Damn Tom you have been busy !
:cheers
:wave
Newbie here. In addition to being a Town Park virgin, this will be my first trek to Telluride. Looking forward to reading through all the posts sometime this weekend. I LOVE having a vacation to look forward to in the cold months here in the midwest.
XOXO,
H
welcome!
any question ?
Just ask !
:cheers
To: Future Virgins of Town Park and Warner
From: A Sophomore :wave
I could write a ton (and will)- most of it covered in other posts- so keep reading other posts on this site too between now and then- I’ll duplicate some of that but I’ll try to include stuff that most regulars might not consider.
First of all, congrats. If you do this even 1/2 way right, you’ll have a blast.
So, make it last. Come as early as you can. Be there for Saturday before the music starts if you can. There’s lots to do in and around Telluride. Last year, one of the things we did right- if you can get the time off and afford it- was to rent a condo up in Mtn. Village for a couple of nights, relatively cheap (for T-ride, about 125/night), before we settled into Town Park on Saturday. This helped us acclimate (Telluride is 8600’), find our way around, and check out Town Park prior to Saturday. Town Park opens to festival camping Saturday, Warner is available Tuesday, but I know of nothing to prevent Warner campers from arriving earlier and camping in TP before Warner is available.
Know what you want, but be flexible. Getting what you want is directly tied to how early you can get there. There are sunny spots, shady spots and well-established “turf” spots of larger camps with a history of many years. There are noisy, quieter, darker, rockier, porta-pottier, colder and perpetually lit spots. Ask someone who’s been there when you get there and let them know what you’re looking for, and don’t be shy- but do keep in mind that by Wednesday late, there is an scarcity of desirable spots and most folks are involved in other activities by then. One thing that surprised me last year: Town Park is smaller than the image of it I had in my mind, especially once you add 1200 people.
For us, we camped in the primitive area (quieter- notice I never say quiet), in a spot with morning sun and day/afternoon shade (there are parts that have no shade)- we sacrificed direct sound from the festival to do so, as we were farther away. The preserve area may/may not have shade, tends to be noisier at night, more pickin and partyin’ and has better festival sound. Warner Field has great festival sound, quieter at night, it’s a smooth, flat place to sleep but no shade as it’s a baseball outfield. If you bring shade and have a tent that can vent, Warner Field is not a bad option at all (it does have glass and tent stake restrictions.)
If you arrive earlier to TP, it’s easy to find a spot for a larger tent. Arrive later, and you may be better served to bring a smaller one.
Food- has its own thread(s) here and deservedly so. For us, breakfast is at the campsite, lunch is lite and easy- at camp or hiking or at festival or in town.
Dinner:
Since we are not part of an established camp- we now think of food in the evening in 3 different ways: before the music starts (arrival-Wed), after the music starts (Thurs-Sun), and going out to eat in town (anytime). Before the music starts we like to eat well and take the time to do so. The mistake we made last year was continuing to do this once the music started. It made for some great dinners, but we missed seeing some of the acts. Sound was OK at the campsite, but not great.
The food available on the festival grounds is very good and should not be overlooked once the festival starts. Food in town is good too, but once Wednesday hits, expect more time and lines or get reservations in advance where possible- this will depend on the festival line-up too. Some folks pre-prep some of their meals to save time once the music starts.
There are two little grocery stores in town and one up in Mtn. Village at the end of the 2nd gondola (the place to get decent lunch meats). Good basics- somewhat on the expensive side, but not as bad as some Co. mountain towns. There’s a beer/wine shop in Mtn. Village and in town but it’s good to bring a stock with. (pretty reasonable price-wise, tho) Being carnivores, we’ll bring most quality meats with us, but- there’s a farmer’s market in town on Fridays and you can get some really good stuff there- like elk tenderloin ($$$) and grass-fed no-hormone beef from James Ranch in Durango ($-$$), locally grown spring greens and spinach too. Ice is available at stores in town and there’s an ice trailer at the campground for about a buck more per bag.
If you can bring a bicycle, do it. It opens up the whole town to you. You can even take bikes on some of the gondolas up and over to Mountain Village.
I’ll even post this until the moderators edit it out (actually they won’t care): If a super good
spot on the festival field is critical, bring a bag and pad that you can spend a night out under the stars in a sand, dirt and dust environment. If a merely great spot will do, just something that keeps head to toe warm for an hour or so, and an alarm clock. If this makes no sense now- research tarp run and tarp line.
Festival tarps- Something big enough for those in your party, but not too big will do fine. To really do it right, bring a fairweather tarp (like a heavy cloth painters tarp) and a foulweather tarp (typical plastic camping tarp). Here’s the thing- typical plastic tarp gets hotter than hell in the full sun, but is easy to clean. A tough, cloth, light colored painters tarp stays cool in full sun but gets soaked and dirty if raining. Once one is laid down, you can swap out if weather changes.
Other things to bring are as varied as your desires- here are some things I would not leave home without: earplugs (not for festival, for nights in camp), quarters ($2 for 5min warm to hot water), air mattress/sleeping pad, warm bedding (28-48 degrees), gloves, headlamp, Tarps* (for camp and for festival), festival chairs, sunglasses, hat (for warmth), hat (for shade), a spray mist bottle or squirt gun, sunscreen and non-toxic mosquito spray and raingear.
