Going to the NC State Fair? Here’s where to park, how to take a shuttle and more
The 2022 N.C. State Fair will be held at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh from Oct. 13-23, so it’s time to start planning your trip.
A key — and sometimes stressful — part of planning any trip to the fair is actually getting to the fair and figuring out where to park.
To help you plan, we’ve compiled information from the fair’s website about parking locations, costs and how to take a shuttle to the gates of the fair. If you’d rather avoid driving and parking altogether, we’ve also included information about how you can get to the fair by train.
Here’s what to know.
Where is free parking located for the 2022 NC State Fair?
The State Fair will offer several free parking options for this year’s fair. Some lots will offer free shuttles to and from the fairgrounds (we’ve included more information about shuttles in another section below).
▪ Dogwood Lot — Located at the corner of Edwards Mill and Reedy Creek roads, with quick access to Interstate 40 via Wade Avenue, the free Dogwood Lot is the easiest off-site fair parking lot to access, the fair says. The lot will offer a covered waiting area, portable restroom facilities and drink machines. Address: 4501 Reedy Creek Rd., Raleigh. Hours: 11 a.m. until one hour after gates close on Thursday, Oct. 13; 9 a.m. until one hour after gates close each day from Friday, Oct. 14, to Sunday, Oct. 23. Shuttle: The Dogwood Lot will offer a free shuttle to and from the fair. The shuttle will run continuously and will drop visitors off and pick them up at Gate 9 on Trinity Road.
▪ Cardinal Lot — Free, off-site fair parking will be available at this newly developed lot located “off Hwy 54/Chapel Hill Road just past I-40 Exit 290 on your way to the fairgrounds.” The lot will offer a covered waiting area, portable restroom facilities and drink machines. Address: 5766 Chapel Hill Road Rd., Raleigh. Hours: 11 a.m. until one hour after gates close on Thursday, Oct. 13; 9 a.m. until one hour after gates close each day from Friday, Oct. 14, to Sunday, Oct. 23. Shuttle: The Cardinal Lot will offer a free shuttle to and from the fair. The shuttle will run continuously and drop visitors off and pick them up at Gate 7 off Youth Center Road, near the giant Smokey Bear.
▪ Handicap lot (on State Fair property) — Free, on-site parking for vehicles with handicap parking permits will be available in a designated, paved parking lot at the corner of Blue Ridge Road and Trinity Road, near Gate 10 of the Fairgrounds. There are 100 parking spaces available in the lot, with additional overflow handicap parking available at Carter-Finley Stadium. Address: Fair staff suggest navigating to Gate 9 of the fairgrounds (4285 Trinity Rd., Raleigh) and having traffic control staff direct you to the lot. Fairgoers parking in the designated handicap lot can enter the fair through Gates 9 and 10. More information about handicap parking for the fair is available below.
▪ Carter-Finley Stadium and PNC Arena — Free, off-site parking will be available at these locations just outside of the fairgrounds. Both lots are open to the public. Part of the parking lot at Carter-Finley Stadium will serve as overflow handicap parking. Directions: Fairgoers are encouraged to take Wade Avenue to the Edwards Mill Extension to park in these lots, the fair website says. When arriving at these parking locations, look for flashing road signs and Highway Patrol officers directing you to the nearest lot. You may also navigate to Gate 9 of the fair (4285 Trinity Rd., Raleigh) and have traffic control staff direct you to the closest lot. Hours: Vehicles will not be allowed to stay in the State Fair-managed parking spaces at these parking locations between midnight and 8 a.m. Shuttle: There will not be shuttle service from these parking locations. Fairgoers parking in these locations will access the nearby pedestrian tunnel and walk to the Fairgrounds, entering at Gate 8.
Handicap parking information
Fair visitors with handicap parking permits can park in a designated, paved parking lot at the corner of Blue Ridge Road and Trinity Road, near Gate 10 of the Fairgrounds.
▪ The parking lot has more than 100 parking spaces designated for visitors with disabilities.
▪ Visitors parking in the designated handicap lot can enter the fair through Gates 9 and 10.
▪ When the spaces at the designated lot are filled, drivers will be directed to overflow handicap parking at Carter-Finley Stadium, where visitors can get to the fair via a pedestrian tunnel. Shuttles will not be offered at Carter-Finley Stadium.
▪ A valid handicap permit, sticker or plate is required to park in the designated handicap lot, as well as in any handicap parking space in other lots.
Buses and vehicles carrying passengers with disabilities may also drop off those passengers in the paved, designated lot but may only park there if the vehicle displays a valid handicap permit and if space is available.
