The Guide explores Nationals Park
So you’ve decided to heed the call to adventure. Good for you. If you need to refer back to what the Guide actually is or who I actually am, please refer to the included links.
A Cheater’s Guide to a second home on the east coast
The Guide has the following to say about going to a game at Nationals Park, home of the Washington Nationals:
It is a nice stadium, you cheat! You haven’t been to a game here since 2015!
Fair enough. I have not been to a Dodgers/Nationals game in Washington D.C. since the summer after my first year of law school in 2015. I did return to the stadium in 2023, but that visit was to take a tour and see what had changed in the area of Nationals Park.
I was scheduled to go to a Dodgers/Nationals game in May 2022, but my health prevented me from going. It was a shame because I did enjoy my time at the ballpark. As you may know, the first Dodger game I went to outside of Los Angeles was in Washington, D.C. Nationals Park (“Nats Park”) is probably an odd choice for some in this regard, but the circumstances of my life led me to first see the Dodgers in our nation’s capitol rather than up north or down south. (I would never recommend that anyone visit Angel Stadium.)
Nats Park is not an elite park, but it has a soft spot in my heart. For those willing to travel to Washington, D.C. for Dodger baseball, you will find a fun, engaging baseball experience. The following is all that you will need to know about going to a Dodgers/Nationals game at Nats Park.
The Five Questions of the Guide
1. Is it worth going here?
Yes, but it helps if you have a love of national monuments.
Nats Park is the lesser ballpark of the two ballparks in the D.C./Baltimore area. However, playing second fiddle to Oriole Park at Camden Yards is no real slight as going to a Dodgers/Nationals game in D.C. is usually a solid experience.
The first thing that jumps out for the first-time visitor to the Capitol is how compact everything is and how easy it is to navigate D.C. by rail, specifically the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (“WMATA” or “Metro”).
Here is my general rule of thumb, ask yourself the following: are you trying to go to Georgetown?
If the answer is yes, please reconsider what you are doing with your life because snootiness is as snootiness does. Kidding aside, you will have to take a cab or car to get to Georgetown, because WMATA does not service the neighborhood. It is as if Marin County, California NIMBYness found a home in a portion of D.C.
If you are not going to Georgetown, odds are you can get wherever you are going in D.C. via WMATA and/or your own two feet.
For the first-timer at Nats Park, you can get a First-Game Certificate from Guest Services, which might be a bit plain but comes on solid paper stock, which is a step up from having to print the document yourself.
The Nationals do offer tours, and if you have extra time, it is worth it to do the Off-Day Tour, so that you can go into the Nationals dugout and bullpen. Even the regular tour is a solid choice if only to visit the World Series trophy practically gift-wrapped by Dave Roberts’ managerial blunders in the 2019 National League Division Series.
2. How should I get there?
Unless you live in Washington, D.C., or on the East Coast, odds are high that you would fly into D.C. at either Washington Dulles International Airport or Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. There are WMATA stations at both airports that can take you into D.C. proper or nearby portions of Maryland and Northern Virginia if that is where your hotel is. Ridesharing/taking a cab into D.C. is also an option if you do not want to deal with public transportation.
Technically, Baltimore/Washington International Airport in Baltimore is also an option to get to D.C. There is a commuter train (the MARC) that can get you into D.C. In my day, the commuter train was strictly a weekday-only affair, but the MARC commuter train does run on weekends. I would still double-check before committing to this option as getting to D.C., from Baltimore is a colossal headache without a car.
Now, if the schedule allows, getting to D.C. by train (Amtrak) is quite easy and affordable, especially if you are arriving from New York or Philadelphia. Union Station in Washington, D.C. is not as iconic as Union Station in Los Angeles or Moynihan Train Hall in New York City, but it serves as a central hub where you can either catch WMATA or a rideshare to get anywhere else in D.C.
Generally, one should take Metro to get to Nats Park as there is a dedicated stop on the Green Line that drops passengers off about a block from the stadium, with adequate signage that makes it virtually impossible to miss the stadium.
Considering the regional nature of WMATA Metro, I cannot recommend taking a vehicle (either rental or rideshare) to Nats Park. Several streets close at game time, making arriving at the stadium by car prohibitive. Moreover, most of the parking lots are multiple blocks away from the stadium, so one will likely still arrive at the ballpark on foot.
3. Where should I stay?
Now, most arriving Dodger fans are either locals, who do not need this Guide, or out-of-towners, who flew into one of the three regional airports. As such, most visitors to Nats Park should likely not have a car. There are a couple of hotels near Nats Park, but D.C. is small enough to catch Metro just about anywhere in the city and still easily get to Nats Park via the Green Line.
