A seat with a view

The ballparks with the best views

Which baseball parks offer fans the best views . . . not of the game, but of the surrounding area?  Are there mountains to look at?  A body of water?  An interesting urban scene or skyline?  A lovely green forest?

Of all of the parks I've visited in the Majors and Minors, here are the twenty that I think have the best views.  You'll notice that there are no domed stadiums listed . . . for obvious reasons!

1.  Lindquist Field, Ogden, Utah  I think it's clear that the very best ballpark views are in the state of Utah. While all three of the pro parks there (in Ogden, Salt Lake City and Orem) have exceptional views of the Wasatch Mountain Range, I think Ogden's is the best -- not by a lot, but it's noticeable. As you sit in the stands at Lindquist Field watching the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League, you see the town and its steeples laid out before you as your eyes gaze out at the incredible peaks. While the photos above are striking, even they can't adequately convey the stunning scene.

2. (tie) Franklin Covey Field, Salt Lake City, Utah and Home of the Owlz, Orem., Utah  These two come in a close second to Ogden. The condition called "Alpine Glow" -- where the sun setting to the West gives the mountains to the east a beautiful golden glow -- seems a little more prevalent in Salt Lake, but you won't go wrong at any of the three parks in Utah. Franklin Covey Field (above), which is a lovely facility in its own right, is home to the Stingers of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League.  As an aside, USA Today cited our assessment of this fantastic view in a cover story about Salt Lake City.  Orem's Home of the Owlz (below), like Ogden, is a Pioneer League park. Its view of the mountains that are farther south than Salt Lake is phenomenal.

Other nice views of mountains/hills can be found at the parks in Salem VA, Asheville NC and Scranton-Wilkes Barre PA ... and at Albuquerque, which is #20 below!

4.  PNC Park, Pittsburgh   You've heard about it, you've read about it, you've seen it on TV . . . and maybe you've been lucky enough to see it for yourself.  The view from the Pirates' new home is nothing short of spectacular:  the skyline -- which is even more stunning at night -- and the river and the Clemente Bridge (see below).  Wow!

5.  Richmond County Bank Ballpark, Staten Island   Before this park opened in 2001, Pac Bell in San Francisco had the best view of a body of water.  Not any more!  The vista beyond the outfield walls here is breathtaking.  As you look across the "Upper Bay," you see the Statue of Liberty to the left, lower Manhattan (which tragically no longer includes the World Trade Center towers) in the middle and Brooklyn to the right.  Also, because the water is no more than 100 feet beyond the outfield walls, you're able to watch absolutely immense tankers chug along just beyond the park, and you can watch the Staten Island Ferry come and go.  What a scene!

6.  SBC Park, San Francisco  Another one that deserves to be near the top of the list!  Depending on where you are sitting, you could have a clear view of the huge Bay Bridge jutting across San Francisco Bay.  Or of the beautiful bay itself, with its boats and ferries.  Or of the mountains on the far side of the bay.  We've devoted a full page to SBC Park if you want to see more.   

7.  Coors Field, Denver  What an nice view of the Rocky Mountains!  It is no coincidence that the upper-deck stands wrap completely around the field -- except for left field.  That area is left open so that the range of mountains can be seen . . . and on some days, there's the incredible, breath-taking sunset.  I highly recommend you sit in the upper deck on the first base side to take in this great view.  For a look at one of those colorful sunsets, check out the Coors Field Photo Album Page.  Note, though, that sometimes the smoke from forest fires can hinder the view of the mountains and sunset.

8.  John O'Donnell Stadium, Davenport  This is the home of the Swing of the Quad Cities (that's a mouthful), and it does indeed sit right on the banks of the Mighty Mississippi (hence the problem it's had with flooding over the years).  Just try paying attention to the game with the incredible spectacle of that river flowing by!  For a look at this view, visit the Low A Photo Album page.  By the way, I suggest sitting on the third-base side (high in the stands) for the best view of the river. The new park in Corpus Christi also has a great view of a huge bridge.

9.  Comerica Park, Detroit  The architects intentionally placed no upper decks across the outfield.  That way, a panoramic view of downtown is offered, and that view is a beauty (see below).  Of course, there are a number of other nice "skyline" views (although not all are directly beyond the outfield; sometimes they're behind 3B or 1B), including Rochester, Cleveland, Boston, Indianapolis, Houston, Atlanta, Wilmington DE, Durham, Oklahoma City and Fresno.

