I looked through the threads in Stickies but all the info looks pretty old. If you don’t get preferred parking how long of a walk is it? Are there shuttles? Any other recommendations other than the usual dress appropriately bring lots of $$$? The group I will be going with just got the standard tickets - none of the hospitality packages.
The length of walk depends on lot weather and timing…I always got a prefered parking pass and still made every effort to arrive early…shuttle don’t know…used to be…
We got to KHP at 7am on XC day and parking wasn’t an issue. It was maybe a five minute walk to the entrance. They do have shuttles that come through, I’m not sure how frequently. Traffic getting into KHP at that time is very light, no lines of cars at all.
Get there early and bring layers. Last year it was very chilly in the AM but by lunchtime I was sweating. You’re allowed to go back to your car to drop off clothes and shopping bags, they will stamp your hand when you leave and will scan it when you return.
I try to get lunch before the rush so there aren’t long lines. If you get there early in the AM, you’ll be very hungry by around 11 before the big lunch crowd shows up.
Get photos of monuments/statues first thing before it gets busy. I got photos of the Bruce Davidson statue and Man O War’s grave without a single person around. It was wonderful.
If you want LRK3DE official gear (soft shell jackets, etc.) shop early. I made that mistake last year and missed out. I’ll be going as soon as they open on Thursday this year.
Bring a drawstring backpack with water bottles and snacks. That stuff gets expensive in the park. There are water fountains to refill your bottles.
Bring waterproof boots for XC day.
Hope this helps!
The walk even from preferred is pretty long. Rolex is a lot of walking in general. I think my Fitbit clocked up about 23 miles on xc day
If you are going to walk around XC you will walk a lot anyway. If you get there early on Saturday as mentioned above you will be good though/ I’ve had to do that a few years and it wasn’t bad.
I think if you don’t get preferred parking you take the shuttle. As others said, even with preferred parking the walk can be hike if you don’t get there early to get one of the closer spots. IMO it’s worth it to get the preferred pass.
its only about a 5-10 minute walk from the absolute furthest parking area. Worth getting the preferred if you can, not a big deal if not. There are shuttles also!
I used to go with someone with a handicap sticker. They used to park us on the pavement right by the entrance and it was great. Then they moved us way away and we had to take a shuttle all the way through the park. That added 10 minutes to the entrance process.
She passed away so now I park in the field with everyone else. If it has rained and rained and rained bring 4x4.
We’ve never gotten the preferred parking and the walk has never been bad - close enough to leave a cooler in the car and go back and tailgate our lunches - BUT - we get there EARLY EARLY EARLY!
As far as other tips - if you’re going to be there for a dressage day - get the headsets. Its worth it. Stay for the Grand Prix jumpers if they are having it this year- it was so fun last year! Go on a course walk with a small/medium known rider - far more personal and informative in my opinion than the Boyd/Philip monolith. The course walks will be announced on social media and on signs in the various vendor booths, but not til ride times are posted. One of my favorite parts of XC day is going to the finish line and watching riders come off course and the teams caring for the horses. A few years ago, Michael Jung’s mom was THE CUTEST patting and hugging and petting on Rocana in the vet box. Wake up early Sunday and go watch the jog. Also, while the selection for official gear is no doubt the best early in the weekend, I now like to live dangerously and wait til Sunday to shop. Have scored some super deals this way! (last year got a NorthFace LRK3DE pullover for $20 on Sunday afternoon)
idk how but we’ve never bought preferred parking and usually end up somewhere outside of the USDF headquarters, so maybe a 5 minute walk? Someone in our group had a handicap tag and had that parking over by alltech arena, which I honestly thought was further than were we parked, buutttt, you get a handy sign you waive in the air and a golf cart miraculously appears and takes you to your car - good for grabbing beers, er food, from the coolers. Definitely get the headsets if you’re going for dressage day - so worth it. Deals are hit or miss - I more so like that I can try everything in one place in one weekend. Good shoes, water proof shoes, parkas, spf 80, pack it all.
I feel like no matter where you park, you have to be prepared for a lot of walking. If you park in preferred, you are close to the shopping but far from most of the cross-country course. If you park in general parking, you are closer to cross-country and far from the shopping. We do the preferred parking mostly because we like to be able to take our shopping to the car and have it closer, and because if it rains a lot, we did not have a good vehicle for parking in the wet field.
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I don’t park preferred. 5-10 min walk and there’s always shuttles running around. The shuttles are golf carts …just flag one down if you need them. Ive been asked if I wanted a ride but I always say no and leave them for folks who actually need them.
Have fun!
It’s a LOT of walking no matter what. Wear really good waterproof shoes!
I took a newbie friend and her daughter to the former Rolex yrs ago. The parking guy was waving us into a far away field. I was mumbling upset. She was giving me a funny look. :rolleyes: We got done with the whole day and hiking back to the car she ‘apologized’ to me !! :lol:
