Gold Rush Days parking and road closures
Downtown closes to cars for the whole weekend. Here is when, where the public parking is, and what nobody has published yet.
By the Gold Rush Dahlonega Editorial Team. Updated .
An independent visitor guide. Not the festival’s official website.
Times from the organizer’s vendor schedule. goldrushdaysfestival.com
The short answer
For Gold Rush Days the streets around Dahlonega’s Public Square close to traffic at 6:00 PM on Friday and reopen at 8:00 PM on Sunday, according to the organizer’s vendor schedule. Plan to park outside the closed area and walk in. The University of North Georgia parking deck on South Chestatee Street is normally open to the public on weekends, though nothing published confirms it for festival weekend. Arrive early.
Road closures
- Streets close
- Friday at 6:00 PM goldrushdaysfestival.com
- Streets reopen
- Sunday at 8:00 PM goldrushdaysfestival.com
- During the festival
- No traffic through the festival area on either day until after 6:00 PM goldrushdaysfestival.com
- Which streets
- The organizer’s map shows barricades on the streets that meet the Public Square. It is a 2022 map and no 2026 version has been published goldrushdaysfestival.com
Where the public parking is
On an ordinary weekend the closest parking downtown is on and around the square. During Gold Rush Days those spaces are inside the closed area and filled with booths, so they are not an option.
On ordinary weekends the public can use the University of North Georgia parking deck on South Chestatee Street. The visitors bureau describes it as available all day on Saturdays and Sundays, with the entrance near the corner of South Chestatee Street and Choice Avenue. The Downtown Development Authority gives the entrance as next to the Smith House, at 84 South Chestatee Street. No source we found says whether the deck is open, free or full on festival weekend, so have a second plan.
The city also keeps free public lots a short walk from the square, on Warwick Street and near Meaders Street and Choice Street. The organizer’s 2022 map shows festival barricades and the food court in that same part of town, so do not count on those lots during the festival.
How to make it easy
- Come early. The festival opens at 9:00 AM, and downtown has been closed to cars since the evening before.
- Expect to walk. Wear comfortable shoes.
- Leaving before the parade? It starts at 3:00 PM on Saturday. Walk out ahead of it or wait until it has passed.
- If someone in your group cannot walk far, call before the weekend. No accessible parking or drop-off point has been published for the festival. The Dahlonega Visitors Center number published by the city is (706) 864-3711.
Driving in
From Atlanta, the visitors bureau’s directions are GA 400 north to its end, then left onto GA 60 and US 19, which becomes South Chestatee Street. From that light it is about 5.5 miles to the square, and South Chestatee is the road the university deck is on.
Where these facts come from
We link the organizer and other primary sources so you can confirm anything before you travel. Checked October 12, 2026.