Tips & Tricks: Outside Lands Edition

Last week, we talked about our top 5 Spotify Road Trip Playlists. This week, we’re focusing on music festivals, specifically one that is near and dear to our hearts - Outside Lands! Held annually at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, Outside Lands Arts and Music Festival, or Outside Lands for short, is an exciting event that you don’t want to miss if you live in the Bay Area. Although it’s a relatively new music festival (it began in 2008), Outside Lands has grown over the years and it keeps getting bigger and bigger. With great food, talented acts, and an amazing location at the beautiful Golden Gate Park, Outside Lands is the place to be if you’re a fan of music, festivals, San Francisco, or all of the above. Since it starts this Friday, we at Wetravel have come up with seven tips and tricks to help you do Outside Lands like a local.

1. Be aware of what you can and cannot bring into the venue.

Before you even get to the festival, make sure you check out the list of things that you can and cannot bring into the venue. You don’t want to show up on the day of the festival and realize that you can’t even bring in your hula hoop or drone. (We realize that those are some very interesting things to bring to a festival, which makes us wonder if people have previously tried to bring them in...)

2. Dress in layers.

We cannot emphasize this one enough! In fact, we tend to give this advice to anyone who’s visiting the Bay Area, especially San Francisco. The city is notorious for having fickle weather. One minute, it’s sunny and the next, the fog is rolling in and it’s freezing cold. So if you’re coming to Outside Lands, make sure you dress in layers!

3. Try all the food. And we mean all of it. 

In addition to having an amazing selection of musical acts, Outside Lands also has some delicious food offerings. From food trucks and carts to Cheese and Choco Lands, Outside Lands is pretty much a foodie's dream come true. So if you’re attending Outside Lands, try some food that you’ve never had before and be adventurous!

4. Wear your comfiest pair of shoes.

This one is kind of a given, but we still think it’s worth including in this list. Whether it’s exploring the venue or dancing like nobody’s watching, you will probably be on your feet for the whole day when you’re at Outside Lands. Protect your feet and wear the comfiest pair of shoes that you own, so that you don’t end up with blistered soles.

5. Stay hydrated.

When you travel to Outside Lands, you want to make sure that you take care of yourself and that means staying hydrated! While the festival does offer a great selection of alcoholic beverages (look out for Wine Lands), it’s important to drink as much water as you can. We suggest bringing an empty plastic water bottle that you can refill.

6. Check out other acts of the festival.

Outside Lands is known for its musical performances, but it also has a wide array of art exhibitions and comedy acts. From Tig Notaro to live painting to gastromagic, there are so many diverse offerings that it might be hard to narrow them all down. Check out the schedule beforehand and plan your itinerary, so you can experience the music, arts, and comedy!

7. Explore San Francisco and the Bay Area.

So you’ve decided to attend the life-changing event that is Outside Lands and since you’re already here, why not check out the rest of this beautiful city and the Bay Area? You can take Muni and travel to Chinatown or Dolores Park in the Mission. If you have extra time, consider taking Bart and traveling to Oakland or Berkeley for a different feel of the bay . If you’re only here for the weekend and prefer not to venture too far out, you can always check out some other sites within the park. Check out the Stow Lake Boathouse and rent out a rowboat with some friends or visit the Japanese tea gardens for a more tranquil atmosphere.

Featured Image Source: Outside Lands (Matthew Meschede)