If you had a blank calendar and a full tank of gas, what NCAA meets would you prioritize? In this roundtable, our editors design their dream gymnastics road trips—factoring in matchups, vibes, iconic arenas, and fun pit stops along the way.
Note: For the purposes of this pointless yet fun exercise, we didn’t consider actual team schedules for the upcoming 2026 season. Instead, we simply looked at locations and distances between schools on our wishlist.
What’s your dream multi-stop gymnastics road trip?
Elizabeth: Doing a New England college gymnastics road trip would be so fun; there are SO many teams up there that you could probably hit a bunch—maybe even multiple in one day.
Sara: Going to see west coast teams to start, midwest teams next, and then circling back to visit east coast teams with an ending in Times Square at night.
Savanna: I would love to visit all of the SEC venues on one road trip. It’s on my bucket list, just very unlikely it’ll happen. #TeacherProbs
Tara: I’d do a roadtrip through the midwest and go through Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan, and maybe even dip down to Champaign, Illinois on the way there and come home through Ohio, Kentucky, and Missouri.
Alyssa: I would want to go somewhere that I have never been before, and I have never been to the west coast. I would love to go and see Stanford, California, San Jose State, and UC Davis. After those four, maybe head north with a stop at Crater Lake National Park before going to Oregon State.
What meet is a must-see for the atmosphere alone?
Elizabeth: If you’ve never been to a national championship or SEC championship where all four events are going on at once, make it a priority. The pure exhilaration you feel when dismounts land one after another and cheers erupt all across the arena is unmatched.
Sara: I would go with any postseason championship, especially the national championship. There’s nothing like it!
Savanna: Seconding Elizabeth. I feel so incredibly grateful to have experienced BOTH of those atmospheres in the last two years and even introducing my family to it. My husband was not looking forward to traveling to SECs with me at first, but by the end of it, he was just as excited as all of the hard-core fans. It’s just a testament to how easy it is to get invested in the sport and how much FUN it can be!
Tara: Definitely a postseason meet, be it conference championships, regionals, or nationals!
Alyssa: I am going to go against most of these responses and say not the postseason meets. While they are fun for the gymnastics and the stakes, they are not fun for the atmosphere which is what this question is about. The atmosphere is way lacking at postseason meets without the crazy student sections you see at large schools. The must-see atmosphere for me would be LSU and Auburn, but as someone who has been to several home Florida meets, that’s a crazy atmosphere too.
Which team’s home crowd do you want to experience live?
Elizabeth: I got to experience the Utah home crowd during the regional final this past season. It was so loud that I can’t imagine what a “normal” home meet must be like. Next on my list is LSU.
Sara: Definitely Utah, LSU, or Florida.
Savanna: I will happily welcome anyone on CGN staff to travel with me to Baton Rouge this season. Truly there is nothing like the PMAC on a Friday night. However, I think Auburn would be near the top of my list of must-sees solely for the swag surf heading into the final rotation, followed by Utah.
Tara: Utah is on my bucket list—the Huntsman Center is electric. LSU meets also seem like a great atmosphere, so it’s up there also.
Alyssa: Utah is high on my list as well. I would also want to go to Auburn or LSU at some point.
What are the best road trip-friendly regions for gym fans?
Elizabeth: I already mentioned New England, which feels like the obvious answer, but I’ll also throw out the Mid-Atlantic (think: Towson, George Washington, Maryland, and even William & Mary) or Northern California (Stanford, California, UC Davis, Sac State, San Jose State).
Sara: I’d go with Midwest. You can reach Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Nebraska just from out there alone. And all the states have amazing teams so you get a great gymnastics road trip experience.
Savanna: I’d say probably the mid-South from Oklahoma to North Carolina. You can hit Oklahoma, Arkansas, SEMO, Fisk, and maybe even take in a rivalry meet with North Carolina and North Carolina State if you time it just right. And bonus, you’d be within distance of about four or five other teams that you could add to your trip. You also get a mix of all the divisions and different experiences!
Tara: Probably the midwest, with most of the Big 10 falling in that range as well as Missouri and the other three Michigan schools. The mid-South would also be a great region.
Alyssa: If you don’t want to drive too far and still see some of the best environments in the sport, a good itinerary would be going from Clemson to Georgia followed by Auburn and Alabama. That’s less than eight hours one way, not bad.
Which rivalry meet would you travel for?
Elizabeth: I would die to attend UCLA vs. Utah in person—at either location.
Sara: Oklahoma vs. LSU is one that I would love to see in person; a gymnastics Super Bowl experience would just hit different being there.
Savanna: I’ve done Oklahoma and LSU before, but I would love to see the Iron Bowl rivalry, Alabama vs Auburn, in person. It’s such a big deal in football that I would love to see how intense it gets in gymnastics as well. Also, let’s do Iowa and Iowa State in person because who doesn’t love a good Cy-Hawk rivalry?
Tara: I’d love to attend a Utah vs. UCLA meet!
Alyssa: I will echo Utah vs UCLA and Alabama vs Auburn. I have seen LSU vs Florida in person which was a treat and the two I mentioned give me similar vibes.
What’s a meet you’d build a vacation around?
Elizabeth: You better believe I already choose which regional I’m going to photograph based on where I want to travel, but one state still on my list is Minnesota. I’m waiting for the perfect opportunity to head up there when it’s maybe not quite so cold.
Sara: If a meet was hosted at UCLA or Florida definitely. I love cruises so that would be my first two choices to go to for a vacation but I would also love to visit Arizona or Alaska.
Savanna: Technically I think I’ve done this already but any type of conference meet or quad meet with big name teams. We turned SECs into a long weekend getaway which was very needed. But I think a Sprouts Farmers Market quad meet would be fun to build a trip around.
Tara: I love to build trips around postseason meets, but I also think going to a big neutral site meet like the Best of Utah or Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad would be awesome to plan a vacation around.
Alyssa: Part of me wants to say Alaska, but also I want to choose places I may not go to otherwise, so I will say Boise State or Iowa because I doubt I would go to either location on another trip.
If you could organize a “tour” meet series, what cities would it hit?
Elizabeth: All the major cities near colleges would probably make for a nice tour. I’m thinking Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and maybe even throw in New York, Boston, and Chicago in for good measure.
Sara: A tour that starts in New York, goes to Boston, Chicago, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Seattle, and ends in Fort Worth for a Grand Finale gymnastics experience.
Savanna: Hmm…I think it would depend on where teams finish the previous season. You make the sweet 16, you should get a special “stop” on the tour. But if that’s not reasonable, I’d say hit the major markets for gym (Baton Rouge, Gainesville, Norman, Los Angeles, etc) because you know people would likely come because of how big those fan bases are.
Tara: On the west coast, I’d hit Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles—all cities with a college team or a team nearby. I’d also do Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Denver, Chicago, and Boston.
Alyssa: I agree with New York and potentially Boston. One stop I will throw in would be going international with Toronto since there are so many Canadians in the NCAA.
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