Mary Ilium Campground Questions

[laurap7]

So planet blue grass website states that Mary ilium campground is only for people with the 4 day pass or single tickets to all 4 days. A group of my friends and I are getting the 4 day pass but 2 of our friends are coming down for only 2 days of the festival. Will those 2 friends be able to stay with us as long as they buy the camping pass? Or since they are only buying 2 one day tickets will they not be allowed there? Just curious how strict they are. Thanks!

[TellurideTom]

The rules are strictly adhered to.
If you don't have all four day passes you cannot get a camping pass for Ilium.
Lawson Hill however will allow single day passes.

[ToddG]

New to Telluride. Have 4 day passes and Illium camping. Whats the scene like there, at the campground. Do folks mingle, or stick to their camps? Do folks get jams going on in camp, or what? Like I said I'm new to Telluride, not new to festivals.

 Listening to: Beck

[skyrunner]

    Welcome to TBF and Mary E. The seen is pretty chill out at the campground. There are some really great people out there. Mingling is one of the best things you can do. Camp hopping can almost be considered a sport from time to time. The grounds are so spread out, and it gets so cold out that picker circles are not found as much as some other festivals. Not to say you can't start you own circle. You can usually find someone to pick with. But yes there has been some legendary jams out there from time to time. Usually the further back you go the louder and later everything can get.
   Bring a gooood sleeping bag! It gets cold at night. Not unusual to wake up with frost on everything. If it's level ground, it's open to camp on. There are no set sites. It's a long campground with plenty of room to spread out. So feel free to bring your camping "extras". I.E. shower, solar set-up. Anything like that. There is NO open wood fires anytime! That is one rule that is strictly enforced. Will know about charcoal grills when we get closer to the fest. 

 Listening to: Old TV shows

[ToddG]

How early do you have to get there to get a riverside spot?

[skyrunner]

  There are not allot of spots by the river to start with, sorry. But I would say sometime around Tuesday should get you a spot that is closer to the river. Most of the river area is pretty rocky and just not conducive for a good campsite. 

[ToddG]

Thanks. We plan on getting there Saturday or Sunday, so we shouldn't have any problems getting top tier camping. And we are looking forward to spending the week doing outdoor activities prior to the festy. I don't care if we aren't right on the river, just wanted to be close enough for easy access, sounds, and sights of water moving! I'm sooo excited I wish it was June now!


 Listening to: The Yes Album

[ToddG]

So we have a vehicle pass for Ilium. That means we can park at our campsite right??? I've been seeing confusing posts about having to park in a parking area.

 Listening to: Hartford

[TellurideTom]

So we have a vehicle pass for Ilium. That means we can park at our campsite right??? I've been seeing confusing posts about having to park in a parking area.

If you have an Ilium vehicle pass then you can have your appropriately sized vehicle at the campsite.
Just be aware that you will not be allowed to drive it into town during the festival. You will still have to use the shuttles.
 

[skyrunner]

Yea, Tom is right. You will be allowed to drive in and out of the camp until about Wednesday afternoon sometime. The vehicle permit allows you to park in the campground by you site. It's only without a permit that you will need to park along the road. Shuttle buses start running either Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning. Thursday morning the police set up a road block and you won't be able to drive into town anyway. 

[pburke5]

This forum is excellent. You people are fantastic, thanks so much for curating so much great info. Can't wait till June. We're Festivirgins, we have 4-day passes, and the camping/vehicle passes for Mary Ilium. A couple questions:

1. Our tent is a car rooftop tent. Theoretically this means we will need less space, which is good, but just confirming that we can in fact drive to our chosen camp site, rather than parking elsewhere and walking to the site. It sounds like this shouldn't be a problem, but just checking.

2. This is the first I've heard of the roadblock, and not being able to leave once we're in Mary E. It's only an issue on Sunday, as we will most likely be leaving early Sunday afternoon. I have a town pass and access to a parking spot in town, which I was only going to use on Sunday. Plan was to pack up Sunday morning, drive into town, catch the first few sets, then just get in the car and hit the road for the looooong drive back to Chicago. But is this not possible?

Thanks again!
Patrick

[pburke5]

Also, ToddG, I'll be bringing a couple instruments and was also hoping to find some picking circles at Mary Ilium. All it takes is a couple of us to get something going!...

[ToddG]

Also, ToddG, I'll be bringing a couple instruments and was also hoping to find some picking circles at Mary Ilium. All it takes is a couple of us to get something going!...

Sweet! We rented a vehicle, so I'm not certain what color or exact make it will be. But look for the Ecology flag, and the neon indian warrior tapestry, and that will be our camp. We are getting there early so we hope to be deep in the back of the campground.

[TellurideTom]

This forum is excellent. You people are fantastic, thanks so much for curating so much great info. Can't wait till June. We're Festivirgins, we have 4-day passes, and the camping/vehicle passes for Mary Ilium. A couple questions:

1. Our tent is a car rooftop tent. Theoretically this means we will need less space, which is good, but just confirming that we can in fact drive to our chosen camp site, rather than parking elsewhere and walking to the site. It sounds like this shouldn't be a problem, but just checking.

2. This is the first I've heard of the roadblock, and not being able to leave once we're in Mary E. It's only an issue on Sunday, as we will most likely be leaving early Sunday afternoon. I have a town pass and access to a parking spot in town, which I was only going to use on Sunday. Plan was to pack up Sunday morning, drive into town, catch the first few sets, then just get in the car and hit the road for the looooong drive back to Chicago. But is this not possible?

Thanks again!
Patrick

As long as you don't leave your spot until Sunday when you're planning to leave there shouldn't be a problem.
I'm not sure how you got a town pass unless someone in your group had reservations at one of the lodgings in town, but that's another issue we won't discuss unless you plan to use it before Sunday.
The one thing that is not allowed is to drive your car, that has a camping vehicle pass, into town each day.
 

[pburke5]

We will not be driving at all once we find our campsite at Mary Ilium on Wednesday. We want to find a spot, set up camp, and just take the shuttles every day. I have no desire to be driving that week, I plan on imbibing! 

We need to be back in Chicago by late Monday night. (Tuesday morning I drive to Wisconsin for a canoe trip with a youth organization that I volunteer with. I'll be tiiiiiired!) So, I was just trying to figure out the best way to enjoy as much of Sunday as possible, yet still be on the road by mid-afternoon. We have part of our group staying in lodging in town, sans car, so I had hoped to utilize their empty parking space for just those couple hours on Sunday. But if that's not allowed, no big deal. We want to be on the up-and-up.

Thanks again, everyone. Can't wait.