GETTING TO SEATTLE HEMPFEST® PROTESTIVAL
How do you get to HEMPFEST Protestival?
To access the North Entrance, cross the Amgen Pedestrian Bridge off of W Prospect Street & Elliott Ave W. It has an elevator and is wheelchair accessible, placing the avid attendee just 
north of Seattle HEMPFEST protestival north entrance. There is very little parking at W Prospect Street. So your best bet is to walk, bike, or take a metro bus to that location. For example, take metro bus 18 to north entrance, and 15 to south entrance. There are many other Metro buses routes that can drop you at either entrance too. Bicycles should enter through the North entrance to utilize the bike racks.
The North entrance takes you to the Caviar Gold & Seeley Black Stages. It’s a jam packed area that not only boasts 2 stages but a wide variety of vendors including the Ganja Garden’s Food Court. This is our least crowded entrance and an excellent way to start your Seattle HEMPFEST Protestival adventure!
Our new NO WAIT entrance, The West Thomas Street Pedestrian and Bicycle Overpass, is accessible at 3rd Ave W & W Harris Streets just north of Seattle Center. This new entrance has great parking potential being just 4 blocks north of Key Arena. It’ll take you across the busy Elliot & Western Avenues, and drop you right in Munchie Market! Take The West Thomas Street Pedestrian and Bicycle Overpass! 
To access the South Entrance, along with tens of thousands of other people, enter the Olympic Sculpture Park on Alaskan Way Downtown Seattle. This is the longest wait and walk to get into Seattle HEMPFEST Protestival.
Of course if you’re a Seattle HEMPFEST Member, volunteer, speaker, or require ADA entry, you cut the line! Simply walk to the front of the Olympic Sculpture Park and look for the ADA/Member’s Entrance signs. You’ll go get to go through the express lane and get almost immediate entry into Seattle HEMPFEST Protestival.
The HEMPFEST Protestival PHYSICAL address at the park is: 3130 Alaskan Way W, Seattle, WA 98121 (Don’t try to mail something there, it is a park! Also, you can NOT drive into the park from that entrance, even if you are a vendor or a delivery).
Perhaps the best way to get to Hempfest is by bike. Myrtle Edwards Park is part of the Elliott Bay Trail which connects to the massive Burke Gilman Trail. One may easily navigate the regional trail system from Sammamish, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Kirkland, etc. Comprehensive bicycling maps from King County Alternate SeaTac to Downtown map from Cascade Bicycle Club Bike rental info from Cascade Bicycle Club When approaching on the Burke-Gilman, one has two main routes. The first option is to cross the historic Fremont Bridge, the most frequently opened drawbridge in the United States. Take a left onto Westlake and ride along the west side of Lake Union all the way downtown. The second option is to ride the Burke-Gilman to the Ballard Locks, which are open from 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. daily. After crossing the locks, coast through Magnolia, and into the magnificent train yards before hitting the glistening waterfront. If the locks are closed, take the 15th Ave bridge, right on Dravus, left on 20th and down by the train yards. To the south, the Elliott Bay Trail runs past downtown to SoDo and the stadiums, where one can (sort of) connect with the I-90 trail or continue south along Alaskan/Marginal Way to hook up with the West Seattle Bridge. BICYCLE RIDERS and PEDESTRIANS: Mon-Thurs before Hempfest, and Mon-Wed after, from 7:30-8:30 AM is vehicle free time on East & West paths of Myrtle Edwards and Centennial parks. Hempfest vehicle traffic is suspended for that hour during weekday set-up and tear-down to respect morning bike commuters who use the parks. For public safety, BICYCLE RIDERS MUST DISMOUNT during Seattle Hempfest. ALL DAYS, ALL HOURS. Bicycles should enter through the North entrance in Centennial Park to utilize the bike racks, or use the bike racks at Bay and Elliot. Attaching bikes to the fence at Olympic Sculpture Park is not allowed. Interstate 5 runs through the heart of Seattle. From either direction, take the Mercer Street exit (Exit 167) towards the Seattle Center, home of the Space Needle. There are pay parking garages and lots in downtown Seattle (see below) and in nearby Queen Anne. Street parking is free after 8 p.m. and and is free all day Sunday. Myrtle Edwards Park has no parking. Most of you plane people will touch down at SeaTac International Airport, which provides non-stop service to numerous cities ranging from Missoula, Montana to San Francisco to Amsterdam. The Port of Seattle has useful info on getting downtown from SeaTac. One may may hop the easy Link light rail direct from