Despite how we told you that there are more Ferries to the Sausalito Art Festival than there were ships sent to bring back Helen of Troy, you still plan to drive. Here's everything you need to know about parking.
The Festival runs a free shuttle service from 9:30 AM to 7:00 PM each day of the event. The shuttle serves the parking lots (where attendants will guide you to a signed shuttle stop), the ferry pier in downtown Sausalito , and the Festival's main entrance.
1. Use the northern exit for Sausalito from from Highway 101, not the one next to the Golden Gate Bridge. You'll be much closer to the Festival gates, on much wider roads, and feeding directly into the parking lots. The route with magnificent vistas by the Bridge will be, well, scenic… but slow.
2. The farther you walk, the cheaper the parking. Signs on Bridgeway will point to places you can turn and say "Parking $5", "Parking $10" and "Parking $20". Parking at MLK School for 5 bucks will leave you about a 6-block walk from the Festival BUT there are free shuttles connecting the parking areas to the Festival grounds. Is not waiting for the shuttle and walking only a couple of blocks worth $15?
3. Get here early. The parking lots can fill up, and City parking lots are also heavily loaded on a normal weekend, let alone a Holiday weekend, let alone the Art Festival weekend. Our page on downtown Sausalito parking is here.
4. Don't try parking in residential neighborhoods. The Sausalito residential areas require special parking passes during the Art Festival, and those passes are only available to residents. It's almost a guaranteed $30+ ticket to park in these areas for the day… and they're a longer walk than the $5 lots!
On the map below, "A" is the general area of the $5 parking, "B" is in the approximate region of $10 parking and "C" is the general area where you'd pay $20. Marinship Park, the center of the Festival, is south of these parking areas. Another $10 area is south of the Festival.
Google Map Instructions: Use the "+" and "-" buttons to zoom in and out, the arrow keys to scroll the map, and the SAT button to see the satellite view.
Copyright (c) 2010 OurSausalito.com. All Rights Reserved.
