Going to Portola Music Festival 2026? What to Know: From Bag Policy to Parking

The Portola Music Festival is coming back to San Francisco on Sept. 26 and 27, with a lineup that includes Zara Larsson, Robyn, Kelela, Fatboy Slim and Swedish House Mafia.

While the festival itself is a relatively new addition to San Francisco’s musical calendar, it attracts crowds of around 45,000 people. 

Our guide last year highlighted KQED’s own media and marketing campaigns manager, Emma Yee, who has attended the Portola Music Festival every year since it launched in 2022. 

Yee said that for her, what sets this event apart from the more well-known festivals like Outside Lands and Stern Grove is its industrial-feeling Pier 80 warehouse location near the Dogpatch District.

“It’s in between a big naval ship and a big crane,” she said, and for her this “bare-bones” aesthetic makes Portola’s lineup — which includes EDM, alternative and pop acts — all the more enjoyable. “It has a very specific curated taste that’s kind of hard to encapsulate, but it all kind of somehow works together.” 

If you’ve already got tickets to the Portola Music Festival — or are contemplating buying them — keep reading for our guide to everything you need to know about attending, with insider tips on what to bring, advice for first-timers, road closures, public transportation options and more. Keep in mind, some details — like food and transit details — have not yet been released for this year’s festival and are likely to be published closer to the date. 

The Portola Music Festival spans a whole weekend: Saturday, Sept. 26, and Sunday, Sept. 27. 

Doors open at 1 p.m. each day, and music ends around 11 p.m. The entrance to the event is at 900 Marin St. in San Francisco. 

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You can view the entire festival lineup — and the set times — on the Portola Music Festival’s website.

KQED Arts also highlighted key performers who are set to appear at the festival.

Along with the weekend festival, there is also Portola Week, which hosts a wide range of acts.

Many of the lineup performers will also be playing during Portola Week — so if there is a conflict and you can’t make it to a performance during a festival — or couldn’t get tickets at all — you may be able to catch them at another venue if you move fast.

Check out the schedule and secure tickets for Portola Week on the festival’s website.

As of publication, passes to the Portola Music Festival — including VIP packages — were still available on AXS. Remember, the event is for ages 21+ only.

The festival’s website warns people not to buy passes from a third party, and that organizers “won’t service, authenticate or support passes” purchased from a third party or scalper. If you decide to forge ahead with buying a third-party ticket, Portola organizers also note that receipts and order confirmations can be faked or forged, so “don’t be fooled.”

A pro tip from Yee: She advised you to make sure that your tickets are already loaded on the AXS Mobile app you used to purchase them, or are waiting in your phone’s wallet app — because the cell signal at Pier 80 is not super strong, and you might not be able to do this in line. Consider also bringing a portable charger, she said, which is allowed at this festival (some venues prohibit them).

If you are going with a group of people and you decide to split up, establish a meeting spot where you can get together again — in case your messages are slow to send.

The Portola Music Festival is a cashless event, but any cash you do bring can be converted to a prepaid Visa Card at a Guest Service booth. 

While the Pier 80 venue is on “the smaller side” as festivals go, noted Yee, it also has a lot of “open space” that makes it relatively easy to jump from stage to stage. 

That said, usual festival rules apply: If you want to get a good spot for a set, be sure to get to that stage early to avoid a mass of people. 

But also be aware of your own health and bodily needs — KQED has a thorough guide on concert health that tackles fainting, dehydration, standing in the heat and the all-encompassing festival-goer’s mission of avoiding the dreaded port-a-potties.

Also, be prepared to move around a stage a little, advised Yee, as the volume of Portola sets can range widely from extremely loud (earplugs are recommended) to “on the quiet side” — especially the stages near the water.

Over the years, Portola organizers have added blue astroturf and floor mats to make standing on Pier 80’s concrete easier on your knees and feet — but you should still plan on wearing very comfortable shoes. You’ll also find some seating and water stations around the venue.

Be sure to check the National Weather Service ahead of the festival to know what to wear. Yee advised that while the warehouse stage in particular gets very warm, the temperature can drop significantly at night. Pier 80’s waterfront location can also make for a lot of wind around the open-air stages. 

The event will happen rain or shine and has indoor and outdoor sets.

Once you enter the venue, you cannot reenter on the same day — so don’t park somewhere you’ll need to feed a meter.

Portola is a 21+ festival, which you may find makes this crowd feel a little less rowdy than other concerts and festivals, Yee said. If you’re among the people who’ve expressed concern about concert etiquette devolving since the pandemic — a phenomenon which even has its own Wikipedia page — this might be music to your ears.

It will be crowded, though, with an expected attendance of 45,000 people. If you are the type of person to get overwhelmed in a busy place, take a look at NPR’s full guide on what to do if you find yourself caught in a crowd crush.

According to Mehdi Moussaïd, a research scientist in Berlin who studies crowd behavior, rely on your instincts and senses if you feel like the crowd is getting too dense. If you get stuck in a crush, move with the crowd and put your arms out in front of your chest and hold them there, he told NPR in 2022.

The Portola Music Festival has an extensive list of what you can and cannot bring to Pier 80. 

Be sure to read closely, because some classic rave attire, like toys or LED gloves, may not be allowed. 