the airport to downtown or take Metro to downtown. Shuttle Express offers shared-ride van service to downtown from the third floor of the airport garage. Some hotels offer shuttle service also. Kenmore Air provides seaplane service from Lake Union to various parts of Washington and British Columbia, and landplane service from Boeing Field. Metro Transit provides local (countywide) bus service. A number of bus routes stop in downtown Seattle. Once downtown, just walk downhill to the waterfront, turn right and follow everyone else to Hempfest. Metro operates numerous park and ride lots throughout the region. To beat the crowds, use the north entrance by crossing the new Amgen Pedestrian Bridge off of W Prospect Street. Modeled after the double-helix geometry of DNA and crossing an expanse of train tracks, the pedestrian bridge is hard to miss. It has an elevator and is wheelchair accessible, placing the avid attendee just north of Hempfest’s north entrance. The following Metro routes stop nearby: 15, 18, 19, 24, 33, 81. Sound Transit provides regional bus service. They provide service south as far as Dupont, north as far as Everett, and east as far as Issaquah. Greyhound provides nationwide bus service. Rates are decent, and bus rides are interesting. Reserve 14 days in advance and rates are $20-109 dollars one-way anywhere in the U.S. Seattle Hempfest happens north of Pier 70 on the waterfront near several public and private ferry services. The Washington State Ferries run several routes around Puget Sound. Pier 52 hosts the Bremerton and Bainbridge Island routes, and Pier 50 hosts the Vashon Island passenger only ferry. King County Transportation provides passenger only ferry service between Pier 55 and West Seattle via the Elliott Bay Water Taxi at Seacrest Dock. Victoria Clipper operates a passenger only ferry between Victoria, BC and Seattle. Operating from Pier 69, it’s a bit pricey but those jetfoils make it the fastest ferry service around. For ferry service between British Columbia and Washington, one may also use the private M.V. Coho passenger and vehicle ferry service. This lands in Port Angeles on the gorgeous Olympic Peninsula. To get to Seattle from here, one will need to take a ferry from Bainbridge or Bremerton, or head south to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and back up I-5. The Alaska State Ferries have (costly) service to Bellingham. One may also take a cruise ship to Hempfest, should one be so inclined. Five cruise ship companies operate from Pier 66 and Terminal 30. For those sailing from afar, the Port of Seattle operates three marinas with guest moorage. Bell Harbor Marina on Pier 66 has 80 guest slips. Shilshole Bay Marina is the city’s largest marina with 100 guest slips. Fisherman’s Terminal also has some guest slips, but requires a pass through the locks. From either Shilshole or Fisherman’s Terminal, Hempfest is a quick bike ride away. For the local boaters, nothing beats Hempfest by boat. Just set your course for the downtown waterfront and you can’t miss it. Boaters from Lake Washington and Lake Union must pass through the Ballard Locks, which are open from 7 a.m – 9 p.m. Don’t be a stoner and miss the closing of the locks. Amtrak provides nationwide train service. Seattle is on three of their routes: Coast Starlight (Seattle to Los Angeles), Empire Builder (Seattle to Chicago), and Amtrak Cascades (Vancouver to Eugene). Trains stop a bit south of downtown at King Street Station. Sound Transit provides regional commuter rail service Monday through Friday, which might nice if you’re staying the weekend. There are two routes, one south of Seattle and one north. The train goes into Seattle early, and leave Seattle after work hours. Southerly, one can ride the train from Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner, Auburn, Kent, and Tukwila. To the north is a gorgeous waterfront ride to Everett and Edmonds.
COMING BY
DIRECTIONS
By Bike or Foot
By Car
101 Elliott Avenue W
Under the Seattle PI Globe
Hours: 6:30 a.m.–11 p.m.
2801 Alaskan Way
Pier 70 at Broad Street and Alaskan Way.
Hours: 6:30 a.m.–11 p.m.
2801 Western Avenue
Entrance is on Clay Street (one-way, west), between Western Avenue
and Elliott Avenue.
Hours: 6 a.m.–11 p.m.
Located on the corner of Vine Street and Elliott Avenue.
Hours: 6:30 a.m.–11 p.m.
2401 Elliott Avenue
Across from the Edgewater. Entrance is on Wall Street and Alaskan
Way.
Hours: 6:30 a.m.–midnight
Surface lot on Wall Street and Elliott Avenue with a pay box. No week day
parking. Evening and weekends only.
2620 First Avenue
Surface lot with a pay box. No day parking. Evenings and weekends
only.
Surface lot on the corner of Western Avenue and Battery Street with
a pay box.
By Plane
By Bus
By Boat
By Train
