Volunteer and Hangtag Parking

Volunteer parking available in a designated parking lot

Our volunteer parking lot is a huge one, located north of the Grandstand. During the State Fair, it’s the area where the concerts are staged and the ground-level seating is located. 

This map shows how to access it from Randall Avenue, which you can reach from the north, east, or west side of the Fairgrounds. We’ll have signs posted at the turn and any other spots where it’s hard to know which way to go:

Once you arrive in the large asphalt area just north of the Grandstand, park before you reach the chain-link fence that divides the area. Please be careful not to block in other volunteers' cars — since this area is not striped like a parking lot, it's important to follow the pattern of other cars.

After exiting your car, you can take the stairs or the elevator down to the level where the volunteer door is. There will be signs along the way.

If you plan to shop before or after your shift (including checking out before your shift starts if that’s when you’ll be shopping), it’s still fine to park in this parking lot. But you will have to exit the sale through the regular exit on the west end and walk around the south side of the Grandstand/fenced area to get to the stairs or elevator by the volunteer door to return to your car. You can use curbside plant pickup if needed, after you retrieve your car. 

It’s fine to use the volunteer lot on Thursday night during the volunteer pre-sale even if you aren’t doing your volunteer time that evening. But it may be more convenient to use the Midway parking lot or street parking on the west side of the Grandstand since those are closer to the entrance of the pre-sale.

The lot will be open for volunteer use from Tuesday – Sunday, but it will probably be most needed from Thursday night to Sunday.

This lot is also for people with handicapped parking hangtags

Watch for volunteer parking lot signs along the way, and then you'll see a final sign pointing to the hangtag area, which is closer to the building.

After you leave your car, follow the signs to the elevator and then the volunteer door. You and people accompanying you can enter through that door (on the east end of the Grandstand) without a wristband during any hours the sale is open.

Shop and check out as usual, but be sure to get a red dot on your shopping list from the cashier to be able to exit through the volunteer door on the way back to your car.