Outside Lands 2026: Road Closures and 20 Things to Do Instead

Part 1: What closes, and what it does to getting around

Golden Gate Park road closures

San Francisco Recreation and Parks closed JFK Drive between Transverse Drive and 36th Avenue on Monday August 3 , the closure is already in effect as this publishes. RecPark's notice says it stays closed through the Wednesday following the festival, which puts the reopening around Wednesday August 12. So this affects your week on both ends, not just the weekend.

The park entrances below will be closed to vehicles from Thursday August 6 at 8 p.m until Sunday, August 9 at 11 p.m., covering all roads on the west side of the park from Transverse Drive to the Great Highway.

North side: Transverse Drive at Crossover Drive JFK Drive at Transverse Drive 30th Avenue 36th Avenue 43rd Avenue (Chain of Lakes) 47th Avenue The Great Highway at JFK Drive

South side: Martin Luther King Jr. Drive at Crossover Drive 25th Avenue Sunset Boulevard at Irving Street 41st Avenue (Chain of Lakes) Martin Luther King Jr. Drive at Lincoln Avenue (RecPark's wording, it's Lincoln Way on the street signs)

The practical effect: the western half of the park is closed to through traffic, and the usual east - west shortcut across the park is gone. If your normal route between the Richmond and the Sunset runs through Golden Gate Park, plan on Fulton or Lincoln instead, both of which will be carrying the displaced traffic.

Two things worth knowing so you don't over correct: Crossover Drive stays open to through traffic. North south across the park still works. What you can't do there is stop to pick anyone up or drop them off (see blackout zones below).

Bikes and pedestrians still get into the park. The closures are vehicle closures.

The east side institutions stay open and are reached from the east. The de Young, the California Academy of Sciences, the Japanese Tea Garden, the Botanical Garden and the Conservatory of Flowers all sit outside the closure zone. Come in from Stanyan or Fulton at the eastern end and check individual hours before you go.

Residents with questions about closures or restrictions can reach the festival's neighborhood line at 415-965-8001 or email community@sfoutsidelands.com or community@anotherplanetent.com.

Muni, and why your usual line will be full

The SFMTA has published its 2026 plan, and the routes the festival points people toward are the same ones the rest of the west side uses daily.

Extra service this year: - N Judah, extra trains, 3 p.m. to midnight, signed Ocean Beach. Extra vehicles run 3 to 11:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. - 5R Fulton Rapid , extra buses from Montgomery BART to the Richmond, 2:30 to 8 p.m., signed 30th Ave. so you can tell them from scheduled service. Extra 5R service does not cover the whole route. - 5X Fulton Express, 9 p.m. to midnight (or until crowds clear), picking up at Fulton and 30th Avenue and dropping at Civic Center BART at UN Plaza. - The 7 Haight/Noriega, 28 19th Avenue, 29 Sunset, 31 Balboa and 44 O'Shaughnessy all serve areas near the park and all draw crowds. - The 38 Geary and 38R Geary Rapid run four blocks north of the Fulton and 30th Avenue entrance and absorb overflow.

Assume the worst crush is in the hour after music ends each night.

If you are going: your wristband covers all-day Muni fare on the day of the wristband, buses and trains, any door, and it's valid whether or not you're heading to the park. Do not tag your Clipper card as well, you will be charged and Muni does not refund. Show the wristband to the station agent or use the wide faregate at Civic Center and Powell. Cable cars aren't included.

Pick ups, drop offs, and the blackout zones

This is the part most coverage skips, and it's the part most likely to cost you money.

Pick ups and drop offs are prohibited outright on Friday and Saturday from 9 to 11:30 p.m., and Sunday from 8:30 to 11 p.m., on: - Lincoln Way, between 25th and 41st avenues - Fulton Street, between 26th and 37th avenues - 26th through 37th avenues, between Fulton and Cabrillo

All streets inside Golden Gate Park, Crossover Drive included, are no-loading from Friday 11 a.m. through Sunday 11:59 p.m. The SFMTA says citations will be issued for loading in these zones and in Muni stops.

Where loading is allowed: - North side of Irving Street, between 25th and 27th avenues (Outer Sunset) - North side of Balboa Street, between 30th and 31st avenues (Outer Richmond, along Washington High School) - West side of 30th Avenue, between Balboa and Anza

Taxi stands, in place from Friday 9 a.m. to Monday 2 a.m.: - Fulton between 24th and 25th; Fulton between 28th and 29th; Irving between 26th and 27th; and Larkin between Hayes and Grove, which runs a taxi shuttle to the festival.

Rideshare is the worst option in the city for three days, surge pricing, gridlock at the park perimeter, and now a blackout zone wrapped around the whole approach. That ripples outward, because driver supply shifts across the city toward the festival. A taxi from a marked stand is the faster call.

The SFMTA notes that taxi, loading and blackout zone details are still being confirmed and may change. Check sfmta.com/OutsideLands before you travel.

Parking in the Richmond and the Sunset

There is no official general parking for the festival. That means several thousand people will be circling the avenues looking for a legal space, and the neighborhoods absorb all of it.

