Town Park virgin? Get your answers here!

Hey friends. My crew and I will be staying at Lawson Hill for the festival and I am curious if that is close enough to walk to FirstGrass, or if the free shuttle runs from the campground to Mountain Village. Any input is appreciated.

See you all in June!

You definitely won’t want to walk to first grass from any of the campgrounds. First Grass is actually held in the town of Mountain Village which sits on the other side of the mountains from Telluride. What you will do is hop the shuttle from Lawson Hill into to Telluride. You’ll be let off at one of several locations in town, then you will head over to the free gondola that will take you to mountain village. I’d recommend planning to leave early so you can avoid long shuttle and gondola lines.

Spend the afternoon in Mountain Village to avoid the Gondola line headed to First Grass. :slight_smile:
Great restaurants, bars and many other folks looking to make new friend, or perhaps your new friends from the campground could be persuaded to make a party of the trip.

Auntie Hope :festivarian2 :green

Hey there guys I got some quick questions for you, I started looking for these answers in this thread and some were from a while ago so I was going to see what the most up to date information is:I’m in town park btw
Alcohol:
1-Its allowed in the campgrounds but not the festival grounds?
2-Does it need to be cans or is glass allowed?
Cooking:
1-gas or charcoal?
2-good suggestions on what to bring?
3-what is the vendor/restaurant situation like?
4-should i plan on making my own food or buying it from a restaurant?
Camping:
1-I plan on sleeping in my tent but am wondering if were allowed to put up hammocks to rest in?
2-What day should I plan on getting there?

Any other first timer tips would be great!
Thanks guys

Alcohol -

  1. Yes, you can bring alcohol into Town Park Campground, but you can’t bring it into the festival field.

  2. No glass is allowed in the festival field, but you can have glass bottles in the campground.

Cooking -

  1. The past several years, it’s been propane only in Town Park, but charcoal is allowed if the area isn’t too dry. At this point, I’d just plan on using propane.

  2. I just bumped up The Ultimate Packing List thread to the front page. Peruse that. If you’re just coming by yourself, you won’t need all of the items listed, but it’s a great place to start. Make sure you have clothes for all weather. In my 8 years of attending this festival, I’ve seen rain, sun, wind, snow and hail.

  3. There are a handful of great food vendors in the festival grounds and some amazing restaurants in town.

  4. That depends on how much money you’re wanting to spend while at the festival. Buying all your food instead of making it yourself gets expensive, but if you’re okay with that, it’s an option.

Camping -

  1. Hammocks are fine! Depending on when you get there, you may not be able to find room for one, however.

  2. If you can, you should get there on Saturday, June 11th. However, if you can’t get there that early, I would recommend by Monday the 13th. After that, camping gets pretty tight and it gets harder to find a spot.

Since I have my kids coming to TP, I probably need to get a new tent. Don’t need a real big one for 3 people, and probably not too nice of one since I don’t want to worry about what condition it ends up in.
Any suggestions, anyone?

If you have an REI close to you check them out. If not go to www.rei.com. You will find lots of tents there. :pirate

This is my 1st TBF Town Park experiance in about 35 years ,anyway we were lucky enough to get 4 TP tix with a vehicle pass so we can bring our small camper in. My plan is to get there on the 5th or 6th at the latest and get a good spot i was thinking closest to river ,hopefully one of the spots designated on the map for campers. We will have a 1 year old with us and my question is ,can you use a generator for a couple hours a day or would that be frowned on? Thanks Ken

If you use it in the middle of the day it shouldn’t be a problem. Just don’t use it at night or early in the morning.
I would point the exhaust toward the river or away from any campers close by as well.
Check with your neighbors too and ask them if it’s bothering them.
:thumbsup

Personally, I would say recommend against a gas powered generator. Planet Bluegrass really goes out of it’s way to be as eco-friendly as possible. Stick to solar power if at all possible.

This will be my first TP stay. We got a vehicle pass for our truck camper. I’ve read through most of the forum questions and answers and I’m still wondering whether the rv and car camping spaces in the park are “reserved” for those with vehicle passes or are available to all campers on a “first come” basis? It may be hard for us to get there on Sat 6/11 when TP opens so I’m trying to understand the situation with a truck camper if we arrive several days later.

Also, is there wi-fi service available at TP?

Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

You will need to pay for a spot in Town Park until the 11th when your TP passes take over for the camping part. I’m pretty sure that you can only pay for up to 7 days so you should be good coming in on the 5th or 6th. There will be folks there already for ABGAT. (Advanced Bluegrass Assault Team!) :cheers

All camping spots after June 11 are on a first come basis, so it may be difficult to find a decent spot if you come in late. If you know someone else that will be there on or before June 11 they could save a spot for your camper. Otherwise it may be touch and go. If you are OK with tent camping you won’t have any trouble selling your vehicle pass to someone in need that will be there early.
Yes, there is wi-fi available, but the signal isn’t real strong unless you get close to the Town Park office.

If we made a last second decision to stay in Mountain Village, is there a shuttle or gondola open late enough to get back after the festival/night grass?

The gondola runs until 2:00 AM every night, so you might have to leave before extended encores of nightgrass.
If you are in line at the gondola at 2:00 AM they will not refuse entry.
There are no shuttles to Mountain Village, but you can always call a taxi if you end up staying too late.

Hey all! We’re camping at Werner Field and bringing our 10x10 shade tent. I have a few questions and looking for recommendations for stake options while camping here:
I have some pretty hefty stakes i usually use, but considering the 6in requirement (which i understand and respect), here are my questions:
I am preparing for all types of weather, but whats the wind like?
Have folks’ experience been that shorter stakes are ok and do the trick?
If not, do peeps bring extra weights? Extra stakes, doubling down on tie downs?
I dont want to be ‘that camp’ whose 10x10 flying through the field. :vibes
Thanks all! See ya in 5 weeks!

The wind can get pretty nasty at times. I’ve seen EZ-ups blown into the tops of trees.
I would suggest as a backup to the stakes you have a bunch of gallon water jugs tied to the legs and bring the canopy down if the wind really gets going. When you use stakes, be sure that they are pounded in at an angle towards the center of the canopy. If you pound them straight into the ground they will pull up in a small gust. :thumbsup

Yeah! Reads like a plan! Back up weights it is. :cheers

Thanks Mayor Tom,
Town park virgin here…I noticed the late night tickets say 11 pm showtime, will those shows start before the music ends at the festy? Is the firstgrass show in the same area as the Yonder show Wednesday night? Thanks man!!

My experience is that the main stage usually goes past 11 and that the night grass shows start on time.

First grass is in mountain village not far from the conference center.