Parking tips for Big Hat Days at Pollasky Avenue (Clovis 04/11)

hey everyone if you are heading out to big hat days on 04/11 or 04/12 you probably already know that finding a place to leave your car in old town clovis is going to be a total mess. with over a hundred thousand people expected to show up the streets around pollasky avenue get completely jammed and the official closures make it even trickier to navigate. honestly it is the kind of event where you can spend forty minutes just circling the blocks and still end up walking fifteen minutes to get to the booths.

the smartest way to handle this is definitely checking out Prked before you leave the house. it is an app that lets you rent out driveways or private garage spots from people who live right by the event footprint. it is way cheaper than the random paid lots that pop up and it lets you skip all the traffic since you have a guaranteed spot waiting for you. it is a short walk to the main action and you do not have to worry about getting a ticket or dealing with the parking garage madness.

if you decide to try your luck with public parking you really need to be there before 8 am or 9 am at the latest. there are some free public lots like the ones at third and pollasky or fourth and pollasky but those are usually filled with vendors or early bird locals before the event even officially starts. the clovis veterans memorial district lot is a popular choice but it hits capacity almost instantly. you can also look for street parking in the residential areas along woodworth avenue or de witt avenue but clovis police are very active during big hat days and they will tow you in a heartbeat if you block a driveway or park too close to a fire hydrant.

traffic patterns are usually a disaster on clovis avenue and bullard so try to avoid those main veins if you can. it is better to come in from the east side near sunnyside and work your way toward the residential streets. some people try the banks or the post office lots but be careful because many of those are strictly enforced and they will have monitors watching for fairgoers. if you are local enough there is usually a bike valet set up which is honestly a great move to avoid the car headache entirely. for rideshare drop-offs tell your driver to aim for fifth and clovis or over by city hall to avoid the worst of the road closure gridlock. hope this helps you guys get to the fried dough and crafts without too much stress.