Traveling to see the Twins on the road has become one of my absolute favorite parts of fandom. It’s an excuse to go visit and explore different cities, and of course, seeing baseball played in the many unique venues across the league is a joy. Sampling the food, sizing up the sightlines, and socializing with local fans: you can’t beat it.
I have a poster on my office wall tracking my progress, and by its count I have thus far visited 18 of the 30 active MLB ballparks. This year, I’m sizing up a few chances to knock additional parks off the list, while maybe revisiting an old favorite or two.
With the start of the season closing in, let’s run through the upcoming schedule with an eye on road trips and vacation opportunities for Twins fans who want to travel to see the team in action.
Midwest Tour to Open the Season
For a second straight year, the Twins open in Kansas City at the end of March. I’ll say right up-front that KC is my favorite baseball road trip. Aside from Target Field (and the Metrodome), there’s no ballpark at which I’ve seen more games than Kauffman Stadium. With great barbecue, beer and neighborhoods, Kansas City is an awesome city in which to spend time. Crucially, it’s a manageable drive from the Twin Cities (about seven hours down I-35, roughly equal to Chicago).
The Twins visit the Royals twice this year, once at the very beginning of the season and once in September, meaning visitors will avoid the brutal heat that sometimes accompanies a midsummer affair. I highly recommend getting there at least once this year, if you haven’t done so before. Kauffman Stadium is a gem, with beautiful sightlines, unique location and a nice blend of historical charm plus modern amenities. The gameday vibes are immaculate. With talks of a new downtown stadium in the works, there might not be too many more chances to visit this MLB institution.
Ambitious early-season travelers could complete a Midwest loop by catching the opening series in Kansas City and then taking a detour on the way back to Minneapolis, heading east for the following short series against the Brewers. It’s about about an eight-hour drive from KC to Milwaukee, with a chance to stop in affiliate city Cedar Rapids along the way. (Unfortunately, the Kernels don’t open their home schedule until the following week.)
The Twins play the Brewers on Tuesday and Wednesday. Catch both, leave town after the matinee series finale, and make the five-hour drive back to Minneapolis in time for a late dinner. (Our Steve Trefz has more details on what you can see and do in Kansas City and Milwaukee, if you’re thus inclined.) Then get some rest. You’ll need to gather your energy for the home opener at Target Field on Thursday.
Other noteworthy road trips in April include Detroit and Anaheim (weekends), and Baltimore and Chicago (midweek). Orioles Park at Camden Yards is high on my list of parks to see, but I don’t think I’ll make it this year. Steve also wrote about Comerica, Camden, and those two cities for us, and you can check out that article on Saturday for details.
Crossing the Border in May
The Twins head to Canada in the middle of May for a weekend series in Toronto, which is a trip I’d love to take one of these years, but probably not this time around. Last summer, I went to Montreal for a bachelor party; I’m pretty sure there’s a moratorium on any of us re-entering the country.
I’ve been to games in Cleveland and Washington, both on work trips and neither time to see the Twins. (I happened to see the Nationals clinch their World Series berth in 2019, which was cool.) I liked both parks, but would rank them closer to the middle tier than to the top. D.C. is a way cooler city than Cleveland, in my humble opinion.
Pinpointing PNC in June
I’ve got my sights set on the mid-June series in Pittsburgh, because PNC Park is very high-priority on the list of stadiums I have yet to visit. Everyone raves about this yard, and the pictures are gorgeous. The June 7-9 weekend series looks like a great time to get out there and absorb the experience in all its glory. I’ve never been to Pittsburgh, so I’d welcome any tips on places to stay, sights to see, or attractions to check out.
Preceding the Pittsburgh series is a midweek matchup against the Yankees. New York City is a blast, but personally, I could take or leave Yankee Stadium. When I went, it felt cold and sterile, with some odd design choices. The idea of seeing the Twins play there also feels daunting, though this year’s matchup could potentially feature some real offensive fireworks. Pittsburgh is a short flight and manageable bus/train ride from New York, so there’s potential here for an extended multi-city romp out East.
The June schedule also features weekend trips to Houston, Oakland and Seattle, as well as a midweek trip to Arizona. Seattle ranks highly as a city and stadium. Oakland and Arizona have bottom-tier parks.
Go See the Oracle in July
Just before the All-Star break in the middle of July, the Twins travel to San Francisco for a weekend series against the Giants. This, along with the Pittsburgh series, stands out as the biggest highlight of the road schedule this year. Oracle is right up there with PNC among ballparks at which I haven’t seen a game. (Bonus points for wearing a Correa Giants jersey if you make it to one of these games.)
July offers a couple of other solid road trip destinations, including a weekend series in Detroit. I’d be all about making that trip (a lengthy 10-hour drive, but a much more reasonable sub-two hour flight) if it wasn’t so closely bunched with San Francisco. I still might try to make it work, because Detroit is the only remaining AL Central city (and stadium) I’ve yet to visit.
If you missed New York in June, you have an opportunity to catch the Twins against the Mets at the end of July, though it’s another midweek series. I went to Citi Field way back in 2010 and saw Carl Pavano beat Johan Santana. We went to a nearby bar afterward and watched the U.S. lose to Ghana in the World Cup. It was a great time. The stadium reminded me a lot of Target Field, which makes sense given that it opened one year earlier and incorporated many of the same trends. I’d like to go back sometime. Alas, not this year.
Returning to Wrigleyville in August
The Twins played a late-season two-game series against the Cubs in Chicago back in 2021, and three games there with no fans in 2020. Not since 2018 have the Twins played a standard three-game series at Wrigley Field, but they return in August for a Monday-through-Wednesday set. The weekday scheduling can make this tough to negotiate, but Chicago tends to be a cheap flight and survivable seven-hour drive.
I try to make a point of getting to Chi-town frequently, because my sister lives there. It’s nice to use Twins road trips as an excuse to go. The city is fantastic, in contention for my favorite in the country. I’ve gone to Chicago for September series against the White Sox each of the past two years (with very different on-field vibes) and gained more appreciation for the Guaranteed Rate Field experience, but the ballpark – and especially the surrounding neighborhood – can’t compete with Wrigleyville.
August also offers an opportunity to visit San Diego and see the Twins play at Petco Park. That’s a spectacular stadium and surrounding area. I went in 2022 and watched Joe Ryan give up approximately 20 home runs against the Padres. I’ll definitely go back again soon; hopefully they host a weekend series in 2026.
Texas is the most travel-friendly road trip series in August, a four-gamer spanning a weekend in the middle of the month. Someday I’ll go see Globe Life Field, but there’s not much pulling me there, nor to Dallas in the dog days of summer.
Plenty of September Sights to See
In the final month of the season, the Twins visit four different cities, closing out their road schedule with a weekend trip to Boston–another really cool city with a must-see ballpark, and the mid-September weather at Fenway should be phenomenal. This is an excellent late-season target if the early autumn best suits your travel plans.
If you missed out on Kansas City all the way back at the start of the season, you’ve got a chance to make the trek in September instead. The Twins also play four-game series in both Tampa and Cleveland, with the latter potentially holding some drama in the AL Central race.
There’s no shortage of places to go and ballparks to see on the Twins schedule this season. Which road trips are you considering making? What are your favorite memories of traveling to see your favorite team play? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments.