How to Get to and From ACL Festival

It’s ACL time! Getting to and from the festival grounds is the most complicated part, so we’ve compiled a guide to get you to your favorite bands as quickly as possible.

All roads surrounding Zilker Park, including portions of Barton Springs Road, Stratford Drive, Lou Neff Road, and Toomey Road will be closed to traffic, but there are plenty of ways to get to the festival:

Free ACL Shuttles

ACL Fest will provide a fleet of shuttles that run between Republic Square Park at the corner of Fourth & San Antonio street to the Barton Springs West Festival Entrance. The shuttles run both weekends starting at noon on Friday and 11am on Saturday and Sunday; they’ll keep running until all attendees are cleared from the park.

How Do I Enter?

You can enter Zilker from the gates on the north, east, or west side of the park to get to the festival. From the north, walk or bike across the pedestrian bridge under MoPac to approach the festival’s Lady Bird Entrance. From the east or west, approach Zilker Park on Barton Springs Road to reach either the east or west festival entrance. Click here to view the 2023 ACL festival grounds map for more details.

Gate hours for both weekends are as follows:

Friday: noon-10pm
Saturday: 11am-10pm
Sunday: 11am-10pm

Still have questions? ACL Fest has the answers. Be sure to follow ACL's Instagram account for timely updates.

CapMetro Buses and Metro Rail

Austin’s CapMetro public transit system can be used from all parts of the city to get to Zilker Park. Download the CapMetro app ahead of time to plan your trip and find the most accurate bus routes, schedules, and alerts. You can use public transportation to get to the festival gates, or ride to Republic Square Park and hop on one of the free ACL shuttles. Buses from the UT campus area tend to fill up fast, so plan to leave early if there is a specific artist you don’t want to miss. Night Owl late-night routes will run until 3am.

CapMetro Rail will also operate special service during the fest; be sure to study the rail schedule. The last trains depart from Downtown at 12:30am each night of the festival.

Still trying to wrap your head around CapMetro ACL transportation options? CapMetro sums it all up here.

Biking and Scooters

If it’s too far to walk, and you don’t want to struggle with parking, opt to bike. You can ride your own, rent a MetroBike, or use one of the ubiquitous scooters scattered around town. For personal bike parking, head to Stratford Drive right past the MoPac pedestrian bridge. For MetroBike valet, you can head to the Barton Springs Road and Sterzing Street station. For both scooter and personal bike parking spots, you can head to Toomey Road right across from Reeder Field. Utilize the City of Austin’s Bike Detour Map for more information. The ACL Festival website recommends taking the scenic Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail Hike-and-Bike Trail to get to and from the venue.

Walking

For a free, environmentally-friendly alternative, you can walk to ACL, but it might be a bit of a trek. Make sure and wear some comfortable kicks that you do not mind getting dirty. Your best bet might be taking the aforementioned Hike-and-Bike Trail to the MoPac pedestrian bridge and cross south over the river. From there, it’s a short trip to the festival’s Lady Bird entrance.

Car

Still want to drive? While there is no parking at Zilker Park or the surrounding neighborhoods, Pavemint has partnered with ACL Fest to provide parking for festival attendees. A portion of the proceeds will be returned to Austin High School to benefit Girls/Boys Athletics and Fine Arts programs. You can also try parking at the Long Center in the Palmer Events Center Garage or the One Texas Parking Garage for a fee. To check up on routes, use the City of Austin’s street closure map. Due to the large number of unattended vehicles, make sure to remove or hide any valuable belongings from your car.

If you are driving in the area and not planning to attend the festival, please remember that varying lane closures along Barton Springs Road are happening already and will continue throughout the fest. East-west detours include Cesar Chavez Street and Fifth Street.

Rideshare

To get from your house to the famous flags, rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft are always an option. Drop-off and pick-up locations will be near South Lamar Boulevard, MoPac Frontage Road, and Veterans Drive. Once the night is over, the immediate area around the festival will become a car restricted zone and you’ll have to walk away from Zilker in order to get a ride. Simply walk and cross the river, South Lamar, or the MoPac frontage road to exit the restricted zone and connect to nearby drivers. Again, expect high demand and surge pricing. Alternative ridesharing apps such as Wingz and Earth can also be used and are more likely to have lower rates than their competitors.