A few things worth knowing if you live there:

Under the San Francisco Transportation Code, you may park in the street blocking your own driveway, provided that driveway serves no more than two tenants. Buildings of three or more units may not. Never on the sidewalk. The SFMTA enforces blocked driveways and blocked sidewalk access on a complaint basis during the festival. If someone blocks yours, report it through 311, 415-701-2311, or the 311 app, nothing happens until you do.

Car break ins are a real risk all weekend, and the avenues fill with unfamiliar parked cars. Leave nothing visible.

One thing to watch on Saturday morning

The official festival shuttle runs from Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, next to Civic Center BART. The Pistahan parade also steps off from Civic Center Plaza at 11 a.m. on Saturday and heads down Market Street. If you're passing through Civic Center between roughly 10 a.m. and noon, expect both.

The good news

Most of the Bay Area is quieter than usual this weekend, and if there's something you've been putting off because it's normally too crowded, this is the weekend for it. Two exceptions worth planning around: Oakland's Laurel StreetFair closes eight blocks of MacArthur Boulevard on Saturday, and the Aloha Festival fills the San Mateo County Event Center both days. Both are on the list below.

Part 2: Twenty things happening that aren't Outside Lands

One entry below, the OMNOM night show is officially part of the festival, but it's separately ticketed and open to anyone, so it earns its place. Everything else has nothing to do with Golden Gate Park.

Thursday, August 6

1. AfroSolo Presents: Fely Tchaco, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Great Lawn, Yerba Buena Gardens. Free. The Ivorian born, Bay Area–based singer brings Afro-pop, jazz and West African sounds to a lunchtime set downtown. Details at https://sfbayweekend.com/events/OCC-00399

2. Edgardo Cambón's 40th Anniversary Yerba Buena Salsa Nights — 6 to 7:30 p.m., Crepe Myrtle Garden, Yerba Buena Gardens. Free. Forty years of Cambón in the Bay Area, marked at the long-running outdoor salsa series. Details at https://sfbayweekend.com/events/EVT-CUSTOM-8e28caad

Friday, August 7

3. Oakland First Fridays, 5 to 9:30 p.m., Telegraph Avenue in the KONO district. Free. Five blocks closed to cars for art, food and music, and the single best counter-programming to the festival: take BART to 19th Street and walk. Note that the organizers list both 5–9 and 5–9:30 p.m. and describe the footprint as both 22nd to 27th and West Grand to 27th, so check oaklandfirstfridays.org the day of. They also postpone for rain, decided the Wednesday before. Details at https://sfbayweekend.com/events/OCC-00404

4. Friday Nights at OMCA with Off the Grid, 5 to 9 p.m., Oakland Museum of California. Outdoor programming and food trucks are free; gallery admission is separate. Runs weekly, April through October. Details at https://sfbayweekend.com/events/OCC-00403

5. SF Giants vs. Detroit Tigers - 7:15 p.m., Oracle Park. On the opposite side of the city from the park, well served by Muni Metro. Details at https://sfbayweekend.com/events/EVT-CUSTOM-c202ded9

6. AXIAL TILT: An All-Star Grateful Dead Celebration — doors 7:30 p.m., show 8 p.m., Great American Music Hall. $80 single night. Part of Jerry Week, the August 1–9 stretch Deadheads mark between Garcia's birthday and the anniversary of his death. An acoustic set followed by two electric sets, roughly five hours, with Charlie Musselwhite making his debut with the band. If Golden Gate Park's other musical tradition is more your speed than a sold-out festival, this is the room for it. Details at https://sfbayweekend.com/events/OCC-00406

7. Outside Lands Night Show: OMNOM, 10 p.m., 1015 Folsom, 21+. Official festival night show, separately ticketed — you don't need a festival wristband. It's one of ten night shows running Thursday through Sunday at the Castro, the Independent, Bimbo's 365 Club, Rickshaw Stop and the Great Northern; several, including GRiZ, are already sold out. Details at https://sfbayweekend.com/events/OCC-00407

Saturday, August 8

8. Hillwide Garage Sale, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., across Bernal Heights Hill. Free. More than a hundred households selling at once on National Garage Sale Day, spread across the hill, with an official map of participating addresses. It's a fundraiser for the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center, and the organizers have been doing it longer than Outside Lands has existed. Details at https://sfbayweekend.com/events/OCC-00408

9. Free Saturday at the de Young, 9:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Free general admission for residents of the nine Bay Area counties a standing weekly program, not a one-off. Permanent collection only; special exhibitions cost extra. Reserve a timed ticket online, or redeem on site with a driver's license. The de Young is inside Golden Gate Park but outside the closure zone, on the eastern side near the Music Concourse: approach from the east. Details at https://sfbayweekend.com/events/OCC-00409

10. Pistahan Parade & Festival, Day 1 - parade 11 a.m. from Civic Center Plaza down Market Street; festival 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Yerba Buena Gardens. Free. The 33rd annual, and the largest Filipino festival on the West Coast: eight pavilions, the Sari-Sari Marketplace, and a full day of dance, martial arts and food. Details at https://sfbayweekend.com/events/EVT-CUSTOM-36153f3c

