October is the whole ballgame downtown. Austin City Limits runs two weekends. Formula 1 takes over the last week. There are three Longhorns home games. Viva la Vida brings its parade to Congress. And the month ends on a Saturday night home game on Halloween.
We will be running near capacity most of the month. That is not a sales line, it is a scheduling warning. If you already know you need to be downtown on one of these days, sort it out early.
The days worth planning around
| Date | Event | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Fri Oct 2 to Sun Oct 4 | Austin City Limits, Weekend One | Zilker Park |
| Fri Oct 9 to Sun Oct 11 | Austin City Limits, Weekend Two | Zilker Park |
| Thu Oct 15 | Gorillaz, The Mountain Tour | Moody Center |
| Fri Oct 16 | Phoebe Bridgers | Moody Center |
| Sat Oct 17 | Texas Longhorns vs. Florida, kickoff TBA | Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium |
| Thu Oct 22 to Sun Oct 25 | Formula 1 United States Grand Prix | Circuit of the Americas |
| Fri Oct 23 to Sun Oct 25 | Austin Symphony Masterworks | Dell Hall, Long Center |
| Sat Oct 24 | Texas Longhorns vs. Ole Miss, kickoff TBA | Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium |
| Sat Oct 24 | Viva la Vida Festival and Parade, 43rd annual | Mexic-Arte Museum, 4th and Congress |
| Sun Oct 25 | The Smashing Pumpkins | Moody Center |
| Sat Oct 31 | Texas Longhorns vs. Mississippi State, kickoff TBA | Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium |
Confirmed and likely dates for October 2026. Kickoff times for the three home games are not printed here because the conference has not set them yet.
The Florida, Ole Miss and Mississippi State kickoffs are all inside a conference flex window that is not set until roughly twelve days before the game. Anyone printing a time for those three right now is guessing. Check closer in.
ACL weekends
Zilker is not walkable from here and we would not pretend otherwise. What works on an ACL weekend is parking downtown, getting to the festival from downtown, and having somewhere to come back to that is not a field. The festival runs its own free shuttle from Republic Square, about an eight minute walk from our gate. If you would rather ride, we schedule a pedicab to be around the lot while people are parking on both weekends. It goes one way, lot to festival, and we can't help with the ride back.
The full plan for both weekends, including how to get back at night on your own. ACL Fest 2026 parking guide.
F1 week is a downtown week
The race is at Circuit of the Americas, well southeast of downtown. The week is downtown. Four days of arrivals, hotel traffic, and evening events across the middle of the city, all landing on the same weekend as a home game and Viva la Vida. October 24 is the hardest single day on this calendar.
If you are downtown more than seven days a month
At the all-day rate, seven visits costs more than a month of guaranteed access. The weekday plan covers Monday through Friday, 7 AM to 7 PM. The all-access plan covers nights, weekends and event days, which is the one that matters during a month like this. Both are month to month, and you can cancel by phone or email.
October special: these rates hold every day from October 1 through October 31, ACL, F1 and UT game days included. Outside October, rates may increase during citywide events (SXSW, ACL, F1, UT football, and Capitol session weekends). We post current pricing at the lot entrance and on this page.
Published 2026-08-10, updated 2026-09-23.