10.  Tucson Electric Park, Tucson  If you travel to Arizona to see the Diamondbacks or some spring training games, you owe it to yourself to make the trip down to Tucson Electric Park.  While the stadium itself is one of the most pleasing in all of the Minors, the view of the mountains beyond left and centerfield is downright lovely (see lefthand photo below). The upper deck on either side affords the best view.

11.  Wrigley Field, Chicago  I think everything about Wrigley is perfect, and so is the "urban" view beyond the outfield.  Of course, you can see how all of the buildings across the street have erected bleachers and viewing areas on their roofs, but there's also the interesting city landscape of huge North Side apartment buildings as far as the eye can see (see the right-hand photo above -- and note that the vertical yellow line is the right-field foul pole).

12.  KeySpan Park, Brooklyn   Baseball is back in Brooklyn, and the Boys Of Summer (the minor-league version) are playing in a beauty of a ballpark in Coney Island.  One wonderful aspect of the park is that Astro Land -- including the Cyclone roller coaster -- is plainly in view beyond leftfield.  You can also look out at the beach and Atlantic Ocean, as the park is right on the boardwalk, and the immense Parachute Jump tower.  The great view was only one of the reasons KeySpan Park was named BASEBALLPARKS.COM's Best New Minor League Park for 2001.  By the way, another park with an up-close roller coaster beyond the outfield fence is in Altoona, PA.

13.  Harbor Park, Norfolk  If you sit in the upper deck of this beautiful stadium, you can see the waterway beyond the right-field fence, and some very interesting vessels do cruise by.  For a picture, see the International League Photo Album.

14.  Sec Taylor Stadium, Des Moines  The fans of the Iowa Cubs not only have an excellent baseball facility, it also sits at the confluence of two rivers.  Best of all, beyond the centerfield fence, across the Des Moines River and atop a hill sits the beautiful state capitol (as the photo below shows).  What a lovely scene!

15.  Safeco Field, Seattle  Once the wretched Kingdome was imploded, most seats in this park have a great view of the downtown skyline.  Plus, the bleacher seats in center field can look out across Puget Sound at the Olympic Mountains, and the sunsets there are lovely.  By the way, from the outer concourse of the upper deck behind first base, you can see the top of massive Mount Rainier, clouds permitting.  

16.  Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles  I've said many times that this stadium is a "baseball palace" -- and the view of the San Gabriel Mountains in the distance ain't bad either!  Of course, to be able to see those peaks you need a day with less smog than average.  The best views in Dodger Stadium are in the upper decks in the main seating bowl.  By the way, from the entrance behind home plate (which, because of the hillside the stadium is built into, is all the way at the level of the uppermost deck) you can look behind the park and see the stunning skyline of downtown LA. The Epicenter in Rancho Cucamonga and Arrowhead Credit Union Park in San Bernardino also have nice views of the mountains lining the LA basin.

17.  Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park, Charleston SC  South Carolina's Ashley River and the huge, high bridges over it make a very pretty backdrop beyond the outfield fences (see the photo in the Low A Photo Album).  Sit in the upper seats on the first base side and you'll also be able to look behind the stadium at the very moist swamp there!

18.  Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore  Another one with a pretty urban scene beyond the outfield.  Aside from downtown Baltimore's skyline, there's also the unique and now-famous warehouse.  Visit the Camden Collection for a number of shots of this beautiful ballpark and its view.  

19.  Turner Field, Atlanta   The home of the Braves offers its fans a lot to look at beyond the outfield walls:  the downtown skyline; the '96 Olympic Torch tower; the state capitol; etc.

20. (tie) Isotopes Park, Albuquerque and McCormick Field, Asheville NC  The Sandia Mountains near Albuquerque are beautiful to gaze at ... and like in Salt Lake City, when the sun is setting, it can turn the peaks some cool colors. In Asheville, the park offers a close-up view of a mountain, but in this case, the hillside is on three sides of the ballpark!  A really neat environment for a game.

What views have you particularly enjoyed while watching a baseball game?  Please write us and we'll share your thoughts with everybody!  Click here to see which parks our visitors think have the best views!

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