Hey all. Making our first road trip from New Hampshire to see our Son and the Utes against Oregon at the end of Oct.
Looking to find the best options for tailgating. Best lot and will a sprinter van be allowed?
Any help would be appreciated.
Looking forward to an epic road trip.
I wish I could, but never tailgaited; Iām sure somebody on this board will help.
Congrats to your son and best wishes. Thanks for reaching out.
Go UTES!!
We tailgate in the Guardsman lot. But you need a pass to tailgate there. Iām not sure what the ārulesā are in other lots.
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the best and closest tailgate lots arent available. There are long waiting lists to get into those spots and parking lots with a vehicle. Youāre better off just parking where you can, wandering around the stadium (particularly South East of the stadium) and making new friends.
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How about parking up at the U and take the Trax 2 stops to the Stadium? Or, parking at a 4th south, 9th east commercial lot, and take Trax up a klik to the stadium?
Where are yāall staying? If itās a hotel they may have a shuttle service as well.
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Based on the map you included, Iād say your best option would be to consider buying someoneās pass in Lot 11. The reason being is thereās some lawn west of that road to the south of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, and you can set up a tent and chairs there. Some people also have their own little parties in that lot within the north leg of it. The parking space sizes are going to be much shorter than a sprinter van. Iām not sure theyād let you take up two spaces on a single parking pass.
You most definitely will not be having a stress free party in Lot 18, which is owned by the LDS Institute there but is turned over to the U on game days. Whether they crack down on alcohol use within that lot or not I donāt know, but best to respect their beliefs.
The farther you get away from the stadium the easier it will be to park and party early before the lots fill up between an 30 minutes to an hour from kickoff.
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By far the best lot is the āGuardsman Lotā, close to the game, and lots of people/interaction. As others have said, the parking passes there are reserved by the year so you will not be able to get one. Nor will you be able to get a spot in any of the lots closer to the stadium, they are all presold.
However, every lot where you can buy a pass, will have tailgaters, so perhaps call the U and ask if you can purchase a pass in any of the campus lots. I havenāt tried in years, so I donāt know how hard they are to come by. And/or, you could ask the Crimson Club if there are open spots in one of their many associated tailgates,
My recommendation: google search online for one of the many independent tailgate sponsors (for a fee) that are in the Guardsman lot, Uber, or take Trax (TRAX) there, have a nice meal, walk around the lot meeting people, and then the short walk to the game.
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Anyone remember tailgating in the early to mid 80ās? My buddy and I used to park in what is now the Guardsmen lot , open up the back hatch of his Subaru, blast tunes on a boom box, pour cocktails and eat sandwiches. People would walk by and look at us like we were from another planet!!
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Canāt know for sure since the parking map on the Utah Website is still from 2022, but I think that Merrill Engineering lot still has paid āpublicā parking and in past years (before we exclusively started taking TRAX) lots of people would be enjoying pre-game food/drink there). Likely RVs/trailers not allowed, but pickups and cars OK. A bit of a healthy walk to the stadium but it is through the heart of the campus.
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Guardsman lot is the best, but youāre not going to be able to park there - 27 is up by the hospital trax station and has a decent amount of tailgaters (not like near the stadium though) plus, you can pay $20 and park there without a pass in advance. Lot 11 like has been mentioned has a nice grass area across the street that will have people set up tailgating and lot 32 (Merrill Engineering) is a nice large asphalt lot with limited grass availability. The upside to Merrill is itās essentially a flat walk to the stadium and back.
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We used to tailgate in the LDS church parking lot (Lot 19 next to Lot 18), but they shut us down last year. Avoid at all costs unless simply parking. We are in Lot 44 this year and itās been great. Nice large grassy area with shade and sun. Walk isnāt too bad and mostly flat. Lot 32 is a ā ā ā ā show to get out of after the game.
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I do. Starting in 1981 I used to pull my Toyota 4x4 pickup in, weād drop the tailgate, put some brats on a hibachi, crack open the beers, and spend 3 hours warming up for the game. The cost for the season that first year? $10.
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Back in the 2007 to 2008 era I was acquainted with one of the associate ADs up there, and at the time their vision was to have the whole campus as one big tailgate every game. Iām concluding there was a change of direction somewhere along the line.
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