City: Omaha, NE

Category: Parks & Recreation

Insider Pick:

Description: The recreational vehicles start showing up in early June. License plates from Louisiana. Texas. South Carolina. They come bearing gifts of jambalaya and brisket, park in the nearest available parking lot, and prepare themselves for two weeks of unadulterated baseball. The passengers have trekked many miles to partake in an annual rite of passage, the College World Series, held each year since 1950 in Omaha.The College World Series is an eight-team tournament meant to decide the country’s best college baseball team. It enjoys a cult following, especially in the sun-soaked South and West where baseball can be played year-round. For Omahans, the Series is a unique chance to take a day off work, mingle with strangers from across the country, and watch some of college baseball’s best players years before they make it to the major leagues. After six decades at Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium, the series moved to the brand-new TD Ameritrade Park in downtown Omaha in the summer of 2011. While some old-schoolers are bothered by the switch, it presents an opportunity for the savvy traveler who can stay downtown, check out Omaha’s Old Market, and then walk a couple blocks north to watch ‘em play ball.