Hey, music lovers! Here’s your official reminder that driving to Outside Lands is not a thing. Golden Gate Park is adorable but tiny, and there is no parking available at the festival grounds—and festival organizers do not recommend driving.
Other options? Ride your bike or scooter and park it at the festival’s free self-park; walk into the park; take the shuttle from Bill Graham Civic that you may have purchased when you bought your entry ticket; jump on rideshare (Lyft is the official Outside Lands rideshare partner, and remember you can book your ride ahead of time); or go the public transportation route with BART and MUNI (make sure to preload your Clipper card).
If you think you can outsmart the typical visitor and find parking in the residential neighborhoods around the park, you can try your luck… along with 50 kazillion other people. A special note about BART: There’s no station at Golden Gate Park. Your best bet is to get off at the Civic Center station and grab a MUNI bus the rest of the way; see specific bus lines here.
The festival’s main gate is on John F. Kennedy Drive at 30th Avenue, and its south gate is at Middle Drive and Metson Road. An ADA entrance is at 36th Avenue and JFK. People with GA+ tickets should enter via the main gate or through the south VIP entrance on Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, next to the south gate. VIP folks will use the main VIP entrance at 36th Avenue and JFK; there’s a special lane specifically for the Golden Gate Club ticket holders. VIP shuttle takers will enter at MLK next to the south gate.
Okay, so if you’re bent on driving, know this: There will be parking restrictions in place in the nearby neighborhoods, including Fulton, Lincoln, La Playa and Lower Great Highway. San Francisco’s infamous for its tiny-font signs indicating street cleaning days, which means that you can earn a hefty ticket if you leave your car there during that timeframe (or even get towed). There are also prohibitions against 72-hour parking and against overnight parking of vehicles taller than 7 feet or longer than 12 feet. Your Vengabus might capture the attention of neighborhood residents who are less than thrilled about the space in front of their house becoming your parking spot—and they’ll be more than happy to make that phone call to get your car out of their life. Be cool and don’t block driveways (even by a little: San Francisco driveways are already narrow) and especially not handicapped-access ramps. Finally, know that the SF Department of Parking and Traffic likes writing tickets.
What roads will be closed for Outside Lands 2024?
We strongly recommend that you take a look at this map of Golden Gate Park to see road closures within the park since visuals are everything, but here’s a list of the streets:
JFK Drive will be closed:
- now until Wed, Aug 14 at 4pm
- Fri, Aug 16 at 8pm–Sat, Aug 17 at 11:59pm
Middle Drive (MLK to Transverse) will be closed:
- now until Wed, Aug 21
MLK will be one-way eastbound (but bikes are okay both directions)
- now until Thu, Aug 8
- Mon, Aug 12–Fri, Aug 16
- Sun, Aug 18–Wed, Aug 21
MLK will be closed to cars:
- now until Sun, Aug 11
- Sat, Aug 17
Entry point streets closed to cars: La Playa, Sunset, 25th Avenue, 20th Avenue, 30th Avenue, 36th Avenue, 47th Avenue
- Thu, Aug 8 at 8pm–Sun, Aug 11 at 11pm
- Fri, Aug 16 at 8pm–Sat, Aug 17 at 11pm
The 41st Avenue entry point will be closed to cars now until Sun, Aug 11 at 11pm
Hopefully you can make your way easily to this beautiful outdoor meadow of a festival venue! Have a great time at Outside Lands.