Pickathon continuously works to improve the arrival, parking, and camping festival experience, and this year there are a lot of big improvements we’re excited to announce!
If you are Driving your Car to Pickathon (or camping in the Welcome Lot Car/RV camping)…
Plan to arrive in the new Welcome Lot Neighborhood (19208 SE Foster Rd, Damascus, OR 97089) where we’ll check you in and get you your festival wristband from the comfort of your car!
If you are tent camping drop your gear off in the Welcome Lot with the Camp Host (see Tent Camping at Pickathon below).
Next, we’ll guide you to your parking spot, and from there, you have the option to take our festival bus which runs continuously all weekend, or walk/ride a bike the short distance to the festival on our new scenic pedestrian path.
Alternatively, If you’re bicycling to Pickathon, taking the Pickathon Max/Hotel Shuttle, getting dropped off, or ridesharing…
Plan to arrive at the South Lot Entrance (16581 SE Hagen Rd, Happy Valley, OR 97086) where we will process your ticket in the Farmhouse Neighborhood, and you can drop your gear with the Camp Host (if you’re tent camping see below), then walk right into the festival!
Tent Camping at Pickathon:
Every Weekend Pass holder at Pickathon can set up a camping tent at the festival for free (note that Single Day attendees cannot camp)!
This year, Pickathon went above and beyond all previous years’ camping experiences by finessing all of the forested camping to be move-in ready and scaling up the Camp Host to help haul your gear to and from your campsite.
Whether you arrive at the Welcome Lot (driving your car) or at the South Lot Entrance (biking, ridesharing, shuttle, dropped off), the Camp Host will be there to help you find a great camping spot as they are the front desk for people camping at Pickathon, and their purpose is to make sure you have a soft landing near your campsite and an easy exit when you are ready to leave. One of the main ways they will help you is by hauling your gear close to your campsite. The way it works is once you get your tickets, you can Drop Your Gear Off at the Camp Host, and they will deliver it to one of four designated Gear Drops along the Logging Road (there will be maps!) close to your campsite.
We also will have campsite improvement tools available at the gear drop locations for you to check out if you want to do some additional campsite finessing yourself.
Post-Pickathon Tent Camping:
Post-Pickathon we know you’ll be tired from all the fun, so all you have to do is break down your camp (don’t leave anything behind!) and leave everything at a Gear Drop. We’ll bring it over to the Camp Host in the Welcome Lot for you! Whenever you want to leave, you can take the Festival Bus over to the Welcome Lot, pick up your gear, and get your car!
RV & Car Camping at Pickathon
The new RV/Car Welcome Campground is a hugely spacious, open grass meadow with views of the surrounding buttes that will feel like the perfect home base for your crew! The nearby Festival Bus and the pedestrian bike path allow you to travel back and forth to the festival at your leisure.
Buy a Car Camping or RV Pass to set up your ideal home base at Pickathon, but don’t wait too long as there is only a small amount of Car Camping and RV Camping spots remaining. Note: Buying an Early Thursday Pass allows you to arrive one day earlier.
Here are some more useful notes about tent camping:
- We work very hard to ensure everyone with a weekend ticket can find a decent place to pitch their tent. Being neighborly and mindful of your footprint goes a very long way. Arriving on Thursday is always going to provide the most ideal camping locations.
- Pickathon features a fantastic array of delicious and affordable food and beverage options that should allow everyone attending to eat all weekend without needing to bring a single bag of groceries.
- Make sure you pack your gear in a way it will be easy to transport (no small loose items) to and from the gear drop off to your campsite.
- Ice will be available for purchase on-site.
- Drinking water will be provided free of charge. You can either purchase a collectible Pickathon metal cup or you can bring your water bottles to fill up.
- No open flame of any kind (including candles, BBQs, campfires), fireworks, or firearms are allowed. Camp stoves are permitted IF you use extreme caution with them on-site.
- Portable toilets, recycling, composting, dish rinsing, and hand washing stations are located throughout the venue and campground.
- Beautiful, environmentally sound, custom showers are located onsite in the Refuge Neighborhood. We encourage you to “BYOT” (bring your own towel) but you will also have the option to rent one at the showers. Massages are available too at the Refuge!
- No telephones are available to the public for local calls, but cell phones should work fine.
- There are no plugs available for you to charge anything on-site, but there is a solar-powered vendor who can charge your devices for a fee.
- Absolutely No Pets are allowed.
- No Outside Alcohol (beer, wine, liquor, etc) will be allowed anywhere at Pickathon. Vehicles and bags may be checked upon entry and these items will be confiscated.
