Iowa Hawkeyes · College · Big Ten

Tailgating at Kinnick Stadium

Lots open
6 hrs before kickoff
Grills
Yes · surface lots only
Alcohol
Beer and wine only

Checked Oct 14, 2026

Aerial view of Kinnick Stadium in winter, next to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital
Photo: MediaGuy768, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped

Iowa City's tailgate has a main street, and it's Melrose Avenue. Front yards, driveways and rented houses along it run open tailgates, food trucks line the curb facing the stadium, and one tailgate a block off Melrose was handing cups and food to anybody walking past. The reason people make the trip comes at the end of the first quarter, when the whole stadium turns to the children's hospital next door and waves to the kids watching from the top floor; one visiting writer's advice is to put the phone down. After the game, skip the race to the car: walk downtown to the Ped Mall, and let the traffic clear.

The lot answer

Hawkeye fans tailgate in university lots with a football parking pass, and day of at Finkbine Golf Course and the Lower Finkbine and Softball lots, card only, where public RVs park too. Single-game passes for Lots 3 and 65 sell until noon the day before. Melrose feeds into Krause Family Plaza, open to anyone.

Get the Pregame for the Hawkeyes. Your lot, your game and what to cook, every week. Free.Get the Pregame for the Hawkeyes

Hancher lot plus a shuttle
Free
Get the Pregame for the HawkeyesEmail me Or get the one-page game-day sheet
Rules checked Oct 14, 2026
Sources

Rules last verified Oct 14, 2026 against hawkeyesports.com.

Add a tip
Something changed?

Can't miss

  1. The Wave At the end of the first quarter, the whole stadium turns and waves to the kids watching from the top floor of the Stead Family Children's Hospital. You won't forget it.
  2. A turkey leg on Melrose The smoke from the turkey-leg stands on Melrose Avenue reaches you a block before you see them. Get one on the walk in.

Quick answers

What time do the Kinnick lots open?

6 hours before kickoff, and never before 6 a.m. Lining up on the street before the lots open isn't allowed. The night before, only RVs park, in Lots 43N, 73 and 75S, from 7:30 to 10 p.m.

Can you grill at Kinnick?

Yes, with propane or charcoal in parking lots, but never in a parking ramp. Propane grills and heaters get one 20-lb cylinder each, no spares, and wood fires and fire pits are out.

Can you drink at Iowa tailgates?

Beer and wine, yes, in university lots on game days only. State law bans hard liquor and open liquor bottles in UI lots and ramps, and open containers on public sidewalks and roads get cited.

Do you need a ticket to tailgate?

Only vehicles with a valid football parking pass can enter university lots. Krause Family Plaza, outside Gate A, is open to everyone before the game with no ticket, after stadium screening.

How do you buy parking for a Hawkeyes game?

Prepaid single-game passes for Lots 3 and 65 sell until noon the day before, while they last. Day of, the Finkbine and Softball lots take credit cards only, and Hancher, Hall of Fame and Commuter lots are free with a shuttle.

The game-day timeline

  1. Night beforeRV-only parking in Lots 43N, 73 and 75S, 7:30 to 10 p.m.
  2. 6 hrs beforeUniversity lots open, never before 6 a.m.
  3. 3 to 4 hrs beforeTigerhawk Beer Garden opens in Krause Family Plaza
  4. 2 hrs beforeThe Hawk Walk, and free Cambus shuttles start running
  5. 90 min beforeGates open (students at Gate B, 100 minutes before)
  6. 75 min beforeFree Hawkeye Marching Band concert at the Indoor Track
  7. End of Q1The Wave to the children's hospital
  8. 9 AM next dayContributor RVs clear the lots

Where to park

Download your pass to your phone before you go. Printed passes won't scan, and only vehicles with a football parking pass get into university lots.

