Where to Park: GAF 2013

To make your visit as enjoyable as possible, please read the following information about parking before traveling to NOC for the Guest Appreciation Festival on September 27-29.  This is the official event parking plan: 

• We expect most guests will be able to park on-site on Friday and Sunday. When you arrive at NOC, drive across the bridge and let our friendly parking staff direct you to an open spot. Please take their advice, and park efficiently so everyone can park on-property.

• If on-property parking is full--as we expect for Saturday morning and afternoon--we will have convenient satellite lots open within one or two miles of the event site. We'll also provide easy, dependable shuttles to the event for all visitors parking in these lots. 
• If coming from the east (Asheville, Charlotte, etc.) you will see "Event Parking" signs directing you to the open lot at the Gem Mine which is visible from the main highway. 
• If coming from the west (Chattanooga, Knoxville, etc.) you will drive past NOC where a parking attendant will direct you to the Gem Mine by following the signs. 
• From here you will have shuttles available for the duration of the event.   Event shuttles will drop off and pick up at the NOC General Store on a continuous schedule until 7pm. The Gem Mine is just up the street, so riding a shuttle is often easier and more convenient than searching every nook and cranny of NOC for a space.
  
  As a reminder, please don't park alongside Silvermine road. We've seen too many festival attendees get tickets on this road over the years, even though it looks like there are pullouts. 

NOC is also offering free shuttles to the Wayah Forest Service Put-In for those who choose to leave their cars off-property while they are on the river. We usually do this as a thank you to guests helping us avoid a parking crunch during Saturday at GAF. In other words, if you paddle into GAF we'd be glad to drive you back to your car when you're finished. (Just make sure you catch the last rafting bus headed to the put in around 3:30. With all the extra traffic on the river, it should be pretty easy to thumb a ride to the top with another boater this weekend anyway.)

Finally, NOC, in partnership with Endless River Adventures, is offering free shuttles for paddlers running the Upper Nantahala and Cascades section of the Nantahala River on Saturday and Sunday.  Upper shuttles will run from 10am to 4pm. Please "RSVP" for a shuttle by going to the event's Facebook page and letting our staff know your plans. We're just trying to get a good idea of demand; we don't need specific times,

Please note that all GAF remote parking lots close at 7pm. We’d love for you to stay to enjoy the free live music and dancing, so please make your way up to the lots as the afternoon progresses to move your car back down to the center. It’ll make life easier for you when it’s time to go home.

Thanks for planning ahead!

Live Music lined up well into the evening on Friday and Saturday

2013 ICF Canoe Freestyle World Championships: Parking and Lodging Information

With thousands of spectators anticipated for the 2013 Freestyle Worlds, it's a good idea to know your parking and lodging plans before you arrive. So here's the official scoop on what to expect:

Parking
Event spectators have three options:

1) Park in the Gorge and ride a very short shuttle into the event. There are approximately 500 parking spaces with two miles of the event site. All these spaces are East (downstream) of NOC. Drive to NOC and follow directions to the nearest open spaces. Shuttles start at 9am every day and run until the end of the day's official festivities.

During the weekend and at peak times NOC will open 250 more parking space on the West (upstream) side of the Gorge. These lots are approximately five miles from NOC. When open these lots will have a flagger waving event traffic into the open lots.

There is a $5 per-vehicle per-day fee for all parking in the Nantahala Gorge. Click here for the Gorge shuttle schedule.

2) Enjoy free parking in Bryson City and take advantage of hourly shuttles to the event. Take Exit 67 off US 19/74 and head downhill into Bryson City. Follow signs to the free shuttle parking lot at the Ingles supermarket.

If the Ingles supermarket lot fills, signs and flaggers will lead you a short distance to additional parking areas.Click here for the Bryson City shuttle schedule. 

3) The coolest option: the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad is offering one-way shuttle tickets to the Gorge for only $10. Guests riding the scenic railroad will park at GSMR's Bryson City parking lot, and ride the hourly NOC shuttle bus back to town when they're ready to go home.

Click here for the Bryson City shuttle schedule.

Lodging:

The World Championships has a host of official lodging sponsors offering a variety of accommodations at a full range of price points.  Click here to view your lodging options and reserve the best spots before you arrive for the event. 

GAF Parking and Camping Information

A lot of folks will be joining us at GAF on September 28th – 30th, and we want to make sure that logistical confusion and parking don't mar anyone’s good time. Below, I’ve outlined our parking plan for GAF 2012. Read up before you come so you can all spend less time worrying about your car, and more time enjoying the festival.

GAF 2012 will feature the first ever recreational releases on the
Class IV/V Cascades section of the Nantahala.

Parking

We plan to use our existing on-campus parking most of Friday and Sunday. When you arrive at NOC, drive across the bridge and let our friendly parking staff direct you to an open spot. Please take their advice, and park efficiently so everyone can park on-property.

Saturday morning and early afternoon are the peak parking times at GAF. If on-property parking is full or if you just want to go ahead and get settled, turn up Silvermine Road, across the street from the Outfitter's Store.  NOC staff will be stationed at the mouth of Silvermine Rd. (near the Wesser General Store & Fly Shop) with maps and directions to approved lots. Please don't park alongside Silvermine road. We've seen too many festival attendees get tickets on this road over the years, even though it looks like there are pullouts.

The first satellite lot is located approximately ¾ of a mile up Silvermine Rd (within walking distance for many people). It is a fenced grass lot on the right hand side, and will be clearly marked with a special event parking sign. There will be an attendant on hand to help you park efficiently.

As this lot fills up, cars will be directed further along Silvermine Rd. to the second satellite lot 2.2 miles up the road. You will want to be sure you stay on the main paved road as you drive up Silvermine until you see the second marked lot. It usually only takes about five minutes to drive to this lot, so don't worry about the distance. The lot is nicely graveled, and because we are only running shuttles in one direction we can service the lots very frequently. No one should have to wait more than 10 minutes to get a ride.

In the unlikely case that we fill up both of our Silvermine parking locations, we will open an additional lot at the Ruby Mine near Bud Dill’s gas station, just east of NOC on Hwy. 19/74. Please don’t park in this lot unless directed to do so by NOC staff, because we’ll only be running shuttles in this direction once we fill the other lots.

Finally, NOC is offering free shuttles to the Wayah Forest Service Put-In for those who choose to leave their cars off property while they are on the river. We usually do this as a thank you to guests helping us avoid a parking crunch during Saturday at GAF. In other words, if you paddle into GAF we'd be glad to drive you back to your car when you're finished. (Just make sure you catch the last rafting bus headed to the put in around 3:30. It should be very easier to thumb a ride to the top with another boater this weekend anyway.)

Please note that all GAF remote lots close at 7pm. We’d love for you to stay to enjoy the free live music and dancing, so please make your way up to the lots as the afternoon wears on to move your cars back down to the center. It’ll make life easier for you when it’s time to go home.


Camping

As in years past, we are unfortunately unable to accommodate camping on campus or in remote lots during GAF. There are simply so many people rafting, dancing, shopping and playing that it's impossible to accommodate everyone.  Check out our lodging page for great tips on camping and lodging close by.

We will have off-duty law enforcement on campus throughout the event to make sure that everyone has a good, safe time. They’ll also be helping us with our no-camping policy, so it's important to make sleeping plans ahead of time. Please note that some registered vendors and event staff will be spending the night on campus to keep an eye on everything; they have been accounted for in the event plan and are exceptions to the no camping standard.

So, that's the deal. Guests who know the parking plan and who make appropriate sleeping plans will find this year's event really fun and really easy. We appreciate the preparation, and we can't wait to see you at GAF!