The Great American Beer Festival runs Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11 at Levitt Pavilion in Ruby Hill Park. Both sessions go from noon to 4 p.m. It's the festival's first year outdoors after more than four decades at the Colorado Convention Center. The beer list, the pour sizes and the awards ceremony have all changed. For anyone who lives in the metro, though, the bigger change is the trip. A festival that once sat a short walk from downtown hotels, light rail and parking garages now sits in a city park with none of those nearby.
For the riders it suits, the South Platte River Trail does that job better than any other option. The bike corrals sit at the front gate, and one stretch of the trail toward downtown that had been closed for years reopened in time for this weekend.
A Smaller Crowd With Fewer Ways In
The Brewers Association shrank the festival on purpose. Westword reported on October 2 that attendance is down about 50% from its peak. This year's event is smaller and tighter, with 7,500 people at each session. That's a small crowd by GABF standards. It's still a big crowd for a park with no major parking lots around it and no public transit close by. Westword also noted that 7,500 people leaving at once is enough to overwhelm rideshare.
Getting there was the top complaint when the move was announced. Westword reported that the early social media backlash focused on transportation, an October event outdoors, the venue's uneven grass and the distance from downtown. Brewers Association president and CEO Bart Watson called the problem something people will work out. He told Westword that long-time attendees "are going to have to come up with a new plan."
Westword found the trail passes just a couple hundred feet from Levitt, and it links to dozens of other trails across metro Denver. Levitt's own parking page tells cyclists to use the South Platte River Trail and lock up at the bike corrals right in front of the entrance. GABF doesn't allow bikes inside, so bring a lock.
The Missing Trail Stretch Came Back in Time
If you ride up from downtown along the river this fall, the trail is in better shape than it has been in years. The stretch between Johnson Habitat Park, at 610 S. Jason St., and Mississippi Avenue reopened in late summer after a $7 million project. Crews replaced a roughly 50-year-old timber retaining wall that had been leaning into the trail. The city closed that stretch in 2020 for safety reasons. Permitting, design and approval delays held the repair work until September 2025. While it was closed, cyclists took a detour onto Jason Street, where the city added bike lanes.
"Everybody's least favorite construction project of the last decade."
Adam Lind, Trails Planning Manager, Denver Parks & Recreation, describing the repair
The Denver Post reported the stretch open again on September 1, so this is the first GABF since 2020 with the full riverside route along that stretch available. More work is coming. Denver Parks & Recreation plans to widen this section to between 12 and 16 feet starting in late 2028 or early 2029, with solar lighting added in a later phase. The trail has new pieces farther north too. Carpio-Sanguinette Park & Heron Pond Open Space, an 80-acre park on the South Platte in Globeville, opened September 26. It adds trails, overlooks and a pump track.
Every Other Way In, and Where Each One Makes You Wait
If biking doesn't work for you, every other option involves a wait somewhere. Here's where each one slows down.
- The official shuttle. GABF's round-trip shuttle leaves from the Sheraton Denver Downtown starting at 11 a.m., with buses about every 15 to 30 minutes. Traffic and demand can make the wait longer. Reservations closed October 1. If you didn't book one, this option is gone.
- Brewery shuttles. Cerebral Brewing runs a $15 round-trip shuttle from its West Highland taproom. Bierstadt Lagerhaus sells a $10 shuttle that includes a free beer. GABF's transportation page lists Bierstadt and Comrade Brewing as third-party shuttle providers and says neither is affiliated with the festival.
- Rideshare. GABF tells drivers to enter Ruby Hill Park from Jewell Avenue. Westword suggests booking ahead or getting dropped off early at a restaurant nearby. It also mentions Colorado Cooperative, a driver-owned rideshare app that works best when you schedule in advance.
- Light rail and bus. The closest light rail stops are I-25 & Broadway and Evans, both a 30- to 40-minute walk from the venue. Some bus stops are about half a mile away. If your trip starts at the airport, RTD's A Line is running every 30 minutes through Saturday, October 10 because of crossing repairs. Regular 15-minute service is scheduled to resume Sunday, October 11.
