Georgia

Athens starts at the Arch, crosses the north campus lawns, picks up Dawg Walk, and lands between the hedges at Sanford Stadium. Know which lot pocket you parked in before you light anything.

Must see / do

Around campus

• The Arch is the Broad Street gateway between downtown and North Campus. The gameday photo is beside it. A lot of undergrads wait to walk under it until graduation. Hit it before the crush, not during Dawg Walk.
• Walk Broad to the Arch, the Chapel, the lawns, and Herty. It’s shady, old campus, and easy with a family. North Campus is also the stricter tailgate pocket. Between the Hedges is the feeling on the Sanford walk-up, Tate and the west side especially. That’s the home field, not a lot across town.
• If they win, the Chapel Bell after the final is the postgame walk. It can run late on a big one. It isn’t a pregame stop.

Before the game

• Dawg Walk is 2:15 before kick, at the Tate Student Center lot on the west side, Gate 10, with the Student-Athlete Gate next to it. Old Gate 1 pages are stale. Use the A–Z and recent gameday pages. The Redcoat Band and cheer lead it. Get there 30 to 45 minutes early, or earlier, if you want the barricade.
• The Redcoats anchor the Walk. The Lone Trumpeter hits about 7 minutes before kick, inside. Don’t guess the little warmup pins. Downtown, Clayton, College Avenue, and Broad fill early on big Saturdays and surge again after the whistle. Plan to walk from almost any downtown deck to Sanford.
• Gates open about 2 hours before kick. Not the 90 minutes you’ll see on some visitor pages. Dawg Walk at 2:15 means you’re often already on the Tate plaza when the gates open.

On the lot

• North Campus and Herty are historic and tighter. Central and Reed Quad are the Sanford doorstep, plus the Bulldogs Tailgate Club near Gate 3. South and Myers are the bigger spreads. The East Campus deck is space, with the S–Stadium Loop shuttle. The intramural fields are park and shuttle, not a tent city.
• The S–Stadium Loop runs from the East Campus Deck to Gate 6, starting 3.5 hours before kick, then keeps going at least an hour after the game. That’s the TPS shuttle. The season parking map changes every August. Grab the current one before you commit. Open containers stay off county streets and sidewalks. Keep the pour in the lot.
• Charcoal, propane, the North Campus limits, and the setup clock are in the overview. Don’t guess them.

Overview

• No gear out before 7:00 a.m. Saturday. You can park earlier if everything stays in the vehicle and stays quiet.
• Charcoal is OK. No open wood or ground fires. Propane tanks and cylinders are banned except disposable canisters of 17 oz or less.
• Bring your own power for TVs. No unauthorized UGA power or cable hookups. Folding chairs are fine. Household furniture stays home.
• No setups on the intramural fields. Large corporate and “professional” tailgates, the ones with security, bartenders, barriers, DJs, giveaways, and the like, are banned on campus.
• North Campus is tighter. Setup starts 5 hours before kickoff. No kegs, generators, TVs, amplified music, grills, golf carts, or ATVs. Tables 6 feet or shorter. No tents in parking spaces.
• Alcohol is 21+ only. Open containers on county streets and sidewalks fall under the Athens-Clarke ordinance. Keep it in the lot.
• The Bulldogs Tailgate Club on Reed Quad is the turnkey option.

The written rules and what an officer calls that Saturday aren’t always the same. Confirm yours the week of the game.

Map

Official policy

UGA Athletics — Football Gameday Tailgating →

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