2012 Outside Lands Guide is here
The organizers have been working closely with the Richmond District Police and doing a better job of communicating with neighbors. So hopefully a lot of last year’s problems won’t be repeated.
The festival promises to pack a massive musical punch, with outdoor festival favorites like Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, Black-Eyed Peas, Jason Mraz and Ween headlining the event, along with dozens of other bands. See the full lineup of bands or check out the hour by hour schedule.
Single-day ($89.50) and 3-day ($225) tickets are still available here. You can also buy them without a service charge starting at 12noon on Wednesday, August 26th at the festival box office located at Speedway Meadow at the intersection of JKF and Transverse Dr.
If you’re not attending, you can also catch live highlights on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/outsidelands, starting Friday night.
As a resident, here’s what you should keep in mind this weekend when thinking about traveling in or around Golden Gate Park.
RESIDENT SERVICES
Someone blocking your driveway? Drunken revelers belting out Dave Matthews songs on your corner? Keep these numbers handy just in case.
FESTIVAL HOURS & LOCATIONS
The festival will take place in and around the Polo Fields, Speedway and Lindley Meadows in Golden Gate Park (see festival map). Festival hours are below; keep in mind that gates open 90 minutes before the first concert each day. So if it says 11am, assume the crowds will start arriving 90 minutes earlier.
Friday: Open at 11:00am | Close at 10:00pm
Saturday: Open at 10:30am | Close at 10:00pm
Sunday: Open at 10:30am | Close at 9:20pm
GGP TRAFFIC CLOSURES
The festival will result in the western end of Golden Gate Park being closed off to traffic. The only major thoroughfare that will be open is Park Presidio Blvd/19th Avenue. Similar to how it is on Bay to Breakers except it lasts for three days.
The following Golden Gate Park entrances will be closed to the public from Thursday, August 27th at 8:00PM through Sunday, August 30th at 11:00pm:
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On north side of the park: * Transverse Dr at Crossover Dr * JFK Dr at Transverse Dr * 30th Ave * 36th Ave * 43rd Ave (Chain of Lakes) * 47th Ave * The Great Hwy at JFK Dr. |
On the south side: * Martin Luther King Jr Dr at Crossover Dr * 25th Ave * Sunset & Irving * 41st Ave (Chain of Lakes) * Martin Luther King Jr Dr at Lincoln Ave |
The red X’s on the map below indicate which entrances will be closed to traffic from Thursday night through Sunday night.
In addition, a good part of the festival area will be cordoned off with cyclone fencing (no sneaking in, people!). So even if you’re just envisioning a stroll through the park, plan ahead as some familiar routes may not be accessible. Click here to find out more about the fencing schedules for the Polo Fields, Speedway Meadow, Lindley Meadow and other park areas.
GETTING TO THE FESTIVAL
If you are attending (or know someone who is), I wouldn’t even try driving and parking near the park. With all the road closures in GGP, parking will be maxed out on the adjoining streets of the Richmond and Sunset Districts.
Outside Lands has organized Bauer shuttles that leave from key public transit hubs to the festival. Tickets for the shuttle range from $9 for a one-day, roundtrip pass to $38 for a 3-day VIP pass. Buy shuttle passes here. The shuttle routes are:
Blue Line – 4th & King Street Caltrain Station
Red Line – 16th & Mission Street Bart Station
Green Line – Fort Mason Center or Presidio Officers Club
Yellow Line – Daly City Bart Station
If you’re arriving on foot, refer to the map above to see which GGP entrance you want to use.
For two-wheel travelers, complimentary valet bike parking will be available at Marx Meadow; best entrance to reach it is at 30th Avenue and Fulton. The festival has also provided a bike route map for the park.
And if you’re arriving some other way (parachute? ninja style? on skis?), may the force be with you. 🙂
WHAT YOU CAN BRING
Considering you’ll be schlepping your stuff for a decent distance, make sure you’re not turned away at the gates for harboring contraband. Here’s what you’re allowed to bring into the music venues:
* Blankets
* Soft-sided coolers
* Regular-size/unframed backpacks
* Two factory-sealed water bottles up to 1 liter each
* Empty Camelbak or other empty plastic container (i.e., Nalgene bottle)
* Ice in soft-sided cooler or Camelbak – no large bags allowed
* Binoculars
* Personal cameras (i.e., small digital cameras or point-and-click 35mm cameras) – cameras with any type of detachable lenses are prohibited
* Soft sided collapsible chairs
OCEAN BEACH CLEANUP
As part of their efforts to clean up our community, the festival is organizing two Ocean Beach cleanups on Saturday and Sunday from 10am – 12pm. Meet at stairway 17 on Ocean Beach (across from the Beach Chalet restaurant) to help out. Who knows, you might be trolling for trash alongside a rock star! More details here
Whether you’re attending Outside Lands or just get to hear the strains of music through the summer fog, I hope everyone has an enjoyable, music-filled weekend.
