course. The park advises reservations because tours can sell out weeks in advance.
Connected by a canal
Akron RubberDucks
300 S. Main Street
Akron, OH 44308
(330) 253-5151
Canal Park Ballpark Guide ?
The Akron RubberDucks, the Guardians¡¯ Double-A affiliate, play downtown in Canal Park, named for the vestige of the Ohio and Erie Canal that flows behind left field. The canal once linked the Ohio River, which forms the state¡¯s southern border, to Lake Erie at Cleveland. Today, the 110-mile Ohio and Erie Towpath Trail follows the route of the canal south from Cleveland through Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Akron to the town of New Philadelphia. Both Lock 3 Park and the Richard Howe House along the trail are close to the ballpark.
Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Nestled between Cleveland and Akron, this park encompasses the winding Cuyahoga River and some 20 miles of the Towpath Trail, a popular route for hikers and cyclists. The National Audubon Society has designated Cuyahoga Valley an Important Bird Area, drawing birdwatchers to its trails and viewpoints in search of more than 200 types of birds that pass through the park.
Don¡¯t miss: The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad offers excursions through the park and into Akron. It¡¯s possible to hike, bike or kayak one way and flag down the train to return to your starting point. The southernmost station, Akron Northside, is about a mile from the ballpark. Or for those who prefer a self-propelled adventure, depart from the Botzum trailhead near the southernmost point of Cuyahoga Valley National Park and follow the Towpath Trail eight miles to the Richard Howe House outside the ballpark.
More young Cubs, but no bears
South Bend Cubs
501 W. South St.
South Bend, IN 46601
574-235-9988
Four Winds Field Ballpark Guide ?
Built in 1988, the South Bend Cubs¡¯ ballpark has been called ¡°the grandfather of the modern ballpark¡± because the wide, open concourse and suites have been emulated in many a Minor League venue since. Don¡¯t forget to check out the team store in the century-old synagogue in right field.
Indiana Dunes National Park: About 45 miles west of South Bend, this newer national park (upgraded in 2019 from a national lakeshore) stretches for 20 miles along the southern shore of Lake Michigan. It¡¯s a popular spot for swimming in the summer, along with other national park activities (hiking, camping) and water-based pursuits (fishing and kayaking).
Don¡¯t miss: The park¡¯s Century of Progress District consists of five homes that were built for and on display at the 1933 World¡¯s Fair in Chicago (the district¡¯s name comes from that fair¡¯s theme). Built as examples of modern design and new technologies in architecture ¨C for 1933, remember ¨C the homes were transported from Chicago to the lakefront on barges and trucks. They¡¯re not open to the public, but they¡¯re all easily visible from W. Lake Front Dr.
Soak it all in, traveler
Arkansas Travelers
400 West Broadway Street
North Little Rock, AR 72114
(501) 664-1555
Dickey-Stephens Park Ballpark Guide ?
We are all Tourists; we are all Travelers. The term ¡°Arkansas Traveler¡± has a long history in the state, longer than the team that has used that name since 1963 -- the third-longest moniker still in use in Minor League Baseball (after the Buffalo Bisons and Indianapolis Indians). The ballpark sits right on the Arkansas River, with views of downtown Little Rock beyond the right-field fence.
Hot Springs National Park: About 55 miles southwest of the capital, this park is nestled in a resort town in the Ouachita Mountains. At just 5,550 acres, it was the smallest national park in the system until 2018, when St. Louis¡¯ Gateway Arch -- at just 91 acres -- was redesignated from a national memorial to a national park. Hot Springs features nine historic bathhouses in addition to thermal springs, shaded hikes and gurgling creeks.
Don¡¯t miss: Bathhouse Row included eight buildings constructed between 1892 and 1923, and it was these hot springs that drew teams to the area for Spring Training in the 20th century. Though not affiliated with the NPS, the Hot Springs Baseball Trail offers a self-guided tour via an app that includes Bathhouse Row.
Be dwarfed by giants
Visalia Rawhide
300 N. Giddings St.
Visalia, CA, 93291
(559) 732-4433
Valley Strong Ballpark Guide ?
Visalia¡¯s Valley Strong Ballpark is as intimate as it gets, nestled into the neighborhood and sporting the smallest seating capacity in affiliated baseball, making for an old-fashioned gameday experience. Catch a game with a small-town feel, and then ¡
Sequoia National Park: Get a new perspective standing beneath the world¡¯s largest trees. Sequoia¡¯s Foothills Visitor Center is 37 miles from Visalia, and the park features a diverse landscape that includes forested groves, vast mountain vistas and rushing rivers. And if you have the time, this park is actually a two-fer because Kings Canyon National Park abuts it to the north, and the NPS website bundles them together.
Don¡¯t miss: General Sherman, the world¡¯s largest tree, is an 18-mile drive into the park from the Foothills Visitor Center, though it¡¯ll likely take at least an hour on the park¡¯s winding scenic road -- especially with stops at vistas and attractions on the way. Be sure to check the park website for current conditions (wildfires can close portions of the park or certain roads) and consider the shuttle to cut down on traffic in the park (and give yourself a break behind the wheel).