Transportation
The Winnipeg Folk Festival site is accessible by car, bus or bike! However you choose to join us at the Festival, we can't wait to see you there. Keep reading for some helpful tips on getting to the Fest!
By Vehicle
Birds Hill Provincial Park is 34 km (20 minutes) northeast of Winnipeg on Provincial Hwy 59 (City Route 20). This will take you to the West Gate. Alternatively, you can take Route 20 to Dugald Road to Hwy 206 to get to the East Gate. Parking is close to the Folk Fest site.
You will need to purchase a Provincial Park Pass to get into Birds Hill Provincial Park if you are driving to the Festival. Provincial Park Passes MUST be purchased online (manitobaelicensing.ca), printed and displayed on the dashboard of your vehicle for the duration of your stay at the Festival. Provincial Park Passes are only valid for the licence plate(s) and dates listed.
To increase safety and speed up the process of exiting the Festival after Main Stage ends, the parking lot is divided into two lots:
Festival West Parking, accessible from Highway 59 and Festival East Parking, accessible from Route 206.
The lots have two separate entrances/exits, which will eliminate the need for these two streams of traffic to merge as they enter or exit the parking area.
“West comes and goes West; East comes and goes East”
The simplest way to think of the new process is if you enter the park from the West Gate (Highway 59) you will park in the West Lot and leave by the West Gate (Highway 59). If you enter the park from the East Gate (Route 206) you park in the East Lot and leave via the East Gate (Route 206).
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Arriving at the Festival from Highway 59:
- Enter by the West Gate
- Turn south on to South Drive (follow the signs)
- Follow South Drive until it meets Festival Drive – turn right.
- Follow Festival Drive until you see the signs for the Festival Parking West
- Our Traffic volunteers will direct you to the entrance to use if need be.
- Enter Festival West Parking
Arriving at the Festival from Route 206:
- Enter by the East Gate
- You are on Festival Drive and will see the sign for Festival Parking East almost immediately.
- Our Traffic volunteers will direct you to the entrance to use if need be.
- Enter Festival East Parking
Our Traffic volunteers will assist you in finding a place to park. Please follow their directions.
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In the past, we had all the vehicles leave Festival Parking by a single exit, turning left and right as needed. This caused huge backups.
By having two parking areas and two exits, we can have traffic flowing smoothly both west and east at the same time as the two lines of traffic will never meet. “West goes West, East goes East.” A delay in one line will not affect traffic going in the other direction.
Our trained traffic volunteers have a procedure in place to ensure safety for everyone and to speed up exit at the end of the night. They will also be stopping cross-traffic to allow as many vehicles out of the lots as possible at any one time.
Please be patient and follow the instructions of traffic volunteers.
If you follow these simple steps and their directions, you will “go with the flow” and get out quicker and safer than if you try and blaze your own trail.
Departing from Festival West Parking:
- As you depart the lot turn LEFT on to Festival Drive.
- Continue west until you meet North Drive; turn RIGHT or LEFT
- there will be no stop sign for westbound traffic
- Turning right will take you to the Quiet Campground
- Turning left will take you to the Bird’s Hill Provincial Campground
- Follow North or South Drive until you exit the West Gate:
- Highway 59 South will take you towards Winnipeg
- Highway 59 North will take you towards Selkirk
Departing from Festival East Parking:
- As you depart the lot, turn RIGHT on to Festival Drive.
- Exit the East Gate:
- Route 206 South will take you towards Winnipeg
- Route 206 North will take you towards Selkirk
Traffic departing by the East Gate will be assisted by the RCMP at the Festival Drive/Route 206 intersection. Please use your turn signal to indicate the way you wish to turn and follow their directions.
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For individuals who require accessible parking, it is located in Festival West Parking close to the Main Gate. When you enter Festival West Parking drive down the road you enter almost to the end and turn right down the last parking lane. Continue all the way down to the Accessible Parking Area where our traffic volunteer will confirm you have a Manitoba Parking Permit (or similar province/state placard) and help you find a spot. If you don’t require these spots we ask that you respect the needs of other patrons who do and park elsewhere.
While it is possible to get to Accessible Parking from the East Gate/Route 206 it is SIGNIFICANTLY easier if you enter Birds Hill Park from the West Gate/Highway 59.
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GoManitoba’s goal is to bring sustainable, healthy commuting options to all Manitobans. Its purpose is to ease travel by helping to facilitate carpools by offering a quick, secure and personal way to find your commuting options by simply using your destination addresses.
New this year is the Single Trip Matching tool where users can ‘Post A Trip’ if they are a driver who has open space for additional passengers and those who ‘Need A Ride’ can see those posted trips and request a seat. To learn more on how Go Manitoba ridesharing works visit gomanitoba.ca.
Download the NEW GoManitoba app below.
By Bus
Between The Folk Fest Express and the free Campground Shuttle we will get you where you need to go on Festival weekend.
Enjoy convenient bus service to and from the festival with our Folk Fest Express service. Winnipeg Transit buses depart from downtown Winnipeg and stop on Festival Drive in Birds Hill Provincial Park. Our downtown stop is on Northbound Memorial between St. Mary and Portage. All Folk Fest Express buses are accessible.
The Campground Shuttles run every 30 minutes between the Quiet Campground, Birds Hill Provincial Park Campground and the Festival Site.
In the Quiet Campground, there are bus stops located at the entrance to each bay and in the Birds Hill Provincial Park Campground the stops are located along the main road into the campground and the loop around Sparrow Drive – you'll just need to look for the marked stops.
We believe everyone should have access to The Folk Fest Express bus service, all Folk Fest Express Buses are accessible. You’ll help reduce our carbon footprint, save on gas and avoid the wait to exit the parking lot at the end of the night. To catch a bus home, wait at the bus stop on Festival Drive, located across the road from the main parking area.
By Bike
Birds Hill Park isn’t that far away from the city – close enough to bike to, in fact! The ride from downtown Winnipeg to the Folk Fest site takes about two hours.
A bike trail from the city to Birds Hill Provincial Park now allows for safe travel for folks at any time throughout the weekend. We will continue to promote active transportation to the Festival site, by providing on-site bike racks.
Download the bike route directions here!
Campers: Upon arrival ride to the pedestrian crosswalk and cross the road. Take the trail path to the Main Gate Box Office to avoid the vehicle line. Here you can ride up to the “walk-up” kiosk to exchange your ticket for a wristband.
Upon arrival, please ride to the pedestrian crosswalk and cross the road. Take the trail path to the Main Gate Box Office to avoid the vehicle line. Here you can ride up to the “walk-up” kiosk to exchange your ticket for a wristband.
From the Birds Hill Campground, take the Lakeview Trail (East Loop) to the beach’s East Parking lot and exit the beach area to Festival Drive. Continue on Festival Drive past the four-way intersection. Once you arrive at the cross-walk, take the walking path on the south side of the road toward the Main Gate Box Office.
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Exit the road past the Quiet Campground Box Office. Turn left at North Drive, ride until you hit the four-way intersection where North, South and Festival Drives meet the East Beach Gate – turn left onto Festival Drive. Once you arrive at the cross-walk, take the walking path on the South side of the road toward the Main Gate Box Office.
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Take the south walking path out of the Festival Campground. Cross Festival Drive at the cross-walk and then take the walking path toward the Main Gate Box Office.
Bike Racks
Need a place to lock-up when you get to the Festival? We have plenty of racks near the Main Gate Box Office to lock-up your bicycle.
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