Day of
Finkbine Golf Course, Lower Finkbine and Softball lots, cars and RVs, credit cards only. Lot 11 and the Newton Ramp charge hourly.
Free + shuttle
Hancher (Lot 55), Hall of Fame (Lot 71) and Hawkeye Commuter (Lot 85). Free Cambus shuttles run from 2 hours before kickoff to about 1 hour after.
Prepaid
Single-game passes for Lots 3 and 65 until noon the day before, while they last.
RV
Public RVs park day of only in the Finkbine and Softball lots, no overnight. Trailers and fifth wheels go to Lot 85 or Lot 55.
Bus
Hawkins Dr, northbound lanes, prepaid, first 10 passes. Email the ticket office by noon Wednesday of game week.
Accessible
Hawkeye Ramp and Lot 43N, day of, with a state placard or plate. Enter from Hawkins Dr. Free golf carts run from 2 hours before kickoff.
Kinnick Stadium game-day parking, simplified
Kinnick Stadium game-day parking, simplified
 See the official Kinnick Stadium parking map

Rideshare cars without a football parking pass can't enter university lots.
Standard lots near Kinnick don't fit vehicles longer than 19 feet, and hospital Ramps 1 and 2 don't sell football parking.
No car? Free Cambus shuttles also run from Downtown and Schaeffer Hall to the VA Loop on Newton Rd, starting 2 hours before kickoff.

The rules

Rules last verified Oct 14, 2026 against hawkeyesports.com.

Iowa's rules are specific, down to the size of your propane tank.

Grills
Propane and charcoal in parking lots, never in ramps. One 20-lb cylinder per grill or heater, no spares.
Fire and ash
No wood fires, portable fire pits included. Ash never goes in trash cans, under trees or on the lot.
Alcohol
Beer and wine only, on game days. Hard liquor and open liquor bottles are illegal in UI lots and ramps. Open containers on public sidewalks and roads get cited.
Your space
In non-reserved lots, every stall is for a vehicle, not a tent or grill. No saving spaces. Stay out of travel lanes and off sidewalks.
Tents
Set up and secure them to the maker's instructions and wind rating. Iowa Athletics can restrict tents in bad weather.
Sound
Amplified music stays inside your tailgate, speakers pointed in. Live bands need Iowa Athletics' approval.
Not allowed
Drones within 3 miles of the stadium, inflatables tethered to vehicles, and golf carts without an Athletics decal.
Bags at the gate
Clear, up to 12 x 6 x 12 inches, a 1-gallon clear bag, or a clutch up to 4.5 x 6.5 inches. No re-entry.
Gates open
90 minutes before kickoff. Students enter at Gate B, 100 minutes before.
Compare the rules in all 173 guides →

Before you go

Iowa football parking and trafficIowa tailgating policiesIowa football gameday A to ZInteractive parking map (Iowa Athletics)2026 ADA parking options (PDF)

Official pages. Rules change; check them the week of the game.

Pack for Iowa City

What we'd bring.

More for this lot

Shipping and returns

Get the Pregame for the Hawkeyes. Your lot, your game and what to cook, every week. Free.Get the Pregame for the Hawkeyes

Gear for Iowa fans

In stock now.

All Iowa gear →

Where the party is

Kinnick's pregame runs down Melrose Avenue and into Krause Family Plaza, which anyone can walk into before the game. Two hours out, it all turns toward Gate A for the Hawk Walk.

The street

Melrose Avenue

Iowa Athletics' own tradition list sends fans down Melrose for a turkey leg and Hawkeye gear on the way in.

The official one

Krause Family Plaza

Outside Gate A at the south end. Open pregame with no ticket, through stadium screening. The Tigerhawk Beer Garden opens 3 to 4 hours before kickoff, and the plaza clears at game time.

The send-off

The Hawk Walk

Two hours before kickoff, the team walks through the plaza past the Nile Kinnick statue and into Gate A, and fans line the route.

Know a setup worth showing off? Nominate your tailgate.

What to eat

Cook thisSmoked chicken quarters

Getting out

Kinnick lets out next to a hospital and a neighborhood, so there's no fast lane. Your options, best first:

  1. Ride the Cambus back. Postgame shuttles run for about an hour from the same stops, back to Hancher, the Commuter Lot and downtown.
  2. Stay for the Victory Polka. After a win, the band plays "In Heaven There Is No Beer" and the crowd sings along.
  3. Stay off the hospital routes. The hospital routes patients down Newton Rd and Grand Ave on game days, and emergency traffic gets waved through checkpoints.

  4. Skip this

    Sleep in with the RV. Contributor RVs can stay the night, but they have to be out by 9 a.m.

First time here?

  • The band plays a free concert at the Indoor Track 75 minutes before kickoff. No ticket needed.

Free · one page · works offline

Your Kinnick Stadium game-day sheet, by email

One page for the lot: where to park, when it opens, what you can bring.

Or download it now

We don't sell your email.

More College stadium guides

All guides

Read next from The Lot

All stories