Hey! I’m headed to Telluride Bluegrass Fest for the first time this year and have a few questions about Lawson hill. Would love some insight and tips!
If we’re at Lawson Hill, do I have to be with my entire party in order to save space for them? Like, if I show up alone earlier, will I only get space for 1 tent?
How is the shower situation at Lawson Hill? Are there certain times of day it’s closed/open?
Is it possible for Lawson to fill up/is there such thing as a bad spot? Some of my friends won’t get there until Wednesday at 11PM.
There are no designated spaces and no defined amount of space per group, just don’t take up more space than you need. It’s a ball field no shade. I’d guess the only better or worse space is how close or far away you are from the entrance. Not sure on showers.
I’ve camped at Lawson 10+ years over the years, and been one of the camp volunteers many of those. However, I haven’t been to TBF since 2023, so my info may be a tad out of date.
Space for friends: as the previous commenter said it’s sort of an honor policy but the campground does get packed. In previous years the biggest surge of people come in on Wednesday, and Wednesday night is probably the busiest overnight load in. The difference in how full camp gets between Wednesday and Thursday is the most staggering. Waiting until 11pm Wednesday to save space for friends could end up being a dicey proposition.
Best spots: not sure where they will be setting up the “glamping” tents but most folks who get there early head for the east side in “right field” if you will, because that area stays shaded in the morning and is usually pretty easy to navigate your way to at night. I personally choose a spot down the left field line because it’s closer to the river and I like the sound, and you get first sun in the morning which gets us out of our tents and ready for the day. It’s also easy to find late at night when you get back.
Showers: in the past it’s been $5 for the showers, you’re supposed to keep it to 5 minutes or so. However, the showers have been known to change location, price, hours, etc from year to year. So I never count on the system being the same from year to year.
Showers this year will be at the top of the hill by the Upper Lawson Hill RV area and will be $5 per shower. Its open from 8am to noon usually.
Bears are usually not a great concern as they are not comfortable being around so many people and there are lights on near the dumpsters all night. Always good to leave a clean campsite when you head into town for the festival every day!
Bears tend to give the festivarians a wide berth. I camp at Town Park and there are absolutely no bear concerns there during festival. Because Lawson Hill is a ball field there are no storage lockers.
