Getting to Petco Park

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Petco Park sits at 100 Park Blvd in downtown San Diego, in the East Village right off the Gaslamp Quarter, and that downtown location is the whole story for getting there. If you are staying anywhere in the Gaslamp or East Village, just walk. Most of the walkable hotels are one to six minutes from a gate, so you can skip transit entirely. You can find more about the Gaslamp and East Village hotels in our Where to Stay section.

If you are coming from farther out, the order is the San Diego Trolley first, then the Coaster or Amtrak if you are arriving from up or down the coast, then a rideshare, then driving. The Trolley is the MTS light-rail system (MTS is the Metropolitan Transit System, San Diego’s regional transit agency), and three lines drop you within a block or two of the park. Driving works and downtown has plenty of parking, but getting out of the garages after the game is slow, and SpotHero is the easiest way to lock in a spot in advance.

For the quickest answer, search for “Petco Park” in your maps app with your hotel as the starting point and switch to transit. It has the Trolley and Coaster schedules built in and will tell you in fifteen seconds what actually works from where you are staying.

MTS fares, Padres lot rates, and gate times can change every year. Before you plan around a number below, check sdmts.com or mlb.com/padres.

The San Diego Trolley

For a visitor based downtown or anywhere along a Trolley line, the San Diego Trolley is the simplest way to the park. It is the light-rail half of MTS (the Metropolitan Transit System), and three lines serve Petco:

• Green Line to the Gaslamp Quarter station, one block from the park.
• UC San Diego Blue Line or Orange Line to 12th & Imperial (one block) or Park & Market (about 0.2 mile).

All three stations sit within two blocks of a gate.

Frequency

Trolleys run every 15 minutes or better before a game, and MTS adds service after the game as needed. The Blue Line runs as often as every 7.5 minutes during commute hours.

Fares and PRONTO

MTS fares run through PRONTO, the agency’s tap-to-pay fare system. You pay one of two ways: the PRONTO app on your phone, or a reloadable PRONTO card (a one-time $2 fee) from any station machine or a participating retailer. Every rider needs their own fare. Current pricing:

• Adult one-way: as low as $3 (includes free transfers for two hours, up to the value of a day pass).
• Adult day pass: as low as $7 for unlimited rides that day.
• Senior, disabled, and Medicare: as low as $1.50 one-way / $3.50 day pass.

Here is how the fares work in practice:

• A round trip to the game is two one-way fares, $6 in all, so the $7 day pass pays off only when you add a third ride that day, like a side trip or the ride in from the airport.
• Buy and load before game day. The machine lines at the closest stations get long right before first pitch, and pre-loading a round trip on the app saves you the wait.
• Kids ride free through the Youth Opportunity Pass, and on “Family Weekends” two kids 12 and under ride free with a paying adult.

Fare checks

MTS does run fare inspectors on the Trolley, though not on every train. A packed post-game car often will not get checked, but a citation costs far more than a day pass, so just tap in and ride with a valid fare.

Accessibility

The Trolley fleet is fully ramped and ADA-accessible, PRONTO pads carry braille, and stations have auditory and braille signage. MTS Access paratransit is available for eligible riders.

The Coaster and Amtrak

If you are coming from up or down the coast, San Diego’s rail spine gets you most of the way and the Trolley finishes the trip.

• Santa Fe Depot, about a mile from Petco, serves the Coaster (the North County commuter line) and Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner. From the depot, transfer to the Green or Blue Line Trolley for the last leg to the park.
• Coaster gameday service: NCTD runs game trains, with the transfer to the Green Line at Old Town or Santa Fe Depot. Extra northbound trains leave roughly 60 minutes after the final out, last departure around midnight.
• A $15 Regional Day Pass covers a Coaster round trip plus the free Trolley connections, which is the value option for a North County fan.
• Coming in 2027: a new downtown Coaster station on Harbor Drive (between 1st and 5th) will land closer to Petco than Santa Fe Depot. It is not in play yet.

Rideshare

Rideshare is the easy backup when transit does not fit your night, and it’s what Wes used on his early-May trip. Getting around downtown San Diego by Uber and Lyft was easy, including a ride out to Sunset Cliffs in Point Loma.

The Padres name one designated loading zone for Uber, Lyft, and taxis. It is across the street from the Bayfront Hilton, next to the Convention Center, on Harbor Drive at Park Boulevard.

(Charter buses drop on 10th Avenue between K Street and Park Blvd.)

Rideshare prices can surge right after the final out, when the crowd leaves together. Head for the loading zone on Harbor Drive and request your ride once you get there, or stay for a drink at one of the East Village or Gaslamp bars and request it later. You can find more about the East Village and Gaslamp bars in our Around the Park section.

Driving and parking

Downtown San Diego has more than 27,000 parking spaces near the park, with roughly 9,000 designated for Petco fans, so hunting for a spot is rarely the issue. At $6 for a round trip, the Trolley is cheaper for one or two riders; split a lot three or four ways and the costs get close enough that convenience decides it. If you drive, expect a slow crawl out of the garages after the game.

Pre-paid parking passes are available through padres.com/transportation or at 619-795-5555. The official lots and garages:

• Padres Parkade (entrance on 10th Ave between Island & J).
• Lexus Premier Lot (entrance on 11th Ave at Imperial).
• Bayfront Hilton Garage (Park Blvd at Harbor Dr; cross back on the Harbor Drive footbridge).
• Convention Center Garage (under the Convention Center; also via the footbridge).
• Park 12 Valet (12th Ave between Imperial & Park Blvd; opens 2.5 hours pre-game).
• Tailgate Park (entrance on 13th at K St, or Imperial between 12th and 14th).

