Minnesota Renaissance Festival
- Dates
- Aug 22 to Oct 4, 2026
- Status
- Confirmed
- Venue
- 12364 Chestnut Blvd (Queen's Gate) / 3525 145th St W (King's Gate)
- Price
- $27 to $30
- Camping
- None on site
- Last checked
- Aug 24, 2026
The experience
What's special
Celebrating its 55th season in 2026, the Minnesota Renaissance Festival is one of the country's longest-running Renaissance festivals - a 16th-century village outside Shakopee with 16+ stages, more than 250 artisans, over 500 food and beverage selections, 50+ games and rides, four jousts a day, and a 1 pm daily parade. The magic-and-comedy act of Penn and Teller got its start here, and its stages remain a proving ground for long-running acts. Each of the seven weekends carries its own theme, from a Scottish Highland Fling and dog-friendly Woofstock to a closing Oktoberfest, with daily costume contests, free celebration ribbons for milestones, and a strongly codified family-friendly costume and prop policy. Pet dogs are welcome under a registration policy, and a park-and-ride bus network backs up the site's limited paid parking.
What people love
Attendees compare it to a themed state fair in the best sense - long-loved comedy and stunt acts, full-armored combat displays, good food and mead (scotch eggs and pierogi stalls have devoted followings), and a friendly crowd where staff and regulars genuinely want newcomers to have a good time. Many families make it an every-year tradition. The dominant complaint for years has been getting in and out: parking queues that once ran well over an hour, a dusty site that leaves feet 'hella dirty', and a dusk exodus crush - regulars swear by the park-and-ride buses, early arrival, and September weekends before the late-season crowds peak. Some long-time visitors also lament rising prices and more generic goods among the artisan booths.
See it before you go
See the grounds
Themed weekends
Open weekends (Saturday and Sunday) August 22 through October 4, 2026, plus Labor Day (September 7) and Festival Friday (October 2); 9 am to 7 pm, rain or shine; 16 festival days across seven themed weekends
On the lanes & stages
Set in the Renaissance period. Event style: faire.
Lineup
Costumes & what to wear
Do I need a costume?
Costume-wearing spans the full range and nobody minds either way, some go all out, many wear shorts and a t-shirt, and late-summer heat is the most common reason regulars skip garb. Daily costume contests each weekend reward those who do dress up
Costume rules
The festival welcomes guests in costume, with a detailed family-friendly policy: no offensive, indecent, excessively revealing, violent, or gory attire; proper footwear required; guests 13 and older may not wear masks or coverings that completely obscure identity (religious and medical exceptions honored); oversized costumes, long trains, stilts, and special effects are prohibited; and guests may not dress to impersonate festival staff or public-safety officials
Weapons policy
Swords and daggers are permitted only fully sheathed with no blade visible and secured with a visible plastic zip tie ('peace tied'), and may not be unsheathed on the grounds. Functional or sharpened weapons, firearms and replicas, bows, crossbows, slingshots, and other projectile devices are prohibited; lightweight non-functional prop weapons are allowed, and weapons purchased at the festival must leave the grounds with blades encased
Joining in
Hundreds of costumed characters roam the village, with a daily parade and Royal Tribucade at 1 pm, daily costume and creative contests, and free Celebration Ribbons at the information booth for guests marking birthdays, anniversaries, first visits, and other milestones
Getting there
How do I get to Minnesota Renaissance Festival?
By train 1
No passenger rail reaches Shakopee. Amtrak's Twin Cities stop is Saint Paul Union Depot, roughly 30 miles northeast of the festival, workable for rail arrivals from the Chicago or Pacific Northwest corridors, then a ~35-40 minute rideshare or rental-car leg southwest to the grounds
Book / info →Public transit 1
MVTA runs a dedicated festival bus on festival days: $6 round trip, children 5 and under free, departures roughly every 15-20 minutes from 8 am to 4 pm, with the last bus leaving the festival at 8 pm. Early season it runs from Eagle Creek Park & Ride in Shakopee (all festival days except Labor Day); after Labor Day it adds Burnsville Transit Station and Southbridge Crossings Park & Ride. Parking at the park-and-ride lots is free. Service runs only on festival days, which are weekends plus Labor Day and Festival Friday
Book / info →Taxi & rideshare 1
From MSP, taxis queue curbside at both terminals and Uber/Lyft pick up on Level 2 of the Green Parking Ramp. The festival is about 25 miles southwest; drop-off and pick-up at the festival are free via the King's Lot entrance. A hybrid option after Labor Day: rideshare to Burnsville Transit Station and ride the $6 MVTA festival bus in, which also skips the festival parking queue
Book / info →🅿 Parking
On site parking available. Cost $15 prepaid online (until 7 am on the day) or $30 same-day, subject to availability. Prepay via Festival's own online parking portal (date-specific passes via renaissancefest.com). A date-specific parking pass is required to park on the grounds, and passes are transferable to another date up to 72 hours ahead. When lots fill, the $6 MVTA park-and-ride bus from Eagle Creek, Southbridge Crossings, or Burnsville Transit Station is the official pressure valve, lot parking there is free. Free drop-off and pick-up via the King's Lot entrance; two bicycle racks near King's Gate; no overnight parking (vehicles left after 9 pm are towed)
🚙 Car hire
Compare car hire
MSP has a full on-airport rental facility, and a car gives fly-in visitors direct access to Shakopee's spread-out attractions (Valleyfair, Canterbury Park, Mystic Lake) plus the option of the prepaid $15 festival parking pass, cheaper per person than repeated 25-mile rideshares for groups
Search car hire →Live price search coming soon.
Where
Venue
12364 Chestnut Blvd (Queen's Gate) / 3525 145th St W (King's Gate)
Camping & Accommodation
Where can I stay near Minnesota Renaissance Festival?
No on site camping. Here is where to stay nearby.
Budget stays 2
Shakopee, MN (Canterbury Road)
≈ $80-110 / night approx, book direct with the hotel
Book direct →Shakopee, MN (near Valleyfair)
≈ $75-105 / night approx, book direct with the hotel
Book direct →Mid-range hotels 2
Shakopee, MN (off Hwy 169)
≈ $120-165 / night approx, book direct with the hotel
Book direct →Shakopee, MN (Dean Lakes Blvd)
≈ $130-175 / night approx, book direct with the hotel
Book direct →Luxe hotels 1
Prior Lake, MN
≈ $160-280 / night approx, book direct with the hotel
Book direct →Airbnb & private camping
Shakopee and Prior Lake carry a healthy short-term-rental market pitched at Valleyfair, Canterbury Park, and Mystic Lake visitors, and the festival's seven-weekend run overlaps the Minnesota State Fair's final days in early September, Twin Cities lodging demand peaks then, so book Labor Day weekend especially early
Search Airbnb →No camping at the festival and no overnight parking on the grounds, but the Minnesota River valley around Shakopee has campgrounds within a short drive, and Hipcamp lists private-land tent and RV sites across the southern Twin Cities metro and nearby river-valley countryside
Search Hipcamp →Pricing
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