What to know about the Milwaukee Hop streetcar's extended Summerfest service

Claire Reid, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

June 3, 2024 at 9:17 PM·3 min read

Summer is nearly here in Milwaukee, and that means festival season is almost upon us as well.

From Mexican Fiesta to Bastille Days, Milwaukee is home to seemingly countless festivals and fairs. However, one fest is probably the most well-known of all: Summerfest. The three-weekend music festival, now heading into its 56th year, saw over 620,000 attendees last year.

The busyness of Summerfest means traffic will likely be plentiful while parking is not. So, public transportation can be a great option for getting down to the Henry Maier Festival Park. The Milwaukee County Transit System will expand its bus service during the festival. Plus, Milwaukee's free streetcar The Hop recently announced a new pilot service called the "Festivals Line" to transport people to the Summerfest grounds.

During the festival weekends, The Hop will merge its two lines, and all streetcars will service the full route to the Lakefront stop across from the festival. Here's what to know.

The Hop is a fixed-transit network that gives a ride to more than 1,000 people a day. The Hop is a relatively new addition to the city, having started running in 2018. But it’s a continuation of a long history of streetcars in the city.

How to take The Hop to Summerfest in 2024

The Hop's Festivals Line is a combination of the existing M-Line and L-Line. The L-Line just opened in April and added stops at Michigan at Jackson eastbound, Clybourn at Jefferson westbound and the Lakefront inside The Couture high-rise's transit plaza.

The Festivals Line merges the M- and L-Lines, with all Hop vehicles serving the full route. Since all vehicles will serve all stations, passengers can board at any stop and reach the Lakefront station across from the Summerfest grounds without needing to transfer. Typically, three streetcars serve the M-Line and one serves the L-Line, which goes to the Lakefront.

"Northbound vehicles will deviate from the traditional M-Line route to include the loop east on Michigan, through the Couture Transit Concourse and back west on Clybourn before resuming north towards Burns Commons, while southbound vehicles from Burns Commons will proceed along the regular M-Line route," a news release from The Hop said.

A Hop streetcar will stop at all stations along the route approximately every 15 minutes during peak hours. This speeds up travel time to the Lakefront. The L-Line typically stops at the Lakefront every 20 minutes, the release said.

The Festivals Line will run until 1 a.m. each night of Summerfest.