Rent an RV for the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival

GrassRoots runs the second-to-last weekend in July at the Trumansburg Fairgrounds. Camping sells out on a February on-sale, so reserve your RV first.

Class C motorhome on a primitive grass camping site at the Trumansburg Fairgrounds

Motorhome set up with a small secured propane canister on a primitive site at the Trumansburg Fairgrounds

Ten miles north of Ithaca

RVs for GrassRoots in Trumansburg, New York

Pick Up in Hornell, Drive to the Fairgrounds

The Trumansburg Fairgrounds sit at 2150 Trumansburg Rd, about ten miles north of Ithaca on the west side of Cayuga Lake. [VERIFY: measured drive time and mileage from our Hornell lot to Trumansburg.] You collect the unit, we hand over the keys and walk you through the water tanks, propane, battery and generator, and you drive it over.

Buy Camping in February, Not in June

Vehicle camping is a separate purchase at grassrootsfest.org and it goes on sale in mid-February, months before most ticket tiers close, with a limit of two campsites per group. The festival says plainly that camping usually sells out. A renter deciding in May has probably already missed onsite. Get the campsite, then call us at 607-663-0591 and we will match a unit to the site tier you bought.

Our Manager and the Finger Lakes Team help renters plan GrassRoots weekends in Trumansburg, and the question we hear most is about generators. Generators are not allowed at the Onsite campground on the fairgrounds, so if you plan to run one, book a large site in the generator section at Across The Way instead. We also remind every renter that vehicle campers who leave the grounds should do it between 8 AM and 12 PM, with no re-entry after dark, so it pays to stock up before you park. Campsites go on sale in mid-February and Onsite vehicle sites sell out fast, so we recommend locking in your site and your RV at the same time.

group outside their rented motorhome at the Trumansburg Fairgrounds

Interior of a rented motorhome on a primitive campsite at the GrassRoots festival

Primitive ground

Why Rent an RV for the GrassRoots Festival?

Nearly 20,000 people come through a village of about 1,800 across four days, and the official parking page warns that the Sheriff's Department will tow anyone parked illegally. Staying on site in your own unit takes that whole problem away. What matters on this particular ground:

All camping is primitive, with no electric or water hookups anywhere, so the rig carries its own power and water
Generators are banned except in the designated area at the Across the Way campground, which makes your campground choice the single biggest booking decision
Rustic showers exist both onsite and Across the Way, so the RV covers the rest
Unsecured propane tanks over one pound are confiscated by security, which changes how you plan cooking
Vehicle campers enter through the Back Gate at 12:00 pm Thursday, three hours before pedestrians

Tanks and propane are filled before handover at no charge. On primitive ground that is simply what makes four days possible.

Back gate

Do We Deliver to the Trumansburg Fairgrounds?

We drop units at Watkins Glen KOA, Keuka Lake State Park, Letchworth State Park and Finger Lakes RV Resort. Delivery into the festival's camping areas is not something we can confirm here. [VERIFY: does Finger Lakes RV Rentals deliver to the Trumansburg Fairgrounds, and at what fee?] The pickup route:

Buy your vehicle camping site in February and note whether it is onsite or Across the Way.
Reserve the unit with us and tell us which one.
Come to Hornell for the keys and the run-through: tanks, propane, battery, generator.
Arrive at the Back Gate, the vehicle camper gate, which opens at 12:00 pm on Thursday.

Two warnings from the festival's own directions page are worth repeating. Do not park on Route 96 in front of the site. And on Rabbit Run Road, getting all four wheels off the pavement lands you in the ditch, which in a rented motorhome is a tow bill, not an inconvenience. If you need overnight generator power, book Across the Way, because onsite has no generator area at all. Our Class C motorhomes are the usual pick for a premium vehicle site.