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Updated September 6, 2023
Plan Your Travel
The hoedown officially starts with an afternoon social in the Hospitality Suite on Thursday afternoon, with a dance on Thursday night. Workshops will be scheduled from Friday morning through Sunday afternoon, and evening dances occur Friday and Saturday across three rooms: country couples, line, and swing.
If you are coming from out of town, we recommend arriving at least by dinner time on Thursday if you can, earlier if you plan on any tourist activities. If you are travelling from other than the West Coast, fortunately you don’t lose as much time travelling west because of time zone shifts. But the reverse occurs when travelling east — due to time lost when flying to the Midwest and East Coast, crossing time zones, we highly recommend that you not leave until Monday if you can, to take advantage of the full suite of hoedown events. (Seriously: to arrive home on Sunday evening, you may have to leave before the first workshop on Sunday!)
The hotel will honor the hoedown rate for a couple days before and after the hoedown dates, so you can stay at the hotel longer and extend your stay into a longer vacation.
Getting to Seattle
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SeaTac, code SEA) is served by all major air carriers, many with direct or single-hop flights.
SeaTac is also the home base for Alaska Airlines, which flies direct between Seattle and many IAGLCWDC member club
cities, and it is now a West Coast hub for Delta as well. IPaine Field in Everett is a second and growing airport for the Seattle Metto area, although transit via light rail will not be available there for a few years.
f you will be spending additional time in the Northwest beyond the hoedown, you may also want to check
options for Portland (3 hours south), Bellingham (90 minutes north), and Vancouver (3 hours north, possibly a good option
with a car rental or train for Canadian attendees).
Check out your favorite online travel sites/apps for good online and smartphone options for air travel shopping.
Amtrak may also be an option for your travel needs, with about a 4-hour trip from Portland or Vancouver and 24 hours from San Francisco. The Amtrak depot is about a mile from the host hotel.
Getting to the Hotel from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
- Link Light Rail is the easiest, most cost-effective transportation option from SeaTac airport. It costs about $3 each way and is available directly from the airport, leaving every 10-15 minutes and taking about 40 minutes to downtown. Exit at University Street Station, and the Renaissance is just a few blocks away (uphill, unfortunately; an Uber or Lyft ride from there is only a few dollars if you can’t do the hills).
- Bus service varies by time of day and distance you are willing to walk (up to 1/2 mile). Cost ranges from $2.75 to $5.25 each way, takes about an hour (longer for routes wuth minimal walking), and requires transfers. See the Metro Trip Planner.
- Downtown Airporter leaves the airport every 30 minutes, and takes about 50 minutes but goes directly to the hotel. Rates cannot be confirmed at this time.
- Taxi service costs around $45 (plus tip). Follow signs from baggage claim — and don’t forget to buckle up!
Getting to the Hotel from Paine Field (Everett)
- Bus service varies by time of day and distance you are willing to walk (up to 1/2 mile). Cost is about $7.75 each way and takes about two hours. See the Metro Trip Planner.
- Shuttle services are available. Visit this page for the latest info and contact numbers.
- Taxi service costs around $73 (plus tip). Follow signs from baggage claim — and don’t forget to buckle up!
Driving to the Hotel
Driving from the South: take exit 164A (Dearborn/James/Madison) off I-5, but stay on the exit ramp to the I-90 bypass (do not take the exit for I-90). Take the Madison St./Convention Place exit, and turn left on Madison. The hotel is at Madison and 6th Ave., just across the freeway.
Driving from the North: take exit 165A (James St.) off I-5 and merge onto 6th Ave. Turn left on Cherry St., left on 7th Ave., and then left on Madison St. The hotel is at Madison and 6th Ave.
Please note: parking at the hotel is very limited and not cheap; we do not recommend renting a car just for getting to and from the hoedown, not unless you will be doing other driving during the weekend.
Getting Around Seattle
Limited on-site parking is available at the Renaissance Hotel, and it can be expensive and may be limited to hotel guests only.
More affordable surface pay lots are located just a couple blocks away, on the other side of the freeway at 7th & Marion, and some nearby parking garages also have reasonable daytime rates, but may not be accessible after dark. To check out available parking options and prices, visit http://seattle.bestparking.com (or download the Best Parking app for your smartphone). For the evening dances, street parking within a couple blocks from the hotel should be reasonably available, in addition to these lots.
Parking in downtown Seattle’s shopping district and on Capitol Hill can be a challenge on a good night. Consider using light rail (which now goes all the way to Northgate, including stopping on Capitol Hill, and will continue to expand; watch the time for the last train if you go out at night, since it stops running before the bars close), the bus system, use a car share, or taking a taxi or Uber/Lyft; bike and scooter rentals may also be a good option, despite the hills. (Or even walk, if the weather is nice! The hotel is 1.1 miles or less from the various gay bars.) Most locations you want to go to are only a few dollars ride away from each other.
For bus information in Seattle and King County, visit the Metro Transit website.
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