This weekend, Riot Fest will take place in Douglas Park, a picturesque outdoor space on Chicago's Southwest Side, near North Lawndale and Little Village. Not sure how to get there? Don't worry—it's an easy trip to make. We've gathered all of your transportation options, so you can spend your day seeing acts like No Doubt, Modest Mouse and Snoop Dogg instead of sitting in traffic.
Entrance
Before you can start moshing to Motörhead, you need to get inside. Riot Fest's main entrance is located at Ogden Ave and Sacramento Dr, between California and Albany Aves. There's also a smaller entrance at California Ave and 18th St, but there's no box office, so make sure you already have your tickets in-hand if you try to enter there.
Train
A CTA train is probably the fastest way to get to Douglas Park, which is just a block away from the Pink Line's California Station. There will be extra Pink Line trains running to and from Douglas Park all weekend long, so waits will likely be reduced. The Blue Line is also an option, as long as you don't mind transferring to a couple of buses: just get off at the Western Station (Forest Park Branch, not the one in Bucktown), hop on a #49 bus south to Ogden and transfer to the #18 bus at Western and 16th St. Alternatively, you can also take the Red Line to the Roosevelt Station in the South Loop—a CTA employee will direct you to Riot Fest shuttles directly outside of the station.
Bus
Don't want to ride the rails? A number of buses serve the Douglas Park area, but the CTA will increase service for the #12, #18 and #52 buses, so they're probably your best bets. As we mentioned before, a shuttle bus will run directly from the Red Line Roosevelt Station to the Riot Fest entrance.
Metra
Douglas Park is just a short walk away from the BNSF Western Avenue Station and certain trains will make extra stops at the station to accommodate festival attendees (see a full schedule here). If you take another Metra line to Ogilvie Transportation Center, just walk north to the Clinton Station, board the Pink Line and take it to the California Station.
Bike
If you're pedaling all the way to Douglas Park, you've got plenty of route options (Active Transportation Alliance has a few suggestions). Free bike parking (enough to accommodate 10,000 bikes) will be located just across the street from the main entrance at Ogden Ave and Farrar Dr. Working Bikes will provide valet bike parking for a suggested $5 donation. If you're going to use Divvy, head for the station near the California Pink Line stop (at California Ave and 21 St) or Mt. Sinai Hospital (at Washtenaw Ave and 15th St).
Car
If you must drive your own set of wheels to the festival, parking is available at the BNSF Railway (16th St and Western Ave, $30 per vehicle) and Cinespace (15th St and Rockwell St or 17th St and Washtenaw Ave, $30 per vehicle, Sat and Sun only).
