Erie Blues & Jazz Festival

Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited (Chicago, New York/Boston) makes a daily stop at Erie Union Station, 125 W. 14th Street, the train's only Pennsylvania stop, about 2.5 miles from Frontier Park. Practical caveats: both directions call at Erie in the middle of the night (the unstaffed station is opened by a caretaker between midnight and 7:00 a.m. for the stops), there is no checked baggage, and you'll need a short rideshare or a roughly 45-50 minute walk to the festival.

Intercity coaches (Greyhound, with FlixBus schedules in partnership) serve the Erie Intermodal Transportation Center at 208 E. Bayfront Parkway, also EMTA's downtown hub, about 2.5 miles east of Frontier Park along the bayfront. Station lobby open 7:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. daily; tickets must be bought online or by phone (800-231-2222), not in person; buses board at the outside platform behind the building.

Remarkably direct for a regional airport: EMTA's Route 31 is literally named 'Frontier' and its published route card lists both 'Erie International Airport' (stop ID 1087) and 'Frontier Park' / W. 6th Street among the places it serves, the inbound bus runs from the airport terminal to the 6th & Liberty stop at the edge of Frontier Park in roughly 10-20 minutes. CRITICAL CAVEAT for this festival: Route 31 runs WEEKDAY & SATURDAY only. EMTA states 'The EMTA does not operate on Sundays', so the bus covers the Saturday festival day but NOT Sunday. Buses roughly every 60-95 minutes; pay exact cash fare on board or buy passes via the Token Transit app.

Uber and Lyft both operate in Erie, but the airport itself warns that 'the availability of Uber and Lyft is very limited in Erie especially later into the evening/night', build in wait time or prearrange. The airport also states 'there are currently no active cab companies' in Erie; the listed prearranged alternative is Rupp Limousine, (814) 806-1371 (hours vary, prearrangement required). The airport-to-Frontier Park run itself is short, roughly 4-5 miles via W. 12th St / Pittsburgh Ave.

Reliable mid-range bayfront option ~2.5 mi east of Frontier Park (~8-min drive), 0.7 mi from the Courtyard on the downtown bayfront strip.

Typically $70-130 a night off-peak guide, higher on festival dates

701 West Bayfront Parkway, Erie, PA 16507

Typically $70-130 a night off-peak guide, higher on festival dates

2510 West 8th Street, Erie, PA 16505

Typically $70-130 a night off-peak guide, higher on festival dates

10 West 18th Street, Erie, PA 16501

Typically $70-130 a night off-peak guide, higher on festival dates

Renovated bay-view hotel on Sassafras Pier ~2 mi from Frontier Park (6-8 min drive); indoor + outdoor infinity pools; also listed by ERI airport as offering hotel-airport shuttle service ((814) 636-1005).

Typically $120-220 a night off-peak guide, higher on festival dates

2540 West 8th Street, Erie, PA 16505

Typically $120-220 a night off-peak guide, higher on festival dates

401 Peach Street, Erie, PA 16507

Typically $120-220 a night off-peak guide, higher on festival dates

Upscale bayfront anchor ~2 mi east of Frontier Park (6-min drive; ~40-min bayfront walk); skybridge to the convention center; listed by ERI airport as offering hotel-airport shuttle service ((814) 454-2005).

Typically $170-300 a night off-peak guide, higher on festival dates

3425 West 12th Street, Erie, PA 16505

Typically $100-190 a night off-peak guide, higher on festival dates

3651 West Lake Road, Erie, PA 16505

Typically $100-190 a night off-peak guide, higher on festival dates

3504 West Lake Road, Erie, PA 16505

Typically $100-190 a night off-peak guide, higher on festival dates

The walkable pick: on the same street as the festival, ~1 mile / ~20 min flat walk east of Frontier Park along W. 6th St's historic Millionaire's Row.

Well-reviewed family-owned 30-room colonial-style motel (rooms from ~$75), ~2.7 mi south of Frontier Park (~8-min drive), 2 mi from Presque Isle State Park, the budget-with-character pick for drivers.

Erie has a healthy short-term-rental pool clustered around the west bayfront and the Presque Isle approach, several popular whole-house listings sit within a half-mile of Presque Isle, i.e. the same west-side neighborhood as Frontier Park.

Strong Hipcamp market for a non-camping festival: the Erie-area Hipcamp directory is live with ~1,500 campsites in the wider area, headlined by Camp Bandur (26 sites, ~5 miles out), May Farms (~9 mi) and Fish Camp (~12 mi), spanning tent, RV-hookup and glamping (cabins, bell tents, covered wagons) options, a real alternative to hotels for attendees who want to pair the festival with a Presque Isle outdoors weekend.