How To Get To Outside Lands With Alternative Transportation

Billboard ranks the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival at No. 4 among the Top Festivals of 2022. Moreover, Outland Lands ranks at the very top of the list as the Best Festival Site and rightly so. However, there is no festival parking and any parking in Golden Gate Park will be limited. Because of this, do you know how you’re getting to the biggest summer event in San Francisco? If you don’t, now is a good time to look at your transportation options. After all, you and 200,000 other people are going.

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival

Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, CA
www.sfoutsidelands.com

Dates: August 5-7-2022

Who’s In the Lineup at the 2022 Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival?

Nearly 100 music artists are on the billing for this year’s Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival. At the top of billing are the Bay Area’s Green Day, rapper Post Malone and R&B singer SZA. That’s not to mention other world class acts like Jack Harlow, Weezer, Phoebe Bridges, Kali Uchis and Disclosure. In addition, there will be a special hometown appearance by the DJ Illenium. Performances will be held across multiple stages including the main Lands End Stage and Twin Peaks Stage.

How To Get There

BART

If you’re staying outside of San Francisco, you should take BART. However, the closest BART station to Outside Lands is 4.5 miles away at Civic Center. Because of this, you should make a connection to the festival shuttle or use public transportation. If you’re a first time visitor, there are multiple BART stations across the San Francisco Bay Area. There are BART/bus connections to the festival along Market Street in San Francisco and at the Balboa Park station.

Cal Train

Cal Train is another option besides BART to get into San Francisco. In fact, many people will take this instead of BART to get into the city. That’s because of the train stations that serve places that BART doesn’t. For instance, Gilroy, San Jose, Palo Alto all have train stations. In order to calculate your fare, you must see where you wish to board and your final destination. The end of the line is the San Francisco Cal Train station near Oracle Park. From there, you can walk to Mission Street and catch the Transbay-Caltrain bus 181. This will take you to the Salesforce Transit Center. From there, you can catch the 5 Fulton.

By Outside Lands Shuttle

Outside Lands is offering a pre-paid shuttle service to and from the festival grounds. You can pick up the shuttle from the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. This location is convenient is you plan to take BART into San Francisco. The closest BART station from Bill Graham Civic Auditorium is Civic Center. In addition, there may be parking for a fee at the Civic Center Parking Garage.

Outside Lands Shuttle Hours of Operation

Shuttles start running daily at 11 a.m., with continuous departures to Golden Gate Park. However, festival organizers say that there will be limited coverage between 5 p.m to 8 p.m. The festival ends at 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, while on Sunday, it’s 9:40 p.m. Single day shuttle passes are $24 plus a $3.50 processing fee. Three-day shuttle passes are now $48 plus a $5.50 processing fee.

M Ride Outside Lands Party Bus

M Ride, a local tour bus operator is selling tickets for an Outside Lands Party Bus in San Francisco. The bus will pick up passengers in front of the country western bar Westwood. The address at Westwood is 2036 Lombard Street. Daily tickets are $50 plus a service fee and a 3-day superpass is $155 plus fees. Please note that single day bus tickets will be higher beginning August 4 and August 1 for 3-day superpasses. Although there isn’t parking at the bar, there are some parking garages nearby. The Outside Lands Party Bus has four departures daily, running from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. However, the 2:30 p.m. departures for each day of the festival are sold out. The pickup spot after the festival will be at 5830 Fulton Street. In more detail, this is near the corner of Fulton Street and 35th Avenue.

San Francisco Muni

Bus Route 5 Fulton

A good portion of festival attendees will take Muni route 5 Fulton to Golden Gate Park. For one thing, it’s one of the most affordable ways to reach the festival from downtown. By the same token, this bus drops you off very close to the main gate entrance. What’s more, Muni will likely providing additional service to support the 74,000 daily fans. For instance, more service was available for the 5R Fulton Rapid and 5X Fulton Express last year. Either way, you must be prepared for the possibility of overcrowding. As with any Muni bus, please check for updates on festival service.

Bus Route 7 Haight-Noriega

Route 7 Haight-Noriega is another option if you want to avoid the crowds on the 5 Fulton. Route 7 has a stop on Lincoln Way bordering Golden Gate Park at 23rd Avenue. However, you will have to walk about .75 miles to reach the South Gate Entrance.

Route 28 19thAvenue

Route 28 is a good option if you’re in the Fisherman’s Wharf area. Although there are stops in the Fisherman’s Wharf neighborhood you may have to take a connecting bus. In detail, there are stops at Fulton and Park Presidio and 19th and Lincoln Way. From Fulton and Park Presidio you can take route 5 or walk 1.2 miles to Fulton and 34th. From there you will be able to reach the Main Entrance. In like manner, you will have to walk a mile or connect to route 29 at 19th and Lincoln Way to Lincoln and 34th.