▪ The driver of the vehicle should inform a traffic patrol officer at the parking of their intention to simply drop off disabled passengers, the fair says.
▪ Gate 1 of the fair may also be used for dropping off handicapped fairgoers.
More information about accessibility at the State Fair can be found online at ncstatefair.org/2022/Visitor/Accessibility.htm.
Where are park & ride shuttles?
The fair will offer several park-and-ride shuttle options from off-site parking lots to entry gates at the fair.
Shuttles will be offered to and from the fair at the following lots:
Dogwood Lot on Reedy Creek Road (shuttle drops visitors off at Gate 9 of the fair)
Cardinal Lot on Chapel Hill Road (shuttle drops visitors off at Gate 7 of the fair)
There will be handicap-accessible shuttles available at each of these lots.
Shuttles will not be offered at Carter-Finley Stadium or PNC Arena.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to a bus driver shortage, shuttles will not be offered from parking lots located further away from the fairgrounds. These lots include Triangle Town Center, WakeMed Soccer Park “and others that were offered in the past,” the fair told The News & Observer.
Last year, after the Triangle’s public bus services were unable to service those routes due to a bus driver shortage, the fair hired a private contractor to run some of those routes. The routes will not be offered this year, either by the fair or a public bus system.
The fair’s website says organizers “hope to be back to full service” for park-and-ride options in 2023.
GoRaleigh, GoTriangle not offering bus rides to fair
In previous years, fairgoers may remember that GoRaleigh has offered shuttle service to the fair using its buses, running along Hillsborough Street from downtown, and from Cary, Garner and north Raleigh. The routes were special to the fair, operating separate from the transportation service’s fixed routes, GoRaleigh spokesperson Andrea Epstein told The N&O.
Those shuttles will not be offered this year, Epstein told The N&O.
GoTriangle, another public bus system, has previously offered shuttles to the fair from places outside of Raleigh, such as Durham, Chapel Hill and Research Triangle Park. As was the case last year, those shuttles will not be offered this year.
Eric Curry, chief communications officer for GoTriangle, told The N&O that the system “will not be able to offer special transportation for fairgoers this year, due to a shortage of bus operators experienced by other agencies across N.C. and nationwide.”
“Our priority is to ensure our normal routes are covered,” Curry said. “We will review our participation to see if we’re able to resume fair transportation next year.”
Want to take the bus to the fair? Fairgoers in Raleigh wanting to take the bus to the fairgrounds could opt to use GoRaleigh’s Route 27 bus, which runs along Blue Ridge Road. But riders should note that the bus only runs hourly due to the ongoing bus driver shortage, and the route may also detour away from the fairgrounds if traffic gets too heavy in that area, Epstein said.
Paid parking options
During the fair, residents near the fairgrounds often convert parts of their private property into small parking lots.
These lots provide additional parking options, but you should note that they may charge to park there — unlike the fair’s free, public parking options.
These private parking lots are not controlled by the State Fair, the fair says on its website.
How to get to the NC State Fair by Amtrak train
Want to avoid the hassle of driving to the fair and finding parking? Or, maybe you want to make your trip to the fair even more of a fun adventure.
You could try taking an Amtrak train to the fair’s “special stop” right in front of Gate 1 at the fairgrounds. The train will run from Friday, Oct. 14, to Sunday, Oct. 23.
▪ To get to the fair, you’ll take the Carolinian 80 train, which departs from Charlotte each day at 6:45 a.m. The train will then make stops in Kannapolis, Salisbury, High Point, Greensboro, Burlington, Durham and Cary along the way, before arriving at the State Fairgrounds at 9:53 a.m.
▪ To get home from the fair, you’ll take the Piedmont 77 train, which will depart from the State Fairgrounds at 3:11 p.m. each day. The train will make stops in Cary, Durham, Burlington, Greensboro, High Point, Salisbury and Kannapolis, arriving in Charlotte at 6:13 p.m.
To purchase your train ticket for the fair, visit ncbytrain.org/tickets/Pages/default.aspx. When you’re booking your ticket, use the station code “NSF” for the fairgrounds’ “special stop.”
The fairgrounds’ “special stop” for the train is wheelchair accessible.
More information about parking
Looking for more information about parking and transportation at this year’s State Fair? Check out the official fair website at ncstatefair.org/2022/Visitor/GetToFair.htm.
A map of the fairgrounds and several parking options, along with directions, is available at ncstatefair.org/2022/Visitor/Directions.htm.
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