Just a few of the items prohibited under the Portola Music Festival policy include: 

• Non-clear bags larger than 4.5’’ x 6.5’’ x 1.5’’ 
• Masks (although medical face coverings to protect against COVID, like N95 masks, are allowed)
• Aerosol products, including sunscreen
• Outside food or drinks
• Flags and flyers
• Flashlights and glow sticks
• Chain wallets and chains
• Airhorns 
• Audio recording devices, drones, laptops, tablets, selfie sticks and professional cameras
• Chairs, coolers, hammocks, tents and wagons/wheeled carts
• Drugs
• Pets (although service animals are allowed)

The Portola Music Festival’s website also said that there can be no “VHS copies of Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) starring Robin Williams and Sally Field with a supporting performance by Pierce Brosnan who really did nothing wrong despite being the film’s primary antagonist.”

This reporter cannot verify what will happen if you do bring a copy of the San Francisco classic.

You can see the full list of allowed items on the Portola website, including empty water bottles 64 ounces or less, phones and chargers (although charging lockers are also available) and breast pumps and stored breast milk or formula. 

Food, alcoholic drinks and non-alcoholic drinks are available at the festival, with a list of vendors found on the website including:

• Señor Sisig
• Saigon Sandwich
• Noodle Boys
• Bodega SF
• Humphry Slocombe
• Love Burn Hot Chicken
• Sunrise Deli

There will be vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.

There are also free water refill stations at the site.

Festival officials highly recommend that you not drive to the event, since there is no designated parking available at Pier 80. There is also no designated ADA parking.

If you do end up driving, you may be able to find parking in the Dogpatch near Pier 80 by using third-party apps like SpotHero. Be careful not to block driveways and sidewalks, unless you’d like to return to find your car towed.

Some Caltrain stations — although not the ones closest to Pier 80 — have parking for around $5.50. 

Remember, break-ins are common in the Bay, so leave nothing visible in your vehicle. Never leave any electronics, like laptops, in your vehicle, even if you think they’re hidden.

Read KQED’s full guide to reducing your chances of suffering a car break-in in San Francisco (and if you’re unlucky enough to have your car broken into, our guide to how to claim the costs of window repair and stolen items from your insurance).

Here are the available public transit options. To avoid getting stranded, be sure to check when your last train or bus leaves. 

If you take BART to the 24th Street station in San Francisco’s Mission District, you can walk to the intersection of Valencia Street and 24th Street to take Portola’s free shuttle to Pier 80. You can plan your journey by using BART’s Trip Planner.

Free Shuttles will consistently run between Pier 80 and 24th Street from 12:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. People will be picked up at the corner of 24th Street and Valencia Street.

Email [email protected] ahead of time to secure a spot on the festival’s accessible shuttles.

Figure out your route by using SFMTA’s Trip Planner. 

According to the music festival’s website, your options for getting to the events are:

• T Third Train: From the Powell Street BART Station, walk to the Union Square/Market Street Station and board Muni’s T Third line toward Sunnydale. Get off at the intersection of Third Street and Marin Street, just a block from Pier 80.
• Route 48 Quintara: Exit at the intersection of 23rd Street and Third Street and walk 10 minutes to Pier 80.
• Route 19 Polk: Exit at the intersection of Connecticut Street and Cesar Chavez Street and walk 10 minutes to Pier 80.
• Route 15 Bayview Hunters Point Express: Exit at the intersection of Third Street and Marin Street, two blocks from Pier 80.

When leaving the event, the options are:

• T Third Train at the Third Street & 23rd Street Station or Third Street & Evans Avenue Station.
• Route 48 Quintara runs 24/7 and connects to the 24th Street BART Station. Board at the intersection of 23rd Street and Third Street. Buses run every 20 minutes before 11:30 p.m. and every 30 minutes after 11:30 p.m.
• Route 91 OWL is an overnight route connecting Pier 80 to Ocean Avenue, West Portal, and 19th Street.

The closest Caltrain station is the 22nd Street Station, which is about a mile walk from Pier 80. Keep in mind, this stop does not have elevator service.

You can plan your trip on Caltrain’s website.

There is no valet service this year. There are several nearby bike racks that you can find on SFMTA’s Bike Network Map.

You can also check out Bay Wheels stations around Pier 80. 

You can use the promo code PORTOLA26 to get $5 off a ride when using a Lyft Bike.

The pick-up and drop-off location for rideshare services like Lyft and Uber is located at Pier 70. Expect traffic delays and accompanying surge prices on apps like Uber and Lyft.

There is no pre-registration for accessibility. Instead, you’ll have to register onsite at the event itself, at the two Accessibility Services Hubs near the Box Office at the entrance and inside the venue. 

At the hub, you can get help registering your service animal, getting an Assisted Listening Device System and getting an accessibility wristband. Do not take off the wristband during the festival weekend. A companion can also get a wristband.

According to the festival’s website, “The venue is navigable for people with mobility disabilities. The event is held on primarily cement terrain.”

The festival will not be able to provide transportation between stages, but can provide some guidance on navigating routes at the hubs. 

The Portola Music Festival website has a page on its accessibility policies, as well as a contact if you have more questions: [email protected].