Rock on! 
Sarah B.
Thanks Sarah for the info. It’s sad that I have DPT’s phone already saved on my cell. I truly hate calling them to ticket someone but it’s necessary sometimes. I hope that won’t be the case this weekend.
Sucks that I won’t be able to bring my favorite camera to the event. What’s with the detachable lenses limitation? Sheesh.
It’s in my cell too John! I hate ticketing and towing too but it’s amazing what some parkers think is ok when I can’t get in or out of my own driveway.
Not sure on the photo lenses. My guess is they want control of images coming out of the festival so they’re trying to prevent “high quality” cameras from coming in. Silly of course since a little pocket camera these days can pack a 12x zoom. But hey, their festival, their rules.
Have a great time!
Sarah B.
Thank you for such useful info for non-concertgoers!
What a great summary. Thanks so much!
Isn’t Sunday when the Great Highway will be also be closed to all vehicles for one of the Mayor’s pet projects? I think it’s called something like Sunday on the Streets.
Thanks for the info. I’ll be sure to have mu neighbors keep their cars parked in front of my place.
Sunday Streets is next weekend, Sept 6. And yes, pets are welcome! 😉
Sarah B.
will there be any lockers or anything on site where i could leave my stuff? i leave straight from the festival sunday to the airport and am concerned about having to carry my stuff the whole day… maybe i will just have to find a super sweet hiding spot?
I don’t see anything on their site at all about storage, but give them a call on the hotline when you get to town and see if they offer anything: 415-933-6901. There is a bike storage area so maybe??
Have fun!
Sarah B.
Thanks for such a positive and informative post! Everything else I’ve been reading by SF residents (of which I am one, as well) has been so negative, but I am totally looking forward to this event! And wearing comfortably cute shoes so I can just hoof it home if need be.
I just hope the sun decides to show its lovely face:-D.
Ha – very true Annie! We San Franciscans aren’t supposed to like anything that’s big and huge, right? 🙂 Have a great time at the show!
Sarah B.
Thanks Sarah and RichmondSFBlog!
We’ll be out for the festival; but I and my office will be in close touch with the festival organizers and the Richmond Police Station and MUNI to make sure it runs as smoothly as possible and that the organizers address residents’ concerns about noise and other potential nuissances.
Thanks for posting the info:
Outside Lands Community Hotline: 415-933-6901 | open 10am-11pm, Fri – Sun
Parking Enforcement: 415-553-1200. In addition to the usual staff, the festival has 2 dedicated tow trucks and 1 Parking Control Officer on each side of the park.
Eric
does anybody know if i will be able to commute through GGP and JFK Drive from 43rd/chain of lakes on friday?
Hi Seth – According to festival info, beginning at 8pm tonight (Thursday), all the locations listed are closed to traffic, including 43rd Ave (Chain of Lakes) on the north side of the park. Better pick an alternate route for the morning. Good luck,
Sarah B.
thanks for the response, sarah. i saw that – they’ve had a big DPT blinking sign up at 43rd and fulton all week – but i also heard they’ll have bike parking at the event and wondered whether there was going to be some sort of bike lane through.
for those looking for an alternate route, there is the lane on cabrillo that should be fine through to the inner richmond.
Ah, yes, I don’t think bikes will have any problem. It’s just cars that can’t go through. You can read more about the fencing setup on this page: http://www.sfoutsidelands.com/311/
By looking at that, hopefully you can decipher where you’ll be able to bike through. But sounds like you’ll be able to get through via 43rd on bike.
Sarah B.
i’ll twitter what’s open tomorrow AM @b1g1nj4p4n for the six of us or so who commute from the outer lands downtown by bike 🙂
btw, i found out by talking to security staff in the park this morning that the festival areas will be open for all non-car traffic until noon each day, or whenever the festival officially starts.