Route 29 Sunset

The route of 29 Sunset runs from the Presidio all the way to Bayview. This is another convenient line if you’re along the bus route. For instance, there are stops in the Richmond District, at 34th and Lincoln Way and the Sunset District. You can even connect to route 29 at the Balboa Park Bart station to Golden Gate Park. In other words, if you’re traveling on BART from Daly City, just get off at Balboa Park. From Ocean Street at the Balboa Park station, route 29 has a bus stop at Lincoln Way at 34th. However, you must double check Muni for any relevant updates. On the way back, the bus stop is closer towards 33rd Avenue. By the way, there are also Muni light stops near the Balboa Park station.

Route 38 Geary

Route 38 Geary is a busy route that serves downtown to Lands End. However, this route won’t be nearly as busy as routes 5, 5R and 5X. But then again, you have to walk about a half mile to and from Outside Lands. If you’re willing to walk a bit, route 38 might be a nice bus option to route 5. Above all, it depends on how much you’re willing to walk during and after the festival.

Route 44 O’Shaughnessey

Route 44 passes through Bernal Heights, Balboa Park BART station and Golden Gate Park. In spite of the Golden Gate Park bus stop, it’s at 9th Avenue and Lincoln Way. With this in mind, it’s a 1.5 mile walk to 34th Avenue and Lincoln Way. Of course, if you want to take Muni further, you would have to take route 7 to 21st Avenue and Lincoln, then connect to route 29.

N Judah Light Rail

For savvy festival goers, the N Judah line is a better option than any variation of bus route 5 Fulton. Although the fare is the same as on buses, you won’t be stuck in traffic like a bus. That’s not to mention that the light rail has fewer stops than the regular route 5 Fulton. At the same time, the N Judah runs on the opposite side of Golden Gate. In this case, you should get off the light rail at Judah Street and 34th Avenue. From there, you must walk a few blocks to enter the festival through the South Gate Entrance. This is the same general area where the Outside Lands shuttles will arrive and depart.

Muni Fare

Cash fare on the bus or a ticket machine for the general public is $3. However, you should use the MuniMobile or Clipper. This will remove the hassle of having change and delaying the trip to Outside Lands. MuniMobile and the Clipper app is available for iOS and Android users. After you download the app, follow the instructions on how to set up fare payment.

Rideshare

Rideshare is often a convenient way to get around San Francisco. While there will be plenty of rideshare drivers, you may experience a price surge. In other words, due to high demand, you may have to pay triple of the normal rate of a trip. In addition, traffic will be heavy over 3-day festival. As a result, your price will be even higher. There is a designated spot for rideshares near the Main Entrance on 30th Avenue near Fulton. In addition, there is another rideshare spot just east of Hellman Hollow. However, in previous years there has been confusion amongst drivers about where to arrive and depart. By all means, if you must rideshare, try to share the cost with friends.

Bikes

If public transit or rideshares don’t sound appealing, you can ride your bike to Outside Lands! In fact, there are two bike valet parking areas for cyclists. One convenient bike valet area is near the South Gate Entrance on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive at Metson Road. In addition, there is a second bike valet near the corner of Crossover and Overlook drives. This is spot east of Hellman Hollow is also near another rideshare dropoff/pickup area. Not only is biking the most eco-friendly way to the festival, it’s also free. Moreover, your bike will be in a secure area, with members of the San Francisco Bike Coalition on site. On the other hand, some repeat attendees say they don’t park their bike with the valet.

Scooters

At last year’s Outside Lands, the self-parking bike valet areas also had space for scooters and scooter shares. At this time, there is no information regarding space availability for scooters. However, it’s very likely that all types of scooters will be welcome again this year. For updates, please visit the San Francisco Muni website.

Golden Gate Club Shuttle

If you want the ultimate experience to Outside Lands, tickets are still available for Ken Fulk’s Golden Gate Club. On the other hand, the Golden Gate Club is the most expensive ticket option to Outside Lands. In case you might want this option, a 3-day Golden Gate ticket is $4699 plus a $165.95 service fee. In addition to having a VIP spot to see the live performances, you’ll be “wined and dined” from Michelin starred chefs. This luxury ticket option also includes a special Golden Gate Club Shuttle, with a stop near Hellman Hollow.

About The Author

Randy Yagi is an award-winning freelance writer who served as the National Travel Writer for CBS from 2012-2019. More than 900 of his stories still appear in syndication across 23 CBS websites, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco. During his peak years with CBS, Randy had a reported digital audience reach of 489 million and 5.5 million monthly visitors. Additionally, his stories have appeared in the Daily Meal, CBS News, CBS Radio, Engadget, NBC and Radio.com. He earned a Media Fellowship from Stanford University in 2012.