KEYSTONE FESTIVALS PRO TIPS

Are you planning to attend your first Keystone Festival this summer? Or maybe you have a few festivals under your belt, but you’re looking to hear some hot insider tips?

Well click no further because we have insider pro tips to help you plan your perfect festival experience. We’ve ordered them from easy to difficult; only Keystone veterans will know some of the last tips. Read on to see which tips you recognize and which ones you want to incorporate this year!

Level One: First-Timer Tips

These first few pro tips are a great starting place for first-timer attendees or reminders for returning guests.

Free parking/ transportation

The River Run Parking Lot is free during the day and is just one hop skip away from River Run Village! It’s a convenient way to gain direct access to Keystone Festivals during the day.

Planning on drinking? The Summit Stage also offers free transportation to Keystone. Click here to check out their summer schedule

PS: The River Run Lot is NOT free overnight. Make sure to scan the QR code to pay for your overnight parking or you’ll get a ticket.

Free access to festival and music: buy drinks a-la-carte

Did you know Keystone Festivals are free to attend? No ticket required to come stroll through the festival grounds, shop the food and merch booths, and take in the free live music! A ticket is required to participate in bourbon, wine, or beer sampling, but individual drinks are also available for purchase without prior ticket purchase at the festival bars. Look for one of the festival bars that offers cold beer, wine, spirits, and NA options including Lemonade, NA beer, water, and sparkling water.

Bring a water bottle

Speaking of water, bring a water bottle! There are 3 free water stations throughout the festival grounds so you can refill your water bottle with filtered water. Whether you’re dancing the day away or on a quest to find your new favorite bourbon, it’s important to stay hydrated when you’re at 9,280 feet.

Bring a Koozie / or Buy a Lanyard

If you plan to purchase individual drinks at the festival bar, remember to bring a koozie to keep your drink chilly for as long as possible! If you’re participating in wine or beer sampling, we definitely suggest picking up a glass lanyard which lets you wear your sampling glass around your neck and keep your hands free to sample food! Bonus points to the pros who bring back an old lanyard to reuse this year!

Seriously hydrate and wear sunscreen

Did we mention we are located at 9,280’? The sun is especially intense at this elevation, meaning you will get dehydrated and sunburned much more quickly than at sea level. Trust us, we have tried to push the limit on this and we don’t recommend it.

PS: Don’t forget SPF chapstick

Level Two: It’s My Second Rodeo

These next few pro tips are good for those looking to step up their festival preparedness and take full advantage of the weekend!

Family Zone – picnic in the shade

Parents take notes! We have strategically placed the kids’ zone to have the following features:

• Right outside of Festival Check In
• Right next to Warren Station stage
• Plenty of room for chalk art
• Never too far from a bar or sampling tent
• Shade
• Grass
• Trees

We love to see families bring a picnic blanket and sprawl out in the green grass next to Quaking Aspen Amphitheatre while munching on tasty festival treats, and highly suggest trying out this method if you haven’t already.

Free Photo Booth – print your memories for free!

Step right up! Grab a hat! Yes, a prop is mandatory. If you haven’t looked for or stumbled upon the free photo booth yet, 2026 is your year. Make sure to check out the festival map (or ask an employee!) where the booth is. We move it between each festival just to keep you on your toes. If you have been to the photo booth, you definitely have a collection of hilarious keepsakes from our favorite local photographer, Scott Meyer. The photo booth pics are kinda starting to take over our office…. No, seriously.

Free music on Fridays

We love a good acronym and one of our favorites is KCS. That’s right, the Keystone Concert Series is back with some of our local favorites playing for FREE in River Run Village most Fridays throughout the summer from June 14 – September 4. Be sure to check the calendar of events for the most up-to-date information!

Lawn Chairs Allowed

Did you know that we do allow lawn chairs at Keystone Festivals? We know standing room only doesn’t work for every crew. While Keystone Festivals does provide plastic chairs in the center plaza, it can be nice to bring your own comfy lawn chair with cupholders and all.

However, in order to keep the center plaza area safe and accessible, camp chairs are NOT permitted on the pavers in the village. Camp chairs ARE permitted in the landscaping beds (mind the flowers!) OR in the grass by the river.

