Aug 31–Sep 2, 2024 – GunksFest

The GCC GunksFest is back! 
This year we are moving our flagship event a month earlier to Labor Day weekend: more daylight and warmer temps adding up to a long weekend packed with films, clinics, food, and so much more at Stone Mountain Farm on River Road in New Paltz.

Full festival attendees can expect the typical GunksFest treatment experience: education and climbing all in the heart of the northern preserve.

Ticketing

If you attend the festival during the day and want to register for clinics and tours, whether or not they are paid or free clinics, you must have a full festival ticket, Tiers 0 or 1. If you do not wish to attend clinics or tours and only want to come for the evening program of films, vendors and contests, there are tickets for either or both nights.

• Tier 0: Full Admission with Camping (SOLD OUT)
• Tier 1: Full Admission without Camping : $108.55 (incl fees)
• Tier 3: Evening Films Only – Saturday & Sunday: $33.85 (incl fees)
• Tier 4: Evening Films Only – Saturday: $23.18 (incl fees)
• Tier 5: Evening Films Only – Sunday: $23.18 (incl fees)

Camping Alert

We also have a major change this year – unfortunately due to construction and permitting issues we will be unable to offer camping at the festival. As a result we have reduced our general admission ticket prices, and provided a list of local lodging/camping options below.

At present time we do have a very limited amount of discounted campsites (car and tent) available through the festival for sale as Tier 0 tickets. These sites are at the Samuel Pryor AAC Gunks Campground on Rt. 44/55 and must be reserved no later than Friday 8/24 at 8am!!! Sorry, Tier 0 camping tickets are no longer available.

Please note a Tier 0 ticket qualifies you for an entire tent campsite – if you wish to share you may do so with up to 3 more people and they do not need to purchase a Tier 0 ticket, but they will still need a Tier 1 ticket for full festival access. A car camping site may be shared with 1 other with Tier 1 ticket.

Daytime Clinics

We’ve got a full lineup of clinics including climbing-centric workshops on self-rescue, toprope anchor building, learn-to-lead sessions, projecting and injury-prevention, as well as supplementary workshops from Intro to the Gunks to Emergency First Response. There are also tours to roped climbing on cliffs at Stone Mountain Farm (note: you are responsible to set up your own climbs) and bouldering at Waterworks, with afternoon tours led by boulderer, Paul Jung, Waterworks expert! Register for the clinics and tours when you purchase your festival tickets. Please note you MUST purchase a Tier 0 or Tier 1 ticket in order to register for ANY clinic or tour.

We’re also very excited to be hosting a handful of affinity space-specific clinics again this year!

Don’t wait to sign up for clinics, they have limited space and many sell out quickly!

For a detailed look at the clinics, see gunksclimbers.org/2024-gunksfest-clinics/

Film Festival & Evening Program

Our film festival this year will be two nights long, and as usual feature special guests to get the stoke going for climbing in the Gunks with the largest social gathering of Gunks climbers annually. Come browse our vendor village and try your shot at some contests with great prizes!

As always we do have evening film program only tickets available for those who don’t want to attend clinics – either night or both.

On Saturday we will also have live music by Lost on the Sidewalk on Saturday night, and a book signing by Russ Clune, author of The Lifer: Rock Climbing Adventures in the GUNKS and Beyond.

Vendor Village

We’ve got some great vendors signed up including Arc’Teryx, Patagonia, Black Diamond, as well as creative craftspeople and organizations. 

 

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Book your ticket now as we’ve got limited space in most clinics and a hard cap on ticket sales.

More details in our FAQ below.

Thank you as always to Arc’Teryx and Rock and Snow for being sponsors of our festival!

FAQs

COVID 19 Policy: We ask all attendees respect the precautions of neighboring festival-goers and be courteous when it comes to close personal space.

• If you are not feeling well, have had a recent COVID exposure, or a recent positive test please stay home.
  If you are unable attend due to testing positive for COVID you will be issued a refund.

Climbing Areas: In addition to the Mohonk Preserve, the northern ridge offers a few bouldering and single pitch areas, which will be accessible directly from the festival grounds through guided tours to help control impact in these remote areas.

Accessibility: Our festival grounds and roped-climbing areas are suitable for all mobility types except motorized wheelchairs, and we will provide designated parking and facilities.

Transportation: All events except for lodging will take place on the Stone Mountain Farm. If you need transportation from camping to the festival location, we will help set up a carpool share from the AAC campground.

Films: Full lineup coming soon!

Food: Participants are welcome to be self-sufficient, but as usual the Rail Trail Cafe will be open for service.

Volunteers: Please reach out to volunteering@gunksclimbers.org if you are interested in volunteering.

Vending: If you have an interest in vending please fill out our form here.

Pet Policy: No animals allowed at any times. If you have a specific request for a service animal please contact us at gcc@gunksclimbers.org for review.

Youth Policy: Children under 12 are free, and must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

In Event of Rain: The event is Rain or Shine, and unless you are contacted due to severe weather the Gunks Fest will be taking place.

Lodging Options

AAC Gunks Campground (Samuel F. Pryor III)
A standard here in the Gunks; full-service campground with ADA sites available. We’ve worked with the AAC to offer a discount to GunksFest ticketholders and may be reserved with a Tier 0 ticket.

SoHi Campground
RV and tent-friendly campground in nearby Accord.

Yogi Bear Campground
Located just up the road from the Mohonk Preserve, Yogi Bear offers RV sites, cabins, and tent sites.

KOA Newburgh
Full service campground less than 30 min from Stone Mountain Farm.

Nearby Hotels
Quick link for those looking for the comforts of 4 walls and running water including nearby New Paltz and Kingston.

Nearby AirBnBs
Here you can find nearby house/room rentals.