Watkins Glen Racetrack

Went to the vintage race for $ 120 for two people to see absolutely non vintage garbage feeder series cars major disappointment and a waist of money.

I have a long history with The Glen. From my first Grand Prix in1974 to right now. It’s great because of the memories, great racing and easy atmosphere.
That is all changing, I sit In my camping area trackside and cannot see a car, the track has been NASCARized with 4 high of Armco and miles of chain link fencing to herd you into funnels of humanity. No more wandering it all has to be organized into quadrants and grandstands.
Charge you more for seeing less. I will walk around the track to see as much as possible but be aware, the security Nazis are everywhere.
I’m at a vintage race, but I have been to every kind of race they’ve ever had here. The vintage races are very cool, low key, less security to hassle you and manageable crowds. Not like the NASCAR weekends, no thanks, that’s wall-​to-​wall people.
It’s not all sour grapes, don’t get me wrong, after all, I’m here! I’m just saying it WAS better… Easier I guess.
Think of coming to a vintage race weekend, pack a lunch, maybe some wine or even a bottle of Absinthe to celebrate upstate New York weirdness. cause at Watkins Glen, you’re in the heart of it !
Tips:
Bring an extra towel or something for the showers. The dressing areas are disgusting, wet and dirty. If you don’t bring something to stand on, your feet be dirtier than when you entered.
Also, the track P.A. System has an annoying ground hum that is more bothersome then the «announcers» that drone on without interruption

I went to the NASCAR race back in August and had a blast with three other friends.
I was very hesitant when I saw that tickets themselves, without any camping, were $ 80 – 100 each. No wonder why NASCAR is having attendance issues. But nevertheless this would be my first race because its the closest track to me.
The race was at 1. We left Auburn NY around 10:30. We didn’t have a single problem with traffic until it slightly started to get busy in the middle of the Watkin’s village. And even there it was flowing just fine. The drive was actually quite nice around the lake.
We parked in a grass lot for folks with tickets only, which was free. Tailgated for a bit and headed in. Tip — read the instructions on bringing a cooler. I was able to bring in a soft shell cooler that fit 32 tall boys of beer and two subs. I brought all of that into the venue. And I didn’t get a security guard rummaging through my things nor did anyone put their hands on me. I never felt more free at an event.
Lucky for everyone there the weather was incredible. The scene was perfect. We sat in our grandstand seats which were just about on the finish line. Anyone familiar with the Glen knows its a road course so essentially all you can see live is what’s in front of you. But we had a massive display right across from us, behind pit lane, that showed the entire race.
Then the race started. When those cars went down the straight away for the first lap, I had a chill from head to toe. It was unreal. Normally watching a race on TV can be tedious and even boring. I can assure you this is not the same experience. This race ended up being delayed in the middle because of a bad crash and I still thought it went too quick.
We ended up sticking around after the race. Mingled with other fans. Everyone was super friendly. Even when we left, NYS troopers had a great setup to flow traffic out of the venue. Great time.

One of my favorite racetracks to be either a spectator or racer. Awesome track with fast and slow corners and lots of elevation changes.

