the gorge amphitheatre

Went to the Gorge for ZBB concert last year and was lucky to be seated in Box Seats. This is by far the way to go. The box has plenty of space, waiters to take your orders, access to separate bar and food area that is covered in case it rains, and real uncrowded bathrooms! The other plus was the parking pass that came with the seats. The VIP lot gets let out before anyone else so we were on the road within 15min of the last not being played. If I go back the Gorge I will not hesitate to buy Box seats again!

The venue alone is worth coming out here, I'd definitely be open to camping in this area even if there wasn't any concert on! But of course the shows and festivals make it what it truly is, seeing that hill come alive while a band plays into the sunset is magical. I've been here twice for Sasquatch! music festival and can't wait to go back again next year!

Dave Matthews Band 2014, Wildhorse campground, The Gorge all phenomenal! Surely the best venue in the world the scenery is out of this world great views from anywhere

Probably the best outdoor venue. 23,000 people plus. Wide open space. Beautiful view of gorge and sunset. Lots of food options, though very pricey. Concert merchandise lines can be very long so go early. Very hot in the day (no shade as you're in the middle of nowhere) and eve's can be quite cool. Even summer day can be cool if windy. Very fun venue though. The sound is great. Would like bigger screens. Recommend VIP parking-close parking and separate entrance and exit so doesn't take 2 hours. One thing I strongly dislike about this place though is Portable toilets - EW!!!! Get gross and so dark at night you can't see inside. Seems this place is big enough & makes a ton of $$ to have plumbing. Hopefully with all the new improvements they are doing they will include that. Only flushing toilets are in the Cliff House VIP area, which can only be accessed with VIP tickets. Otherwise, a fun and awesome venue. P.S. Lots of WSP patrolling so don't speed.

This was the second time I've been to the Gorge Amp. for a concert. The first time was in early August a few years ago, you def want to see a concert during the summer months to take advantage of the views. The most resent concert I saw was by my favorite band, so the views didn't matter to me, but it would have been nice to push the start time up so everyone can experience "The Gorge" for what it is, a spectacular venue!! After dark, it is what it is, but the sound is amazing.

Getting there:Traveling from the Southwest or Olympic peninsula from I-5 South of Fort Lewis-McChord or coming from the West on Hwy-16 take the SR 512 over to SR 167 to SR 18 to I-90. Was much faster than trying to go North on I-5 and trying to get heading East further North of Tacoma.The I-90 exit for the Gorge is well signed. There was law enforcement on the gravel road between I-90 and the Gorge. Driving an RV it took 5 hours to get there with traffic on the West side leaving from Belfair.Camping/ParkingThe general parking is for the event only with no overnight as we were told cars would be towed after the event. The pasture area for dry camping is big but the attendants try to cram every vehicle an arms distance away from the vehicle next to it - just don't let them do it. Definately car pool as they charge for each vehicle. It doesn't matter if your in an RV or a car it cost us $60 per vehicle for the General Admission dry camp area. There are no places advertized close by to park a 2nd vehicle. It cost $105 for "each" vehicle to park in a fenced in area offering showers/toilets, some hookups, and shuttle service to/from the event. If you are in an RV go for the $105 parking area. I do not recommend trying to drive after the event due to the large attendance capcity and potential issues with bad driving by intoxicated/under the influence drivers late at night. The Gorge website has rules for the camping area - they were lightly followed at best. It is at least a 3/4 mile walk on gravel and uneven surfaces from the dry camp area to the amphitheatre entrance.Event SeatingWe sat in the General Admission area on the sloping lawn toward the upper central and right side. Unless you plan on standing the whole time this is not the place for you. The high dollar chair seating toward the front does not get the great view of the Gorge backdrop and is really loud but probably more comfortable for those of us with bad knees. Personally I think the best seating is the General Adminission right/left lower and middle side section on the steps area. Bring a low lawn chair, be close enough to really see the performers, sound system is not overwhelming, and you are not inundated with 2nd hand herbal smoke. Porta-potties and beverage stands on the right side (when facing the stage) did not seem to have as long of wait times as the ones on the top behind the General Admission area. Plus it is a whole lot easier to find your party on the sides rather than somewhere in the mass of humanity on the sloping lawn. Seemed to be a lot more jerks in the middle and upper lawn area as well. Gals - grow a pair or become temporarily pregnant with wine skins or other personalized beverage sacs. Bring a cup or two to share drinks. Drink costs were pretty spendy and you can only buy two adult beverages at a time. There was security checks but it was not performed very well. Get to the seating area at least 2 hours before the start of the event in order to claim your spot. Throw an extra blanket down in front of yours so you don't get encroached upon later on. Oh - look theres a spot ... and the next thing you know you have more backsides to look at because of late arrivals. Generally the crowd is younger and full of energy especially in the central and up general admission area. It seemed like there were many immature guys "falling forward" more than they should have been in the upper lawn general admissions area but it could of been the slope, too much of a good thing, or more than likely just plain bad behavior. Definately a distractor from the event. The pot smoke seemed to roll up the hill so if you don't want to smell like burned cabbage go to the sides or be lower down the slope.Zac Brown Band - AWESOME!Have fun and be safe out there!

We went to The Gorge to see Linkin Park & 30 Seconds To Mars a couple of weeks ago. When we got onto the website to make reservations we assumed we were "glamping" because we paid the highest price we could. That's all we wanted to do was "glamp". However when we arrived at The Gorge, they informed us that we were NOT glamping. Luckily my husband had packed the tent "just in case". I did try calling the phone number a few times that I had to "search" for, and nobody ever answered. I sent an email and nobody responded. I was "almost" traumatized....We made the most of our weekend and enjoyed it. The campers next to us were awesome. The concert was awesome of course! The only problem was the misunderstanding on the website, just trying to book it what we wanted.

