We love live music. We love camping. We combined the two loves for the first time this summer AND scored a two-night date getaway.
Mike and I are quick to admit that we’re late to the game Grateful Dead fans. When we met 17 years ago, I don’t think either of us owned a piece of tie-dyed apparel. No dancing bears. No Bertha skeletons. The lone hat tip to the Dead was a stealie bike jersey Mike wore.
This year for Christmas I ordered Mike custom Grateful Dead themed cornhole boards. We each own numerous Dead and Company concert apparel tees and wear them regularly. Grateful Dead makes up a big chunk of our playlist. I guess you say things have gotten more serious between us and the music of the iconic band.
We’ve been fortunate to see Dead and Company a few times throughout their run. Darien Lake 2018, Citi Field 2021, Bethel Woods 2022, and this summer – two nights at Saratoga Performing Arts Center. We’ve taken the boys with us to concerts, and we’ve used concerts as date nights. With Dead and Company wrapping up their run at the end of July, 2023, we knew we wanted to be able to give Bob Weir, John Mayer, and their fantastically talented company our total focus for two nights of concerts. In other words, kids-free.
The idea of camping without the boys seemed bizarre when Mike first mentioned it, but it grew on me quickly.
Choosing a Campground Near SPAC
When Mike brought up the idea of towing the camper to Saratoga, he already had a campground in mind. Saratoga Escape Lodges and RV Resort had availability for our dates (a Saturday and Sunday night), and a price point of $70/nt. Winner winner chicken dinner. We looked no further.
Our trip was concert focused, and so we didn’t do much campground exploring or use any of the amenities. But I did look around enough to know that our boys would love the spot. An inground pool and splash pad, mini golf course, a small pond with a beach for fishing and stand up paddle boarding, and a beautiful 3/4 mile nature trail, the campground would get a big old A++++ from our boys. They both love live music too, so I’ll be keeping my eye on the SPAC performance schedule and consider a family get away to Saratoga.
At the concerts both nights, we chatted with a number of Saratoga area residents. Whenever we told anyone that we were camping, they would all start guessing which campground. We must have heard at least a dozen campground suggestions in the area – one couple even raised their eyebrows when we told them about Saratogo Escape and said they’d never heard of it. So, campground options are plentiful near SPAC. At less than 15 minutes from the venue, we were really happy with our choice.
Live Music Camping Date: Eats and Itinerary
Our two-night live music camping date getaway was wildly different than any of our other camping experiences. If this is any indication of what our retirement camping life will look like when our kids are grown, we can drastically reduce the amount of money we’ll need in retirement in regards to our grocery bill.
I cooked ZERO meals over the two days. Mike even brewed the coffee both mornings, so the most labor intensive thing I did in the kitchen was toast English muffins.
For Saturday night’s 7 pm concert, we left the campsite at 2 pm to give ourselves time to walk around Shakedown Street and get into the venue as soon as the gates opened. We had lawn seats, so getting in early is essential for any hope of getting a decent spot to watch the show.
Saturday night’s admittance into the show at SPAC was really messy. We were in line (really far back in a really long line) when the gates opened at 5:30 pm, and by 6:15 pm we were still really far back in what was now an unfathomably long line that was seemingly not moving. Eww.
We did get into the venue with enough time to buy a poster, pick up our rented lawn chairs (lesson learned – SPAC allows you to bring in camp chairs. Next time we’ll save ourselves the $12 and bring our own). We had shared a pizza on Shakedown street, and shared beverages and some chicken fingers and fries during the concert.
After the admission troubles Saturday night, we decided to get to SPAC really early on Sunday. We chose free parking at the warming hut on Sunday as opposed to the paid parking area on Saturday. (Umm….free parking = better parking! I will park at the warming hut for every SPAC event I ever attend from here on out).
We packed up a bunch of snacks and even our propane grill and a couple of hot dogs, and headed to the venue at noon.
We cooked our hot dogs, chatted with some really friendly parking area concert going “neighbors”, and headed to Shakedown Street. We picked up a fantastic pair of loose flowing tie-dye pants to gift my mom who was hosting the boys for a Mimi weekend while we were away. And then we got in line – again, a very long line – at 3:30 pm.
The doors still didn’t open until 5:30 pm. We waited in line for two hours. It was lovely. And I’m not being sarcastic. Grateful Dead music fans always seem to be really awesome people. We enjoyed talking to the people around us in line. A couple behind us who owned a sourdough bread bakery shared a delicious loaf of bread with us. There were talented musicians performing on the lawn. The weather was perfect.
The two hours flew by and we were in the venue, parked in even better lawn seats, and enjoying a cold drink and soft pretzel before 6 pm. Getting in line nearly 4 hours before the start of a concert doesn’t sound ideal, but I would do it all over again. The set lists for both shows were fantastic, and when the band left the stage on Sunday night, I only wished the whole concert could start all over again, and that they would play into the wee hours of the morning.
I felt that way each time I was lucky enough to see John Prine perform. I’m so thankful for great musicians and the opportunities I’ve had to see live music performances. Grateful, for sure.
Camping for Live Music: What We’ll Look for Next Time.
Live music venues certainly aren’t all camping friendly. I’m hard pressed to believe we’d find a campground with easy access to Citi Field or Fenway. But for concerts in areas with camping options, we would definitely consider camping for live music again.
Some of the things I really loved about camping for these concerts:
- Affordability! Since becoming RVers, we research hotel rooms very rarely these days. But when we do, I always suffer sticker shock. I was happy with our $70/nt site, and in hindsight, we could have probably done a little more research and found a spot at a lower price point with fewer amenities. With our generator, we don’t even need a spot with any hook ups for a weekend like this with just the two of us.
- All the comforts of home. Just like any camping trip, RVing is just – homey. Mike and I just saw Billy Strings in Atlantic City in February (Ahhhhhhhhmazing!). After the concert we walked down the boardwalk to our hotel and took the elevator up to our room. I was thirsty, and we had nothing in the room but a couple of ounces of lukewarm water left in a water bottle we’d brought for the car trip. Sure, I was able to go downstairs and get myself a drink and a snack, but it was so nice to go back to our camper after the concert and have all the comforts of home. Our bed. Our food. Our coffee maker. We live in a rural area, and so seeing a concert and then driving home is nearly impossible for us. Our home on wheels for win!
A couple of things we’ll consider for the next time:
- I know it’s a big BIG ask, but a campground within walking distance would be ideal. When you factor in venue parking fees and the time spent in traffic trying to get in and out of venue parking lots, a campsite within walking distance of a venue would be perfect. I realize it’s a long shot for most venues, but it isn’t going to stop me from researching and trying my best.
- Considering dry camping opportunities. Our whole weekend was spent at the venue – or at least the vast majority of our waking hours. Like I said before, I was really happy with our site (and I’d like to take the boys to Saratoga Escape one day!), but for just me and Mike getting to concerts, we could get by with FAR less in the way of amenities. We don’t need a pool, a pond, or any activities. We don’t even need water or electric. All I needed to make this weekend as magical as it was, is my favorite guy, our home on wheels, and some great live music.
Have you ever gone camping for live music events? Let us know who and where and we might just be camping neighbors at a concert one day!