As you can see, there is no shortage of hotels in D.C. proper. If you budget wisely, you can find an option that fits your preferences fairly easily. I have three additional pieces of advice that I have accumulated in my time living in the nation’s capital to get the most out of any visit.
Do not underestimate the size of the National Mall
The National Mall is a must-see destination for anyone visiting Washington, D.C. From museums to art galleries to monuments to memorials, the National Mall has you covered. You could easily spend months in the Mall and not see everything.
While you are in the Mall, there are WMATA stations at various points adjacent to the Mall, you will primarily be relying on travel by foot, by bike, or by Segway. As you see below, it is best to think of the National Mall as an upside-down upper-case T. On one end of the T, you have the Lincoln Memorial, on the other end of the T, you have Congress. At the junction, you have the Washington Monument and at the bottom of the T, you have the White House.
While everything is more condensed than you might think, do not underestimate how long it will take to get from one end of the mall to the other, because the majority of WMATA stations are on the right side of the T. There is a WMATA station on the same street as the Lincoln Memorial, but it is about a mile away and at least a 20-minute walk.
Contact your elected representatives
Along these lines, without venturing into politics, it is worth noting that your local congressional representative is an excellent resource for scheduling tours of various government buildings in D.C. Regardless of politics, their respective staffs are an excellent resource in arranging free tours of places including the White House (need six months’ notice), Congress, the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center, and many more.
Do not cross the Anacostia River at night, and stay away from the fringes of the Green Line
As you can see on the Metro map above, the Green Line is the best way to get to Nats Park. D.C. does have a reputation for crime as major cities do and there are rougher parts of the area.
My general rules of thumb are this:
- Do not cross the Anacostia River at night. There is no reason for a tourist to head to that part of the region at night. Historically, rougher neighborhoods are on the other side of the river, so unless you have a specific reason, I would avoid the area, especially at night.
- Do not go north of Howard University at night. You can reach Howard University by the Green Line, I would recommend Ben’s Chili Bowl on U St for a half-smoke (bring cash) as it is pretty good while sober and transcendent if you are intoxicated. Unless you are with locals, unless you have a specific urgent need, a regular tourist does not need to be in that part of D.C.
4. Where should I sit?
As with other East Coast ballparks, you will have to deal with the question of weather when visiting. I have gone to games at Nats Park during the summer and if you are unlucky, D.C.’s reputation for being a humid swamp will be omnipresent and inescapable.
As I have written above, Nats Park is a nice ballpark, which was built in a modular fashion. That said, obvious advice is obvious advice. If you have come from the West Coast, there is no reason to be sitting in the upper deck. Ticket prices are not dirt cheap, but they are hardly unreasonable in any fashion.
Plus, if you have splurged to come to the East Coast, you can likely afford to see at field level. Considering the reasonability of the ticket prices, if you want to sit at the field level, you should be able with minimum effort. If you want to sit behind home plate or behind the Dodger dugout, it will cost accordingly.
Now, like Target Field and Wrigley Field, depending on the time of year, if you are attending, you are likely playing Weather Roulette. For that reason, I cannot recommend sitting in the outfield, unless you want to hang out by the Dodgers’ bullpen, and as such, I recommend one area of seating that is reasonable in price, provides a lovely view of the game, and provides cover if the conditions are too rainy, too cold, or too muggy to enjoy the game: the FIS Champions Club, sections 206-221. If you wish to splurge, sit in sections 212-215, which are the FIS Champions Club MVP section.
As you can see from the provided photographs, you have a stunning view of the game, but the real draw is actually behind you with the climate-controlled indoor area, with access to food, drink, and concessions.
As you can see the section is split up into two connected halves providing the comforts of home while watching a Dodgers/Nationals game in the nation’s capital.
5. After your trip, is it worth going back?
Hey, that was fun! I can hardly wait to go back!
I have been to Nats Park for four games, three Dodgers/Nats games, and one Mets/Nats game. The Mets/Nats game came about because the first game of the 2015 Dodgers/Nats series was suspended due to an electrical failure, which was initially blamed on the previous night’s Taylor Swift concert. Because of the outage, instead of the requested refund, they gave out vouchers to another home Nats game during the season.
Oddly enough, the game itself was fine, but I fell asleep during the game and had to look up the outcome for writing this Guide entry, the Nationals won.
If you pair a visit to Nats Park, with other attractions in D.C., you will likely have an amazing trip. That said, if you go solely for baseball, it is a solid, reasonably-priced experience. But seriously, go enjoy the capital and get a half-smoke at Ben’s Chili Bowl after the game.
Nats Park is not an elite ballpark, but it is a solid ballpark. Like Milwaukee, you get what you pay for.