I have been to The Gorge numerous times for both shows & camping. We travel from Idaho & always have an amazing time… with the exception of our most recent trip over LaborDAVE weekend. The first night of the show our tent & vehicle (along with several other campers) were broken into. Thousands and thousands of dollars in items were taken... Purses, bags of clothes, electronics, basically anything within reach. When we discovered our camp sites were raided we went to the "security office” to report what had happened. We spoke with a police officer who informed us this happens every weekend & there is nothing they can do about it. Come to find out (someone had a tracking device on a tablet) our stuff was taken by a local who the police knew by name because they had done this so many times. There are so many things wrong with this situation. If this is something that is happening time & time again (especially by the same people) then why isn't something being done? One expects to the gorge to have a good time & some local dirtbag ruins it. Not to mention we are supporting THEIR economy & community. It really put a bad taste in my mouth regarding the campground & the way things are administered. Something CAN be done, this is complete ignorance. A gorge trip was almost a yearly event, however since the last experience I will not be camping there ever again. People will steal, but when enforcement doesn’t do anything about it, is just sickening. I will be staying elsewhere next time I want to enjoy a show at The Gorge. Besides the camping experience The Gorge itself is amazing. I would recommend going there at least once. It truly is breathtaking and a wonderful experience.

My wife and I were lucky enough to see Aerosmith and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on the same weekend this past July. The crowd was great, the sound was amazing and the venue is incomparable. Beats a stadium concert anyday.

Excellent place to catch a concert! Sunsets are great, acoustics are great! Personally, I would not pay extra for star parking. Maybe if your group moves slow and you have to get out fast... If you have lawn seats, the chairs are a pretty good deal. $5 gets an elevated, comfier than the hard ground seat. We went for 3day DMB concert. Staff and crowd were very friendly.

"Wow!" The first words I said when we walked through the gate. My husband and I went to the Carnivore Tour, September 13th. We saw AFI, 30 Seconds to Mars, and Linkin Park. All who were awesome! The beginning of the show ~630 pm. It was almost sunset so you could see the gorgeous back drop. We stayed the night in the standard camping- which is pretty good, we had no issues. Everyone was really nice and a few people started drinking at like 12 pm it seemed like- which we could have done without. I don't know if I would recommend for little kids. Overall really good. We paid about $65 a night.My husband had surgery on his knee few weeks beforehand. We walked from the standard camping area to the path to the arena. Once we got to a security guard checkpoint (AKA booze throw outzone before walking to main gate) he told us no high back folding chairs allowed....I was like "We will see about that! He can't go from a standing position to sitting on the ground." So he was like "You can try!" So we walked seemed like maybe a mile or a little less- with port-o-potties on the way (thank god). We got up to the ticket checker and he said again we can't have the chairs I told him about his knee and can't sit without being in the chair. He called his supervisor over, she said to go to the handicap station. They were all very nice! They gave us a handicap wristband for the both of us, let us keep our chairs and they gave us a ride to the arena on a golf cart. The staff was very nice and explained everything on the handicapped area. There was specialized seating and close port-o-potties that we could go to just for us. The only bad thing was once the concert was over, the people from the seating and pit flowed out from where we were supposed to leave from. There was literally a sea of people. If we had waited it would be like 30-60 mins. So I tried to scoot through. Which was bad because many were drunk and couldn't hold their own body weight so proceeded to lean on me and my husband with the gimpy knee.After that it was a 30 min wait for a shuttle bus back to the camping (we didn't know they had a shuttle bus stop when we made the trek to the main gate). It was pretty fun experience. Everyone seemed knowledgeable, happy and everything is maintained well.Another downside expect to pay $8-11 on a beer. Wasn't too happy about that!I would recommend to everybody!

I didn't dislike anything. The venue is beautiful, the people were friendly and easy-going. We saw Dave Matthews and it was a phenomenal experience. Of course food and booze are incredibly overpriced but that's the norm anywhere. I had read prior to the outing that coming in and going out of the venue would be a nightmare but, surprisingly, it wasn't. We left right after the last song of the encore and went straight to the car--traffic was moving and traffic directors/flaggers made getting out of the venue relatively easy.

The view is great, the weather was fantastic, the bands were awesome, however the venue gets an average rating related to the ID process, the cost and limited choices if drinks (one beer is 10.25, more than the average minimum hourly wage), staff was less than happy to serve, and sarcastic remarks were made when tips were actually given. If food and drinks were reasonably priced, I would have been happy to tip. When a band came out to sign CDs, we were chased off from taking pics at a chain linked fence by security. Guess the fence wasn't enough to make us keep our distance. I would go again, but I would not purchase food or drinks, and camp outside the venue. There is a great family owned campground down the road that provides bus rides, reasonably priced food, and friendly staff!

Excellent amphitheater to see The Dave Matthews Band. The weather was excellent and the facilities were strained, but served the purpose. Yes, the drinks are expensive - but about what you would expect. This is the place for an Epic event - Outstanding. Must put on your bucket list!!

The Gorge is a great venue, definitely worth going to. The backdrop is gorgeous, teh hiking is endless, Its like a mini grand canyon. At the venue the Beers are stupidly expensive so sneak in your own. Also beware that its high desert so its hot during the day but can get very cold at night and it's windy. Enjoy!