Hours: most ACE lots and garages open at least 2 hours before first pitch, the Padres Preferred lots open 4 hours before, and everything stays open until 2:00 a.m. after a night game. The Padres Parkade has 20 Level-2 EV charging spaces on the 2nd and 3rd floors.

SpotHero for a spot in advance

For a private downtown lot reserved ahead of time, SpotHero is the simplest option, and it is the official Padres parking partner. Through the app, you can reserve and prepay a spot at a downtown lot and then drive straight to it on game day. Prices vary by event, so check live.

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When to drive

• You are staying outside downtown and outside an easy Trolley line.
• You’re splitting a lot three or four ways, where the cost gets close enough to two Trolley fares that convenience decides it.
• You want to leave on your own timing instead of the Trolley’s.
• You rented a car to get around San Diego anyway.

Getting here from the airport

MTS Route 992 connects both terminals at San Diego International Airport (SAN) with downtown San Diego, and MTS says the ride to Santa Fe Depot takes 15 minutes. Get off at the America Plaza/Santa Fe Depot stop and change to the Trolley for the Gaslamp Quarter or 12th & Imperial station. MTS puts both of those stations one block from Petco Park.

The 992 stops on the elevated platform at both terminals. An adult ride is as low as $3 on the MTS fare chart, the same as a regular MTS bus or the Trolley, and an adult day pass is as low as $7. Buses come every 15 minutes, from 4:30 am to 1 am every day.

Heading back after a night game. Ride the Trolley back to Santa Fe Depot and catch the 992 on Broadway, across from the station. On the Route 992 timetable that took effect September 6, 2026, the last bus toward the airport leaves 4th Av & Broadway at 12:39 am every night of the week, so it reaches the Santa Fe Depot stop a little after that. Check that timetable against your game date before the game. MTS adds Trolley service after the game as needed.

Rideshare and taxi. At Terminal 1, rideshare pickup is across the pedestrian crosswalk outside baggage claim, and the airport says to follow the signs from there. At Terminal 2, take the main crosswalk to the Transportation Plaza, where rideshare pickup is in the second lane. The airport’s ride services page lists the five taxi companies that serve it. For the ride back to the airport after the game, use the Padres’ rideshare and taxi loading zone on Harbor Drive at Park Boulevard, across the street from the Bayfront Hilton.

If your hotel is near Old Town, ride the San Diego Flyer shuttle from the airport instead. It picks up at the Transportation Plaza, across the street from baggage claim, and runs to the Old Town Transit Center every 20 to 30 minutes from 4:45 am to 12:30 am. MTS says the Flyer is timed to meet the first and last Trolley at Old Town.

A rental car works too, and the Padres lots and the downtown garages are in Driving and parking above.

Unless you are staying near Old Town, start your trip on the 992.

Luggage

The Padres say Lock & Go lockers are available to every fan at every Padres game, for as low as $14. The lockers are in the Lexus Premier Lot across from the Home Plate Gate, at Tony Gwynn Drive and L Street, at the Balboa Gate, and at the East Village Gate.

The lockers open 1 hour before the gates do, and you have to pick up your things no later than 30 minutes after the game ends.

Inside the ballpark, the Padres allow only single-compartment clear plastic bags up to 12 by 6 by 12 inches, clutches and purses up to 5 by 7 inches, and infant and medical bags (Bag check below has the rest of the screening rules).

The Padres don’t publish a locker size, and San Diego International’s services page lists no bag storage, so take a full-size suitcase to your hotel before you head to the park. Hotels will usually store a bag for a guest who arrives early, so this works even if you land hours before check-in.

Bikes and walkability

Petco is one of the most walkable parks in baseball from the surrounding hotels (one to six minutes from the Gaslamp and East Village). For cyclists, there are bike racks at Trevor Hoffman Way & Tony Gwynn Drive, on J Street at 8th and 9th, and across from the Gaslamp Gate on 7th Avenue.

Shared e-scooters and e-bikes are effectively gone from San Diego, because the app operators pulled out by around 2024. Do not plan on grabbing one downtown.

Gates

Lines at Petco are usually manageable.

The gates ring the park, with the Home Plate Gate and the Park Blvd Gate as the main entrances, the East Village and Gaslamp gates feeding the bar district, and the Balboa Gate (added in 2024) opening into Gallagher Square. If you are coming off the Green Line at the Gaslamp Quarter station, the Gaslamp Gate is your closest entry; off the Blue or Orange Line at 12th & Imperial, the East Village or Park Blvd gate is closest.

Gate opening times

Gates open 90 minutes before first pitch on a standard game. Season Ticket Members get in 2 hours early at the Park Blvd and Home Plate gates. Gallagher Square opens about 2 hours before first pitch, which is worth knowing if you are coming for the Friday Party In The Park scene. Our First-Timer Guide section has more on Party In The Park.

Bag check

Petco runs a clear-bag policy with walk-through screening at every gate: single-compartment clear bags up to 12 by 6 by 12 inches, a small clutch up to 5 by 7 inches, and infant or medical bags exempt. Backpacks are not allowed. For more on the bag policy and what you can carry in, see our First-Timer Guide section. Arrive 45 minutes to an hour before first pitch and you will usually walk right in.

Know Petco Park better than we do? Tell us what we got wrong, or where we should be sending people instead.

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