Guest

Motels really close are frequently booked a year in advance. The closest you can be reasonably sure of getting into may be in Wichita, about 40 or 50 miles northwest of Winfield. (Distance varies depending on whether you believe the publicists, the maps, or the odometer. Wichita is sprawled out about 20 miles wide, so location in Wichita can add some clicks on the odometer.)

At the first post in this thread, the 5th link: Official WVA website, I believe in the "Camping" section, theres a list of some "Alternatives to Camping" that some some possibles where you might find a closer one, but I'd recommend calling ahead as soon as possible to try to get a confirmed reservation if you want a hotel/motel. The list includes "alternative camping" at the County Lake about 15 miles north, but it's almost certain to be full by the time you arrive.

Camping is NOT ASSIGNED. It's first come, first planted, with the "Land Rush" to prevent anyone from getting in ahead of the crowd. A "Lineup for Landrush" starts a week earlier to decide who gets in first on Landrush morning, and you can "camp out" for up to two weeks ahead of that to try to be "early into Lineup."

If you have a tent and are reasonably self-sufficient, you can find a place to pitch a tent almost anytime, but you may have to poke about a bit and squeeze in.

There's a crude map at a subpage of Picker's Paradise that may give some idea of how things are spread out. There's no scale shown on the map; but you'll enter at the ticket booth off Highway 106 which is 7th Avenue out of Winfield. 14th Avenue is shown down toward the bottom of the map, so you can apply "seven small-town city blocks" as a dimension for the distance between those two.

The "purple" patch in the middle is the grandstand area. No vehicles (and no booze or other contraband) allowed there. Walk-in only and all persons entering will be "inspected," which may include looking in purses and any "carried items."

The green and yellow areas at top left are the regular park campground, which is equipped with numerous electrical hookups and pletiful water taps; but you're unlikely even to find a place to pitch a tent there if you arrive at the final weekend. The two "trails" that run under the bridge are "overflow" camping areas, and might have space left, technically in the "green" area.

The blue and peach areas near the bottom are in what is normally a "day park" where camping is "only during the Festival." A few electrical hookups are added and removed in the small oval, but they will be long gone. There are three water taps inside the oval, but outside it there's no immediately accessible water. You can probably carry enough water to get you through a couple of days, but bringing a good bucket (water can) is recommended.

The white area on the right (East) between Highway 106 (7th Ave) and 14th Ave isn't shown as a camp area on the map, but is being used in recent years. There is no electricity, no water, no shade, and campfires are banned there; but it's not too bad once it begins to fill up and a few RVs spread their canopies. Quite a few who were forced there in recent past years now just go there by choice.

You'll need a "camping permit" for each tent pitched. There's been an attempt to require an additional "camping permit" for each shade shelter people set up, but enforcement is "variable." Each camping permit gets you a "parking sticker" that allows one vehicle in the area for which you get the camping permit. The parking sticker does not assure you of finding a place to park in the campground, but "local arrangements" can usually squeeze in most of the people who need a vehicle close to camp. Lots of campers park in the "Day Parking" area, north of the grandstand, and walk in, or back in after they get setup, due to parking congestion in the camp areas.

How far it is to the grandstand and stages depends entirely on where you find your camping site, but do plan on doing some walking.

If you get "inside" one of the major camp areas, do watch which road you follow getting to the grandstand or to other camps. The camping area really isn't all that big, but it's "unorganized" and people have been known to get lost going back to camp, especially after dark.

John