Level Three: Tell Me Something I Don’t Know

Lodge in the Village

The easiest way to plan a seamless mountain weekend for you and your crew is to lodge in the village. Trust us, lodging in the village takes away the following pinch points:

• Where should I park?
  • Includes parking garage access
• How do I get to the festival?
  • Walk down from your room
• Oh no, the weather changed and I’m not prepared!
  • Walk back up to your room and change
• I don’t want to carry my festival merch around all day, what should I do?
  • Drop it off at your room
• I don’t want to drink and drive and I don’t want to be bound by the bus schedule
  • Stay in the village and simply walk back to your room!

Whether you stay in River Run Village or in the surrounding Keystone nieghborhoods, staying within walking distance of the village is the easiest way to step up your festival experience and make the most of your weekend. Enjoy outdoor activities at Keystone in the morning, then attend the festival in the afternoon! Being close to the festival means also being close to restaurants, coffee shops, and the mountain itself!

Buy your tickets early

The early bird gets the worm! And what is the worm? Early bird ticket pricing, of course. If you missed the early bird ticket deals, it’s still a good idea to buy early. Sometimes we sell out and sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we have tickets available for purchase on site, but not always, and not all tickets.

Here are the top 5 tickets to purchase in advance:

• Bacon & Bourbon Festival Saturday Hungry Hog (likely to sell out)
• Wine & Jazz Weekend (Two-Day) Grand Tasting Glass (likely to sell out)
• Food Pass (for any festival!) (ONLY available for advance purchase this year)
• Bluegrass & Beer Saturday Buddy Pass (likely to sell out)
• Oktoberfest Stein (it seems far away but as soon as September rolls around you’re gonna wish you had that ticket already!)

If you’re driving, arrive early to beat crowds

This one is pretty simple. Arrive before the crowd to beat the crowd! This is why we open Festival Check-In before the festival begins. To the planners, the type A of the friend group, the veteran festival attendees, we see you out there, and we hear you. Arriving early means easier parking, closer parking, and less time waiting in line for ticket pick-up. Plus, if you play your cards right, you might have time for brunch in the village!

Bring your bathing suit

The hot tub awaits! ‘nough said.

Pace yourself

Yes, we know, when 1pm hits and you have that glass in your hand, it can feel like a race to the finish line to sample all of the drinks on your list by 5pm!

Well, guess what Keystone Festivarians, it’s a marathon, NOT A SPRINT! There’s a reason we have so many tasty food vendors on site, free water stations in the festival grounds, and ice cold still or sparkling water at the festival bars. Just like a real marathon, you simply MUST sustain your body on water, protein, and fat, not alcohol alone. Groundbreaking, we know.

And remember, each drink at altitude is equal to 3 drinks at sea level. The flower bed is not a good nap spot. And if you go too hard too early, you’re gonna miss the headliner!

Bring ear protection

Listen, (ha! get it?) we know those safety orange foamy earplugs are weirdly the exact same consistency as marshmallows and it feels wrong to put them in your ears. But a true festival veteran knows that ear protection is key to the longevity of your festival attending career. Getting some quality earplugs designed for concert ear protection can be a very worthwhile investment that your future self will thank you for.

Sundays are chill days

Do you love live music, entertainment, tasty food, and drinks, but hate crowds? Well friend, you are not alone, and we are excited to tell you about Keystone Sundays. It’s the same festival with the same vendors, same food, and the same stages with different bands, However, Sundays are generally less crowded with attendance more spread out throughout the day.

Whether you want to catch the Sunday bands, attend both days of the festival, or make it an extra long weekend, we highly recommend the Sunday Keystone Festival experience. You know what they say, never miss a Sunday show!

Disclaimer: While this statement is usually true, we have some really awesome Sunday headliners this year so anything is possible. ;) 

If you read all the way to the end, congratulations, you are a fully prepared Keystone festivarian. So grab your sunglasses and flannel, purchase your tickets in advance, and tell us your thoughts! Did we miss any critical advice you want to impart? Or leave you with outstanding questions?

Shoot us a note! We love to hear from our fans, attendees, and our haters.