Hippie has a damn-near-kitchen-sink list:here’s a link
Packing “just right.” It would really help to be psychic or an accurate weatherman, or both. You are going to live in the San Juans for X days in June. You must pack for clear, burnin’ skies with highs up to 88; cold, windy snowing overcast with lows down to 28- and everything in between. Don’t pack too little and don’t pack too much. Dress in layers, baby, layers. Also, the town’s only coin laundromat went out of business a few years ago. There’s cold (and I mean cold) water in the the stream, river and the sinks.
There’s Wifi in the campground, I think. And the library in town is nice. Learn about the freebox too.
The only really funky thing that I don’t remember reading about (not that you can do anything about it, just FYI) is the mix of foot traffic dust and evergreen pollen that settles over everything- so if allergic, be aware- otherwise, you just might not want to leave that breakfast skillet out overnight.
Other Ron in Albuquerque :wave
Thanks for all great info any advice about the town hall camping that you could post would help all us newbies out.
I drew a much coveted vehicle pass for Town Park this year. I understand that vehicles must not be over 24 feet. Are there designated spots for RV’s? Do these spots fill up quickly?
Once Planet Bluegrass takes over there really aren’t any “designated” RV parking spots. You’ll pretty much park it where you can find room, so you will need to get there Saturday or Sunday at the latest.
Before Planet Bluegrass takes over there are designated RV spots and those get taken up pretty quickly the week before by the ABGAT (Advanced BlueGrass Assault Team).
If your RV is over 24 feet, you’ll need a Coonskin RV pass. You can find information about Coonskin by clicking this link.
Unfortunately, if your camper/ RV is over 24’ there won’t be room for it in Town Park…
Great post other Ron. :medal
Actually I don’t even own an RV. My wife thinks its cheatin and is happy in our tent. It’s a good one from REI and has weathered a few healthy storms. I was ready to use the vehicle pass as an excuss to go buy one but she brought me to my senses. :cheers
In that case, I know a veteran camper that could use your vehicle pass. :flower
will a warner field pass allow one to get into town park for late night pickin sessions? I was denied for the lottery, have a place to stay in town, but mainly want to get a wristband that gets me access to the freakshow and join in.
1 Warner = Town Park Entry for EACH of US FREAKS! :lol
A Tent is A Tent, but Town Park is Family! :thumbsup
Auntie Hope :pickin :green
Hi ! We chatted with Nate from Planet Bluegrass and what we are planning on doing is Rent an RV in Denver and park it at the RV camping area at the festival. He said that the Coonskin Campground would be ideal for that. We’ll be flying over from Kauai a few days before the festival and having our ‘vehicle-bed-and-restaurant’ all rolled up into one package seemed like a good idea. We’ll be logging in and getting a parking pass on December 10. Do we get the festival pass before then or at that time?
I’m not a festivirgin (this’ll be my 5th year in a row), but I’ve never camped in Town Park or Warner, we’ve always done Illium in the past. I like it down there, but the last couple of years we’ve had issues with the shuttles. I missed all of Emmitt-Nershi and Spring Creek because of the lines and I’m thinking this year might be the year to make the jump to Town Park/Warner and have a couple of questions for the veterans of Town Park.
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How likely is it that we can actually come up with Town Park tickets? There will definitely be 3 of us, possibly as many as 6 (though I highly doubt the 3 others will actually make it).
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If we can’t get Town Park tickets, how hard is it to camp in Warner? I’m not keen on sun all day long, but if I’ve heard correctly, we would get access to Town Park as well, which would allow us more shade, I’m assuming.
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Will we be able to fit a good sized tent in either place? The tent I usually bring is about 15 ft x 7 ft (used for storage of coolers and guitars as well as sleeping).
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How early do you have to get in the tarp line for a spot around the sound tower? We don’t need to be in front of it, but I’ve always preferred being close.
That’s all for now. Thanks in advance folks!
#1 Your chances are pretty good if you put the effort in. craigs list and returns are common as the fest date nears.
#2 Werner tickets are just as good and much easier to get Dec. 10th they go on sale. You can still pick and party in Town Park. And then get some actual sleep in Werner.
#3 first come first serve. Plan to get there early if you have special needs.
#4 I’m always in front of the sound tower and my possie get in line by 4AM. Bring a one burner and a small coffee pot, head lamp, lawn chair, warm clothes. It’s a pre party party. Or we switch off and have shifts sometimes. :flower
Aloha from Maui! My wife, future one-year-old daughter, and I have Town Park passes. Where is the best place for us to put up camp so that my daughter will have the most positive experience? I’m worried that she will be kept up all night and not get her beauty sleep. Are there any other festivarians camping in TP with kids that will be there early and want to put up camp next to us?
:cheers :baby :pipe2 :talk
Other than suggesting the primitive area it’s difficult to explain other areas on the forum. I suggest you talk to some of the veterans once you arrive and get their input. :flower
On behalf of Matt, thank you, I am one of the brothers he mentioned.
:wave Hey no problem. But I’m no expert and the more folks that chime in the better… :wave
:fishCAN WE LEAVE YET !! :fish
:band :concertHey Maui Bubba,
If you click on my name it should show you my email address- get in touch with me that way or figure out how to personal message me thru this site (the little green curly scroll under my avatar.)
Either way- let me know how early you plan to arrive. We had a setup happen naturally last year that I wouldn’t mind repeating.