As a series of concerts in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park kicks off this weekend, travelers should prepare for weeks of road closures in the park.
In celebration of the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary, the band Dead & Company will perform three shows Friday through Sunday at the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park.
The following weekend, from Aug. 8-10, the annual Outside Lands Music Festival is also taking place in Golden Gate Park. On Aug. 15, another concert featuring Zach Bryan and supporting artists will be held at the Polo Fields.
Three back-to-back weekends of concerts in August have prompted shutdowns of several streets and entrances in Golden Gate Park, according to the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department.
From Tuesday to Aug. 18, John F. Kennedy Drive between Transverse Drive and 36th Avenue will be closed to cars. Pedestrians and bicyclists will also be restricted from accessing the section of John F. Kennedy Drive from Marx Meadow to 36th Avenue during the same time period.
From Thursday, July 31, to Aug. 13, the section of John F. Kennedy Drive from Transverse Drive to Marx Meadow will be closed to pedestrians and bikes.
All roads to the park located west of Transverse Drive will be closed to cars from this Thursday night to late Sunday. The same restrictions apply from Aug. 7-10 for Outside Lands, as well as Aug. 14-15 for the Zach Bryan performance.
Public access to the park will be limited as several entrances will be blocked off starting Thursday night to late Sunday. On the north side of Golden Gate Park, entrances at Transverse and Crossover drives, John F. Kennedy and Transverse drives, the Great Highway and John F. Kennedy Drive, and 30th, 36th, 43rd, and 47th avenues will be closed to the public.
Restricted access
Entrances restricted to the public on the south side of the park include Martin Luther King Jr. and Crossover drives, Sunset Boulevard and Irving Street, 25th Avenue, Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Lincoln Way, and 41st Avenue.
These same entrances will also be blocked off from Aug. 7-10 for Outside Lands and Aug. 14-15 for the Zach Bryan show.
On non-show days between each weekend of concerts, Martin Luther King Jr. Drive will be open one way for cars traveling east.
Several closures will still be in effect in the days following Zach Bryan’s concert in Golden Gate Park. Vehicle traffic in both directions on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive won’t resume until Aug. 20.
Bikes traveling in the west side of the park will also have to take detours during show days and non-show days until Aug. 20.
In total, the series of concerts are expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people to San Francisco, according to Mayor Daniel Lurie. Travelers should therefore expect traffic delays throughout the city during each day of performances in Golden Gate Park.
A map of scheduled closures and detours can be found online.