11. 25th Annual Laurel StreetFair World Music Festival , 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., MacArthur Boulevard between 35th and Maybelle avenues, Oakland. Free. Eight-plus blocks of world music, food, makers and a kids' carnival, drawing around 15,000 people. MacArthur is closed from 4 a.m. to roughly 11:30 p.m. and AC Transit is rerouting, so check before you drive. Details at https://sfbayweekend.com/events/EVT-CUSTOM-36db43e3

12. Bay Area Aloha Festival, Day 1 -10 a.m. to 5 p.m., San Mateo County Event Center, 1346 Saratoga Drive. $5 suggested donation, free for kids under 12; parking is $20. PICA's 31st annual: hula and Tahitian dance, Hawaiian and Pacific Islander food, workshops and an Ohana Keiki Korner. Main stage starts at 11 a.m. Bring low-back chairs and blankets; no outside alcohol. Details at https://sfbayweekend.com/events/EVT-CUSTOM-3e368c4f

13. Live on Larkin: Back to School Edition -noon to 5 p.m., Larkin and Eddy. Free. The Tenderloin CBD's second-Saturday street event, with music, vendors and a dedicated kids' area. Details at https://sfbayweekend.com/events/OCC-00411

14. SF Giants vs. Detroit Tigers -Wall of Fame Ceremony - 4:15 p.m., Oracle Park. Details at https://sfbayweekend.com/events/EVT-CUSTOM-7faa30bc

15. STEM Play and Bubble Day - 4 to 6 p.m., The Village at San Antonio Center, Mountain View. Free. Hands-on STEM activities, a DJ and a bubble artist - the South Bay pick for families. Details at https://sfbayweekend.com/events/OCC-00413

16. AXIAL TILT, night two - doors 7:30 p.m., show 8 p.m., Great American Music Hall. The organizers promise no repeated songs between the two nights, and hold back a limited number of GA tickets at the box office from 7 p.m. each night. Details at https://sfbayweekend.com/events/EVT-CUSTOM-27c53ba6

Sunday, August 9

17. Bay Area Aloha Festival, Day 2 - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., San Mateo County Event Center. Details at https://sfbayweekend.com/events/EVT-CUSTOM-909243c4

18. Pistahan Parade & Festival, Day 2 - 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Yerba Buena Gardens. Free. Details at https://sfbayweekend.com/events/EVT-CUSTOM-8d7a60b3

19. SF Giants vs. Detroit Tigers - Corduroy Hat Giveaway — 1:05 p.m., Oracle Park. Details at https://sfbayweekend.com/events/EVT-CUSTOM-5dfa8680

20. Stern Grove Festival: Patti LaBelle - doors noon, music 2 p.m., with Destani Wolf and DJ Malachai. Free, but not walk-up: general admission goes out by lottery, and the window for this show closed in early July. If you missed it, Stern Grove distributes free tickets in person at its Community Box Offices, and reserved tables (seating ten, with a donation) are available. Check sterngrove.org. This is the 89th season, and Stern Grove is at 19th Avenue and Sloat — still on the west side, so plan transit accordingly. Details at https://sfbayweekend.com/events/OCC-00395

Part 3: If you are going

Short, because the festival's own site covers it in full.

Gates open 11 a.m. all three days, rain or shine. On foot: North Gate on JFK near 30th Avenue, South Gate at Middle Drive and Metson Road. VIP and Golden Gate Club enter at 36th Avenue and JFK, or the South VIP entrance on MLK Jr. Drive. The ADA entrance is at 36th and JFK.

Box office is at Marx Meadow, 25th Avenue and Fulton Street: Wednesday August 5 and Thursday August 6, 1–7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.–8 p.m.

Wristbands are non-transferable, and there's no same-day re-entry. Keep it on. It also covers your Muni fare for the day — see above, and don't tag Clipper.

Bags: anything larger than 6" × 8" × 3" must be clear. Smaller purses and fanny packs can be opaque. Hydration bladders must be empty, under 2.5 litres, single-pocket, not inside a regular backpack.

Left at home: glass, cans, outside alcohol, chairs with legs, umbrellas, coolers, strollers, skateboards, drones, GoPros and selfie sticks.

Official shuttle runs from Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, pre-paid, around $37.75 for a one-day pass. Starts at 11 a.m., last shuttle to the festival at 8 p.m., returns until an hour after music ends.

Bikes: free self-park bike parking at the eastern and southern parts of the site, with a Bay Wheels station on JFK just east of Transverse, valeted so there's always an open dock.

Dress like it's November. Golden Gate Park sits near the ocean and turns cold, windy and foggy in the evening no matter how warm the rest of the city is. Forgetting layers is the classic mistake — check the forecast the day before, but bring the jacket regardless.

Full official details: sfoutsidelands.com/info

See every Bay Area event, August 6–9 → sfbayweekend.com