- Driving. On show days, Levitt makes the park road one-way. You enter from Jewell Avenue and exit onto Florida Avenue. Parking along Ruby Hill Park Road is allowed on both sides, with cars facing north. If the park road is full, Levitt asks people to park in the industrial areas to the north or south instead of the neighborhood to the west. Cars parked on the grass can be ticketed or towed. A paid lot at 1498 Lipan Street is separate from both GABF and Levitt. Westword expects the lot at the south end of Ruby Hill Park to fill up fast.
If you're getting dropped off early, you won't find food right next to the venue. Westword points to the Tacos Flamingos food truck and the Mexican restaurant Colima, both about two-thirds of a mile south. South Broadway and Federal Boulevard are a 15- to 25-minute walk away.
What Gets Through the Gate on a Lawn in October
The seating rules are stricter than at Levitt's usual concerts. Chairs and stools aren't allowed. Blankets and soft-sided stadium seats are. Levitt's free concerts are open lawn seating, and the venue invites people to bring a chair or blanket. Levitt also warns that ticketed events can set their own rules, and this one does. Backpacks aren't allowed. Bags are limited to small clutches, fanny packs or cross-body bags up to 4.5 by 6.5 inches. You can bring an empty, clear, reusable plastic water bottle up to 32 ounces. Glass isn't allowed.
Weather was the other big worry when the move was announced, and Westword checked the records. Over the last 15 years, October 10 and 11 mostly had highs from the upper 50s to the mid-80s, with no precipitation. The exception was October 10, 2019, with a high of 29°F and an inch of snow. Westword puts the odds of something like that at 10% or less on either day. The festival goes on rain or shine, and most booths will be tented.
Sunday Is the Session Still Open, and It Has the Awards
As of October 5, the official ticket page shows Saturday and the two-day pass sold out. Sunday's general admission ticket is still on sale at $66.53. Watson told Westword he hoped Sunday would sell out soon, so that may not last.
Sunday is also the day the competition awards move out onto the festival grounds. The ceremony opens Sunday's session at 12:15 p.m. In past years, the awards were announced in a private auditorium that only breweries and media could get into. A Sunday ticket gets you into the awards along with the beer.
The pouring is different too. Breweries now pour their own beer instead of relying on volunteers. Brewers can pour up to four ounces, up from the old one-ounce limit, though they can pour less of the stronger beers. About 200 breweries will pour roughly 1,500 beers. Watson told Westword that 73% of the people pouring have won medals at GABF or the World Beer Cup in the last five years. PAIRED, the chef-and-beer pairing event, made the move as well. It's set for both days in an area next to the main festival at 1380 W. Florida Ave., with 25 bites paired with 35 beers.
No Ticket? The Week Plays Out in Neighborhood Taprooms
Even without a festival ticket, the rest of GABF week happens at taprooms around the metro, and several events this week are within a short drive or bike ride:
- Wednesday, October 7, 2 to 10 p.m. Renegade Brewing, 925 W. 9th Ave., hosts Stout Wednesday. It's day four of Renegade's "7 Days of GABF," with guest beers from Firestone Walker, Fremont, Prairie, Revolution, River North, Toppling Goliath and Verboten.
- Thursday, October 8, 2 to 9 p.m. Barrels & Bottles Brewery, 1055 Orchard St. in Golden, hosts the fifth annual Krispy King Lager Competition. All 47 entries are available to buy, and the awards start at 7 p.m.
- Friday, October 9, noon to 10 p.m. Cohesion Brewing Company, 3851 Steele St., throws Lager Land with beers from pFriem, Bow and Arrow, Breakside, Chuckanut and others.
- Friday, October 9, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Cerebral Brewing brings back its East Coast vs. West Coast IPA standoff at both locations, 3257 Lowell Blvd. and 1477 Monroe St.
- Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10. Hops & Pie, 3920 Tennyson St., runs tap takeovers. Friday features Elite Brands breweries, including Russian River and Allagash. Saturday features CSA's breweries, including Monkish and Other Half.
Cerebral's Lowell Boulevard taproom is in West Highland, which is also where its $15 festival shuttle leaves from.
John Baldree keeps up with how changes like this festival move affect daily life around the metro, from new trail stretches to new routes across town. If you're wondering how a new park, a trail project or a venue change could affect a part of Denver you're thinking about, Let's Connect.
