Nationals Park

Washington, D.C.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)

5 miles/10 minutes to Nationals Park

Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)

30 miles/40 minutes to Nationals Park

Hotels – all options below are within 3 miles of Nationals Park.

Unlimited Budget

Mandarin Oriental Hotel

The Hotel George

Washington Court Hotel

 

Moderate Budget

Courtyard by Marriott – Capital Hill/Navy Yard

Residence Inn – Washington DC/Capitol

Holiday Inn – Washington Capitol

Courtyard by Marriott – Washington Convention Center

 

Chaser Budget Traveler – only 1 option for a bargain hotel within the city limits. You will need to leave downtown to find anything under $100 per night.

Harrington Hotel

 

Parking

If you don’t mind the walk, parking at Nationals Park can be as low as $5. However, anything close to the stadium will run between $30-40. If you are driving to Nationals Park, we recommend pre-purchasing your parking ticket online. 

During the 2008 season, 53% of visitors to Nationals Park came via the metro! If you are staying at a hotel not within walking distance of the stadium, Ballpark Chasers suggest taking the Metro. Take the Green Line to Navy Yard station, which is just one block from Nationals Park. If you need a cab after the game, head out the Center Field gates and make a left. The taxicab stand will remain open for 30 minutes after the final out. 

Ballpark Chasers Tip: free parking is located at RFK stadium! Really? Yes, and they will even shuttle you to the game! Find Lot 8 at RFK stadium and hop aboard the “Nats Express” for a complimentary round trip shuttle to the Nationals game.

Dining

Surprisingly, Nationals Park does not have a great selection of restaurants and sport bars around the stadium. Therefore, we recommend grabbing a ride on the Circulator bus that connects Union Station, Eastern Market, Barracks Row (8^th St.), the Navy Yard Metro station and Nationals Park. For only $1, you can catch a ride on Circulator running every 10 minutes at the Union Station– Navy Yard Metro. There are dozens of restaurants along this route for you to choose from, but our recommendations are on Barracks Row and Pennsylvania Ave. Ballpark Chasers favorites include: The Pour House, The Ugly Mug, Lola’s Barracks Bar & Grille, Matchbox, Las Placitas, Café 8 and Banana Café & Piano Bar. With the exception of The Pour House, all other restaurants and sports bars listed above can be found along 8^th Ave.

The concession stands inside Nationals Park are one of the best in baseball! Our favorites include the Triple Play Grille, the Taste of the Majors, Hard Times Café and Red Hot & Blue. The Nationals serve everything from Cuban sandwiches, shrimp burgers, crab sandwiches, meatball subs and “quasi-dillas” (chicken quesadillas). Ballpark Chasers favorite vendor has to be Ben’s Chili Bowl for their chili dogs, chili burgers, turkey dogs and signature chili. For those Chasers watching their waistline, Nationals Park offers a Healthy Plate stand that features vegetable platters with hummus, fresh fruit and gourmet fresh salads. For those who don’t care about calorie count, stop for dessert at Gifford’s Ice Cream and Candy Shop along the first-base side for awesome milkshakes, sundaes and hand-dipped cones. And finally, on the warm and humid DC afternoons, Ballpark Chasers enjoy the center field plaza for a serving of Krazee Ice, the New Orleans style shaved ice that comes in 31 delicious flavors.

Tickets

The Nationals are in the middle of the pack in terms of Major League Baseball attendance. It isn’t necessary to pre-purchase tickets to a Nationals game unless the opposition is a big market team. If needing tickets when arriving at the stadium, scalpers are easy to find around the metro stop. If you are looking to sell your extras, make sure to be at least 100 ft. from Nationals Park grounds. It is illegal to sell tickets at any price this close to the stadium.

Ballpark Chasers Tip: the most fun seats in Nationals Park are in section 100 (the center field reserved and center field lounge). These red painted seats, located just beyond center field, are the only ones in the ballpark; the rest are blue. In addition to the great panoramic view, the center field lounge also gives direct access to the Red Porch Restaurant along with a $20 food, beverage and/or merchandise credit! 

Weather

The D.C. area tends to be warm, sunny and humid during the summer months. Expect upper 80s and low 90s during July and August with frequent afternoon thunderstorms. Ballpark Chasers recommend visiting Nationals Park during the last week of May or any part of June for comfortable warm weather and less chance of rain showers.

Local Attractions

One could easily spend an entire week in Washington D.C. and not experience everything.  Planning ahead is essential when traveling to National Park and DC to see all of the attractions on your wish list. If you are making Nationals Park a quick baseball trip, without much time to see the historical sites, we recommend taking the City Segway Tour. The 3 hour tour will give you an excellent and fun way to see the White House, US Capital, Ford’s Theatre, Washington Monument, Supreme Court, National Archives, Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, National Galleries of Art, Smithsonian Natural History, Smithsonian American History Museum, FBI Headquarters and more. If you haven’t had the opportunity to ride a Segway, this is a perfect chance to take a cheap ride without forking over $5000 to purchase one. Because of the limited number of Segway’s per group, reservations are required. If you have several days to devote to local sites, Ballpark Chasers recommends seeing all of the above in greater length along with the Lincoln Memorial, Washington National Cathedral, US Holocaust Memorial Museum, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Library of Congress, National Gallery of Art and the National Mall.  

Ballpark Chasers Trip Suggestion

Nationals Park is part of the “East Coast Swing” Ballpark Chasers vacation. This trip includes seeing the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park and the Orioles in Oriole Park at Camden Yards. We suggest finding the cheapest flight to Washington DC, Baltimore or Philadelphia and getting a rental car to drive in between. Expect up to a 1 hour drive from DC to Baltimore, 2 hours from Baltimore to Philadelphia, and a 3 hour drive between Philadelphia and DC. Keep in mind that these times reflect little traffic but that will never happen during the weekdays. The “East Coast Swing” can easily be done in three days but plan for 5 to have time at local attractions and museums.

If you want to stay around the DC area to see some Minor League Baseball, there are two options within an hour’s drive of downtown. The closest park (about 20 minutes from Nationals Park) is Prince George’s Stadium. The Bowie Baysox, Class AA Affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, call Prince George’s Stadium home. About 45 minutes away is Pfitzner Stadium, home of the 2008 Carolina League Champions, Potomac Nationals. See the grounds where Barry Bonds, Andy Pettitte, Albert Pujols, Bernie Williams and Bobby Bonilla got their start.