There’s a moment every Cardinals family knows: the game ends, you’re walking back through downtown with tired kids, and someone starts pulling up hotel prices on their phone. More families are skipping that moment entirely, parking the RV for the weekend instead, and turning one ticket into two or three days of fun things to do in St. Louis without ever touching a hotel booking site.
It sounds like a small shift. It changes the whole weekend.
How Close Are You Really to the Ballpark?
This is usually the first question families ask, and it’s a fair one, nobody wants to trade a hotel room for a 45-minute commute to first pitch. The good news: an RV park near Busch Stadium on the Illinois side puts you close enough that the drive downtown takes well under 10 minutes, right across the river. You’re not sacrificing proximity for the RV setup, you’re just trading a hotel lobby for a campfire.
That closeness is really the whole reason this works. If the park were 40 minutes out, none of the rest of this would matter.
Getting the Family From Campsite to Game Day
Once you’re settled in, the next question is simple: how does everyone actually get downtown? There are three realistic ways to do it, and which one makes sense depends on your group.
Shuttle
For families who'd rather not deal with downtown parking at all, a shuttle service running straight into the city is the easiest option, no navigating stadium lots with a stroller in tow, no circling for parking before first pitch. Round trip runs about $10 per person, with one free child per adult, which makes it an easy call for a family of four or five heading to a game.
MetroLink
If you'd rather have more control over your schedule, MetroLink is a solid backup. There are Illinois-side stations with large park-and-ride lots that connect directly into downtown, just a short ride from Stadium Station, which sits close enough to Busch that you're basically walking straight from the platform to the gates. MetroLink has put real investment into station security in recent years, so the reputation it had a decade ago isn't the full picture anymore. For a family that wants flexibility on when to head back, maybe leaving mid-eighth if the kids are fading, this is a reasonable option.
Rideshare
Uber and Lyft are always on the table, and given how close you already are, a trip downtown typically runs cheaper than the $35–40 you'd pay coming from the airport, though game-night surge pricing can push that up, especially right after the final out when everyone's requesting a ride at once. It's a fine choice for a smaller group or a late game, but it's worth checking prices before you assume it's cheaper than the shuttle for a full family.
Most families end up mixing methods, shuttle in for the game, rideshare back if the lines are long, MetroLink if they’re adding a second stop downtown.
Making a Full Weekend of It
Here’s where the RV weekend starts to pay off beyond just the game. Since you’re already parked minutes from the city, it’s easy to fill the rest of the weekend without repacking the car. The Zoo is a full afternoon on its own, and it’s free. The City Museum keeps kids (and honestly, adults) occupied for hours. If breweries are more your speed for an evening once the kids are settled, there are several worth a stop in the metro area. A short walk from the Arch grounds themselves rounds out a morning nicely.
None of this requires driving the RV itself anywhere, once it’s parked for the weekend, it stays parked. That’s arguably the biggest quality-of-life difference between this and a hotel stay: you’re not re-loading a car every time you want to see something new.
Why This Beats the Hotel Search
A hotel weekend means a cramped room, vending machine breakfasts, and usually a parking fee tacked onto the bill just for existing near downtown. An RV weekend flips that. Full hookups mean nobody’s fighting over an outlet. A pool and playground on-site mean the kids have something to do between the game and dinner. And at the end of a long day at the ballpark, you’re coming back to your own space, not somebody else’s room with somebody else’s thermostat settings.
It’s not flashy. It’s just easier, and for a family juggling a baseball game and a couple of extra days of sightseeing, easier is what actually matters.
FAQs
Is there an RV park near Busch Stadium?
Yes, an RV park on the Illinois side sits close enough that downtown is under a 10-minute drive, with shuttle, MetroLink, and rideshare all realistic ways to get to the game.
Can you take MetroLink to a Cardinals game from Illinois?
Yes. Illinois-side MetroLink stations connect directly into downtown, with Stadium Station sitting right next to Busch Stadium.
Is there a shuttle from the campground to Busch Stadium?
Yes, a round-trip shuttle service runs directly into downtown, priced per person with a free child per adult, making it an easy option for families.
Is Uber worth it after a night game?
It can be, especially for smaller groups, but expect surge pricing right after the final out, the shuttle or MetroLink may end up cheaper and just as fast for a full family.
Ready for a Weekend Like This?
That’s really the throughline with families who’ve made this their go-to move for Cardinals weekends: it’s less about any one perk and more about not having to think as hard. Book the site, bring the ballgear, figure out the shuttle or MetroLink once you’re there, the rest sorts itself out. If you’re a Military member, ask about the 10% discount when you book, since it stacks nicely onto an already low-hassle weekend.