I was surprised to see so few reviews for Watkins Glen International with the huge volume of visitors they obviously see every year. I have gone to WG for the past four or five years or so for the NASCAR race in August. I only attend the race on Sunday, but brother & father-​in-​law attend some of the events on Friday & Saturday as well. There are definitely good and bad things about this place so I’ll try to give a thorough picture in my review below.
One good thing is that it’s relatively easy to get in and out given the fact that tens of thousands of people are trying to move at the same time. When we come to the race we usually arrive between 12 and 1pm on Sunday and the traffic isn’t really even bad at that time (I swear it’s worse earlier in the day). It’s an easy drive from Rochester down the Thruway to the Geneva exit and then you take 14 down the west side of the lake and make a couple turns and you’re there. On race day we take a slightly different route due to a lot of traffic in the town of Watkins Glen itself, which you’d normally have to go through in order to get to the racetrack. Instead we cut off 14 a little bit earlier and go either through or around Watkins Glen park, depending on which entrance to the racetrack we’re trying to get to.
We usually stop at Glenora on the way down and buy one of their vacuum-​sealed riesling pouches to go. There’s no glass allowed in the stadium so you can bring canned beer or vacuum-​pouched wine but not beer/​wine bottles. Glenora’s wine is good and also accessible so our non-​wine-​fanatic friends like it too.
On the way out of the racetrack there’s always a TON of traffic but the traffic management seems to have gotten a bit better in the last couple of years. The signage is better too. We also take a detour through a few back roads on the way back so we don’t have to go through the town of Watkins Glen and get stuck in that traffic. Then we get back on to 14 and it’s pretty much smooth sailing.
We sit in the Seneca Stands at Turn 1 and my husband says it’s a great view from there. I personally am not a race fan, so I’m confused why this location is good, but I just go with the flow and sit wherever he wants. Anywhere I’ve been the seats are REALLY uncomfortable. This year we sat up higher in the stands than usual and it was way more crowded up there. The heat was also insane as it’s the burning hot sun, metal bleachers, zero shade, and crowded with more people than when we sat in the lower level of the Seneca stand.
The bleachers are literally a pain in the ass. The race is hours and hours long and it’s horrible to sit on those bleachers in the burning sun with no shade or anything. I really wish they’d do something about it like install an awning, have back supports, or put up some HUGE trees. My dad said that the stand near pit row has chairs with backs and arms, which are a bit more comfortable, but it’s still in the blazing sun over there too. Every year I reapply sunscreen about 3 times during a ~5 hour period and every year I get burned. I’m pretty pale, but the heat of the sun is also insufferable so they could make people a lot happier with some shade at least.
A major complaint of mine is the number and distribution of all the smokers. I wish Watkins Glen would get a no-​smoking policy in place, or at least have a smaller designated area for smokers to go. At this time it’s no smoking in the stands, but people can smoke anywhere else basically. Unfortunately the no-​smoking-​in-​the-​stands policy isn’t really well-​enforced and I smelled smoke all day. The other problem is that almost the only shade is under the stands so smokers just go down there to smoke and it wafts up into the stands anyways. Ridiculous and not very family-​friendly! Either get a no-​smoking policy in place or have a smaller designated area for smokers instead of just allowing it anywhere on the grounds.
Another issue is bathrooms — they just don’t have enough, especially near Seneca stands, so they put out the portapotties and then have these «portable handwashing stations» that are basically always out of water anyways. Gross.
The food/​drink vendors are meh. I wish they included more local stuff like Frontier field does, for example. It would be an awesome chance to have local breweries/​wineries and local food places show off their stuff, but I barely if ever see that here, and certainly not recently.
A few years ago we thought the food was a bit better, but it has gone downhill. My brother said that even the chicken fingers are not good now. We didn’t even get a hot dog or hamburger this year because we’re so wary of it. Instead we brought subs from Wegmans and kept them in a cooler. Turned out great and we were so much happier with good food to eat that also doesn’t cost an arm and a leg for what you get. There are restrictions on the size and types of coolers you’re allowed to bring, so read on the website before you pack your stuff.

The race track and camping areas are located at the Southern end of Seneca Lake, one of New York States fine Finger Lakes. They offer reserved and unreserved camping areas for RVs and tents. There are also several parking areas, for those just coming in for a few hours.
We camped out in the Unreserved Camp Grounds, prior to a NASCAR race. Though we were there after some major rains, it was quite muddy. The camp ground was hilly and wet. So if in an RV, you might want to bring something to level it out. They have restroom buildings and numerous portables. They also had a public shower truck for campers. There are absolutely no hook-​ups for RVs, so this is dry camping. They do offer a dumping station, which is a plus. Local police patrol regularly, so it does tend to be quite calm during the event. If you have children, I suggest you choose the family camping area, as this area (unreserved) does have lots of alcohol flowing, adult drinking games and the behavior that usually comes with it. There is always at least one person exposing something.
The track itself offers several viewing bleacher style stands to choose from, or grab your bag chairs and hope for the best in the general admission area. Since it is a road track course, you will not be able to see the entire track from one location, so digital screens are within viewing areas to see what you might be missing elsewhere on the track. Tons of fast food options, sales haulers of various racing teams, auto manufacturers and even Duck Dynasty items were available inside the track, at this time. They offer various tickets at various price levels, giving you several options of activities and entertainment. They offer a buses between camping areas and track area. Trust me, it is quite a long walk.
Races are loud. I do suggest to either rent a headset or come with your own, not only to protect your hearing, but to also listen to the race and/​or pit crews. If you are a NASCAR fan, this is must see event. If you have any spare time before or after, the town offers many unique shops and places to dine. There are also numerous small wineries along the entire west side of Seneca Lake.

Came here for Phish’s music festival, Superball. Excellent location for such an event, flushing toilets everywhere! I wish every festival would be here.

I was here two years ago when one of my favorite racers, RHR, won the Indycar race on the 4^th of July weekend. This venerated racetrack has much, much history. F1 used to race here back in the day. Definitely walk around the track and you’ll get a better sense of the immense technical driving skills that the pro racers possess.