Minnesota State Fair: Tips for parking, saving money on tickets
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Great Minnesota Get-Together is just a few days away, and now is the time to think about planning your visit to the fair.
It costs $17 to park in an on-site fairground lot, and those fill up before noon. Your better bet might be the dozens of nearby lots where you can park for free and take a quick bus ride. The fair also has bike lots, or you could take a ride share.
The fair is pushing back its opening hours to start at 7 a.m. and the gates will close at 9 p.m. But once you're in you can stay until 11 p.m., except for Labor Day.
Metro Transit is another important piece to the puzzle. Pre-pandemic, there were 19 different ride express buses. This year, there will only be three. Those will be located in Minnetonka, Bloomington, and Cottage Grove.
The fair is blaming staffing shortages for limiting its own flexibility to accommodate the fair.
Finally, plan to buy cheaper tickets. Until Aug. 24, they're $3 off at various vendors.
There are 5,000 parking spots on the fairgrounds site. The fair spends more than $2.6 million to offer the free rides from nearby park-and-ride lots.
For more information on transportation to the fair, click here.