Amtrak and baseball in Southern California

My son wants me to take him to California next summer and I was thinking a So Cal baseball tour might be fun. My question is, between Surfliners and other amtrak trains mixed with other safe/reliable public transit, would this work:

Stay somewhere between San Clemente and Solana Beach as our headquarters. Enjoy the beach for a few days and from there catch a game at Dodger Stadium, a game at Angel stadium in Annaheim, and a game at Petco park in San Diego. Is all of this doable without a car? What about night games and returning?

Thanks for any and all input or suggestions.

Yes, this is possible. The Metrolink here in LA. has a posting on their website homepage about "baseball trains" for the Dodgers. It also stops at Anaheim stadium as does the Amtrak Surfliners. Look at this: www.metrolinktrains.com Have fun!!

Wb

Plus, San Diego has its own commuter train system, as far as north which is Oceanside.

jb64 said:

Thanks for any and all input or suggestions.

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My input is this suggestion: Look at the teams' schedules, compare them with your timeframe and needs, work out an itinerary proposal, then present forum readers with specific questions.

As others have noted, there's not much of a problem getting to and from the stadiums from Amtrak stations:

* Petco Park is a couple of stops on the San Diego Trolley, or about a 20-minute walk, from the San Diego station.

* Angel Stadium is across the parking lot from the Anaheim station (you can watch the trains go by from the upper-deck seats of the stadium).

* Dodger Stadium has express bus service from L.A. Union Station -- free if you're already holding a Dodgers ticket.

A Dodgers night game probably wouldn't be feasible (unless you stayed in L.A. for one night), since the last southbound Surfliner leaves L.A. at 10:10 PM. A Padres night game would probably only be feasible on Friday and Saturday nights, when there's a northbound Coaster commuter train departure at 10:45 PM.

Night games in Anaheim would be fine (unless they go into serious extra innings), since that last southbound Surfliner is due in at 10:49 P.M.

I think your best bet in terms of scheduling the baseball games would be a Padres game on Friday or Saturday, then a Dodgers day game on Sunday, and an Angels night game on Monday or Tuesday. (The Dodgers and Angels seldom overlap their homestands, so it's unlikely you'd be able to see all three teams in a 3-day period.)

WhoozOn1st said:

jb64 said:

Thanks for any and all input or suggestions.

Click to expand...

My input is this suggestion: Look at the teams' schedules, compare them with your timeframe and needs, work out an itinerary proposal, then present forum readers with specific questions.

Click to expand...

Since this is for next summer, I don't think the schedules are out and this is a thought that is just forming. I was trying to see if it was possible or impossible before I started making any plans or started seriously looking at schedules.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and input, it is appreciated. Sounds like it is doable if the stars align right as to the game schedules. Closer to the actual booking time, I may ask additional questions.

Thanks again.

trainman74 has it pretty much right on. His last parenthetical comment applies this year and nearly every year.

But, your plan IS totally doable. Just book your stay near a station on the rail line. I'm assuming you'll be taxiing or transit from your beach stay to the station. Tentative schedules are out in the winter, with game times firmed up towards March - the Padres always seem to be last in that regard.

As an Orange County resident, I try to take a train to a number of these three teams games every season.

I organize what I call the Great Train Wreck with some friends most seasons.

We leave OC in the morning on Amtrak and take in a weekday day game at PetCo. Amtrak back to Anaheim for a night game and then Amtrak home.

Usually those stars align two or three times a year. This year, the Pads have changed their weekday day games from 12:35 to 3:35 - probably trying to increase attendance. So, this combo is not possible this year.

There is one date for me that works for LA/Ana combo this year, and it's in two weeks on 4-21.

Even with the new Dodgers Express (not on the OC Line!) on Metrolink - you can't realistically head south after a Dodgers night game.

Angel games have good Amtrak timing heading north or south and the new Metrolink Angels Express is even better - though only as far as Laguna Niguel to the south.

Padres night games you won't be able to go farther north than Oceanside, because Amtrak isn't late enough - but the Coaster does have specail trains that wait for games to end (until midnite). And, if they stay with the 3:35 games, you could Amtrak all the way to Union Station easily.

Thanks for the information Rumpled. My son's baseball season is generally over the 2nd or 3rd week of July and then he goes to school about mid-august, so we have almost a month to work with. Hopefully we can get those schedules to line up for us, otherwise we will hit two of them instead of three.