San Francisco’s biggest music festival has a full schedule for the weekend of Aug. 11-13 in Golden Gate Park. Here’s what you need to know, from set times to transportation options and drinks and dining.
Schedule and Set Times
What to know before you go.
Janelle Monáe and Kendrick Lamar will take the main stage (Lands End) back-to-back on Friday evening. Lamar, a Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper, is up against Zedd and Interpol.
On Saturday, the Foo Fighters will headline at the same time as Lana Del Rey and Fisher.
On Sunday night, attendees are forced to choose among Odesza, the 1975 and Noah Kahan.
Check out the full schedule online.
Weather
Festivalgoers should anticipate some classic San Francisco weather for all three days of Outside Lands this weekend.
National Weather Service meteorologist Cynthia Palmer said Outside Lands attendees should expect temperatures around the mid-to-high 60s during the daytime, which will drop to the mid-50s at night.
The mornings are likely to be foggy, but the sun is expected to come out around noon, when the first acts take the stage.
Getting There
Here’s how to get in and out of Golden Gate Park, whether by bike, car, ride-share, transit or foot.
Bike
The festival has two free bicycle parking areas by the eastern and southern festival entrances.
BART
Take BART to Civic Center Station and transfer to the appropriate Muni line or catch the Outside Lands pre-paid shuttle from the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.
BART will run as usual all three days of Outside Lands, and offer bolstered service on Sunday, including five-line service until 9 p.m.
BART runs until about midnight, and BART parking is free at most of the system’s lots after 3 p.m. Friday and free on Saturday and Sunday. Here’s how to get free tickets from the Millbrae station Saturday and Sunday.
You can plan your specific trip using BART’s trip planner.
Muni
The N-Judah light-rail train drops off passengers two blocks from the south side of the park. Festivalgoers can then walk to the South Gate entrance at Middle Drive West and Metson Road.
The 5R Fulton bus drops off passengers on the north side of the park near the festival’s Main Gate Entrance at 30th Avenue and John F. Kennedy Drive.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency expects to fully update its Outside Lands webpage by Friday morning. In the meantime, you can check out SFMTA’s Wednesday travel advisory for the latest details.
Shuttle
Outside Lands’ pre-paid shuttle service operates from 11 a.m. each day with limited coverage between the prime-time concert hours of 5 and 8 p.m. The last shuttle from the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium to the festival leaves at 8 p.m., and the return shuttles run for one hour following the last concert of the night.
Single-day passes are $26 plus fees, and three-day passes are now $63 plus fees.
Driving
Street parking is available on residential streets around Golden Gate Park, but restrictions do apply.
“Be aware of various parking restrictions in nearby neighborhoods, especially along Fulton, Lincoln, La Playa, and Lower Great Highway,” the website cautions. “Also be cognizant of impinging on driveways and handicap access ramps. The SF Department of Parking and Traffic is on high alert during this period of time.”
Argonne Elementary at 680 18th Ave. in the Richmond District rents parking spaces in its lot as part of a school fundraiser for $50 a car per day, according to the school’s Parent Teacher Organization website. The entrance is off Cabrillo between 17th and 18th avenues, and spots are first-come, first-served with a Venmo or credit card payment only.
Lawton Alternative School at 1551 30th Ave. in the Sunset is also renting parking spaces to raise funds for students. The cost is $40 per vehicle.
Ride-Share
Balboa Street and 30th Avenue and Irving Street between 25th and 27th avenues are designated pickup and drop-off points. But be prepared for potentially eye-popping prices and lengthy wait times after the concerts end.
Autonomous vehicle service Waymo will offer rides during the festival and have dedicated pickup and drop-off locations around Golden Gate Park. Riders will be prompted to select their preferred location in the app when requesting a ride.
The Standard also confirmed that Cruise will also be operating within its existing operational zones in the city during the festival but pick-ups and dropoffs near the venue and routing may be impacted due to the size of the event and Outside Lands-related road closures, said Cruise spokesperson Rachel Holm. There will be no designated pick-up or dropoff points for Cruise riders, said Holm, and riders may be charged if their rides qualify.
Friday night saw several Cruise vehicles stall amid “connectivity issues,” adding to traffic headaches.
Food
Drawing from the diverse culinary riches of the Bay Area, the festival will feature 98 restaurants and pop-ups that will serve up such delicacies as hush-puppy corn dogs, habanero pork butt fries and doughnut sundaes.
Bites will be available throughout the festival grounds in Golden Gate Park: at the Taste of the Bay Area, the VIP section and the Golden Gate Club. With a total of 754 menu items on offer, three days won’t be enough to sample it all.
Beer, Wine and Cocktails
The festival will highlight an expansive array of boozy beverages at Wine Lands, Beer Lands and Cocktail Magic.
Beer Lands
For its 11th round, Beer Lands will be helmed once again by Magnolia Brewery founder Dave McLean.
The beer sponsors of the festival—Sierra Nevada and Heineken—will cap the ends and then McLean curates the other 28 brewers in between, which include cideries and a kombucha maker, all while keeping the local approach endemic to Outside Lands.
Wine Lands
Wine Lands, one of the festival’s fixtures since its beginning, won’t set up shop in a big Bavarian tent. Instead, 25 vintners will pour in a wooded location by McClaren Pass. Wine Lands Reserve, a separate section in the VIP area, will have 10 wineries participating.
Returning this year is a designated sparkling wine bar that “always gets crushed,” according to founder Peter Eastlake, as well as Berkeley-based Broc Cellars, which has been part of the festival since its first year and specializes in on-trend natural wine. Eastlake plans to meet the rage for natty wine with producers like Martha Stoumen and Deux Punx.
Cocktail Magic
Taking over the space that used to be dedicated to the big tent of Wine Lands, Cocktail Magic returns with an expanded footprint in Lindley Meadow across from the Sutro Stage.
Doubling its numbers from three to six bars, Cocktail Magic has plenty to choose from: Low ABV options abound at Less Is More, and you can get your martini on at Shaken Not Stirred. Buttery Tipple stirs up over-the-top concoctions with a 1970s vibe, SilverGirls95 brings the Golden Girls back to life and Everybody’s Tavern runs with inclusivity. All of the themed bars will feature a nonalcoholic cocktail, too.
Cannabis
Grass Lands will return for its fifth iteration to this year’s Outside Lands. The all-things-weed celebration will take place in the meadow south of the Polo Field in Golden Gate Park. More than 20 purveyors and 35 brands will be on sale during the three-day festival.
New this year are comedy performances and cooking demonstrations on the Grass Lands stage, which will also feature DJ sets all three days. The footprint for the consumption zone will be expanded, and cheese-forward food vendor Total Meltdown will be on-site to satiate you when the munchies hit.
After Parties
Festivalgoers tend to party beyond the 10 p.m. noise curfew. Many local venues have partnered with Outside Lands to book talent for indoor performances later in the night.
Although several have sold out already, the official Outside Lands’ Night Shows promise some 13 acts at eight venues around the city.
Noise
If the beats bump too much, here’s what you can do about it.
Outside Lands has set up a community hotline where you can dial in your gripe about the noise. That number is 415-965-8001.