Can't miss
- Jumping for the Go Blue banner The team runs out of the tunnel and every player leaps to touch the banner held by the band.
- "The Victors" The band plays it after every Michigan score, and 107,000 people sing along.
- Zingerman's the morning of A Reuben from the deli on Detroit Street, about two miles from the stadium. The Saturday line is part of it; go the morning of.
Quick answers
What time do the Michigan Stadium lots open?
Between 6 a.m. and noon, depending on the lot and kickoff. The U-M Golf Course, Brown and Maize lots open at 7 a.m. for noon and 3:30 games and at noon for night games. Pioneer High School opens at 6 a.m., or 11 a.m. for night games.
Can you grill at Michigan tailgates?
Not with charcoal or wood: solid fuels are banned in U-M lots. On the golf course, no propane appliances under tents or canopies. Pioneer High School allows no open flames at all.
Can you drink at Michigan tailgates?
Pioneer High School bans alcohol on school property, and the city bans open alcohol on public streets and sidewalks outside the downtown Social District. No outside alcohol goes into the stadium.
Do you need a ticket to tailgate?
Michigan ties tailgating to your parking space: it's allowed in designated lots, with your gear behind your vehicle and inside your space.
How do you buy parking?
The golf course, Brown and Maize lots sell on game day, cashless. Blue, Champions and Grey are prepaid season passes. Pioneer High School and Ann Arbor Golf & Outing sell through their own sites.
Where to park
Most of the tailgating happens south of Stadium Blvd. Each lot has its own operator and its own rules.
- Golf course
- The U-M Golf Course, in from Stadium Blvd, State St or Main St. Game-day sales, cashless. Cars only, no RVs or trailers.
- Pioneer HS
- Across Main St, run by LAZ Parking for Ann Arbor Public Schools. Prepaid QR codes. No flames, alcohol or generators.
- Brown, Maize
- South along State St toward I-94. Game-day sales, cashless. Both take RVs on game day.
- Season lots
- Blue, Champions East and North, and Grey are prepaid season passes. Blue Lot passes go by priority points.
- RV
- Brown or Maize, game day only, no overnight. An RV pass covers 4 spaces, and everything stays inside them.
- Accessible
- Green Lot at the golf course, first come, first served, with a state placard or plate. Courtesy shuttles start 2 hours before kickoff.
- Downtown
- U-M structures like Thompson, Hill, Thayer and Fletcher sell game-day spaces from 8 a.m. for day games.
Streets around the stadium close 3 hours before kickoff. E. Hoover St and Greene St close 90 minutes out, and southbound Main St 1 hour out.
City on-street parking rules run 8 a.m. to midnight on game days, and cars can be towed.
If the golf courses close for weather, Destination Ann Arbor's host suggests buying a spot from a house on game day.
No car? TheRide's FootballRide runs about every 20 minutes from downtown, hotels and U-M lots, starting 2 hours before game time, and drops off at Gate 2. The last buses leave 30 minutes before kickoff. Mobile ticket or exact cash.
The rules
Rules last verified Oct 28, 2026 against mgoblue.com, a2gov.org, michigangamedayparking.com and Destination Ann Arbor (Aug. 31, 2026).
The rules change with the lot, so check whose ground you're parked on.
- Grills
- No charcoal or wood in U-M lots. On the golf course, no propane under tents or canopies. At Pioneer, no open flames at all.
- Alcohol
- Banned at Pioneer. No open alcohol on city streets and sidewalks outside the Social District. None into the stadium.
- Your space
- Gear stays behind your vehicle, inside your space. Nothing in adjacent spaces, roads or driveways.
- Golf course
- No glass, no RVs or trailers, no pets. Stay off the tees, greens and bunkers.
- Generators
- At least 25 feet from any structure in U-M lots (20 on the golf course), with a fire extinguisher. None at Pioneer.
- Not allowed
- Saving spaces, flags or signs over 20 feet high, and branded tents or promotions without a sponsorship deal.
- When it ends
- Lots empty within 2 hours after the game. No overnight parking anywhere.
- Bags at the gate
- No bags, clear ones included. One medical or childcare bag, through Gate 3 or Gate 9.
- Gates open
- 2 hours before kickoff.
Before you go
Football game day parking information2026 football parking inventory2026 Michigan Stadium information A-ZGame day in Ann Arbor (city)Pioneer High School parking rulesOfficial pages. Rules change; check them the week of the game.
Pack for Ann Arbor
What we'd bring.
-
Opener & Shotgun Tool
$7.99
Free over $50 (our gear)
-
Sampler, 8 Rubs
$47.99
Ships free
Eight rubs in one box, so the grill gets a new one every Saturday. It's the seasoning we use.
More for this lot
-
Taiga 55 qt Hard Cooler, 60 Cans$299 · Ships free
-
Monument G22 Tabletop Gas Grill, 2 Burners$199 · Ships free
-
Scorezit Cornhole Scorekeeper Set$140 · +$15 shipping
- The Game Day Starter, $582Ann Arbor Campus Gameday cornhole boards, a Taiga 27 qt hard cooler and a Scorezit scorekeeper, in one cart. Shop the kit
Where the party is
In Ann Arbor, the tailgate moves onto a golf course: the U-M course across Stadium Blvd becomes game-day parking. Want a roof? The North End Zone, 50 yards from the stadium, rents four properties to groups of 25 to 850 and caters through Zingerman's, Destination Ann Arbor reported in 2026.
The fairways
The U-M Golf Course
Cars park on the course, from three entrances. Stay off the tees, greens and bunkers, leave the glass at home and keep propane out from under the canopy.
Across the street
Pioneer High School
School property, so the rules are tighter: no open flames, no alcohol, no generators, and tents no bigger than 10 x 10.
The south end
Brown and Maize lots
Along State St toward I-94, with game-day sales and room for RVs.
What to eat
Cook thisWhat to cook at a tailgate (that survives the lot)Getting out
Main St turns one way after the game. Work with it, not against it:
- Follow Main St south. After the game, Main St is one way southbound from the stadium to I-94, with signals at Scio Church and Ann Arbor-Saline run for pedestrians.
- Take your time in the lot. You have 2 hours after the game to clear out. Pack up at your own pace.
- Catch a courtesy shuttle if you need one. About 20 minutes after the game, shuttles pick up at Gates 2, 4, 8, 9 and 10 and run to the Green, Blue and Buffalo lots.
Skip this
Race everyone off the fairway at the final whistle. Every other car on the golf course has the same plan.
First time here?
- Noon kickoff: arrive around 8:30 a.m., and some come at 7 for the best spots. For 3:30, arrive at 10:30 or 11, Destination Ann Arbor advised in August 2026.
- Heading home to the west? Park on the west side of the stadium, which Destination Ann Arbor's host finds easier to leave.
Visiting? How to join a tailgate
The golf course is the easy place to start: lots of cars, lots of room to walk. One Georgia fan in red got cursed at by people who took him for Ohio State, then was invited onto the golf course.
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