ATHENS, Ga. — Update: UGA fans filled the streets of Athens to celebrate their Bulldogs. You can re-live the festivities by visiting 11Alive's YouTube channel for videos from the parade and Dawg Walk.
Original story:
It was such a fun time last year, the Georgia Bulldogs are doing it again in 2023. With a triumph like the Dawgs orchestrated in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game - exuberant, record-breaking, fun - the only appropriate exclamation point to put on it is a parade.
The parade plans for UGA this year will mostly be the same as last year - however, there are some important differences you'll want to be aware of if you're headed into Athens for the party.
From parking to the parade route to the time it actually starts, here's what we can tell you about the Georgia Bulldogs championship parade happening on.
11Alive streamed the coverage live.
Georgia Bulldogs parade time
The parade will begin at 12:30 p.m., with South Lumpkin Street closing exactly at noon. The in-stadium program will begin at 2 p.m.
Georgia Bulldogs parade route
It will begin at the corner of South Lumpkin Street and Pinecrest Drive, running past the UGA athletic complex toward downtown along the UGA campus. The Dawg Walk will occur at the end of the parade route near the South Lumpkin intersection with Baxter Street.
Here's a visual helper:
Parade places to get a view
There's a lot of UGA campus infrastructure along South Lumpkin Street, so aside from just lining the street there aren't that many great places for finding a place to set up shop.
That said, it runs past cross streets including Brittain Avenue, Smith Street, Carlton Street, University Court/Cedar Street, and Baxter Street, which all have some standing room at their corners.
Toward the end of the parade route, the Tate Center parking deck would offer a good view, though it may be restricted to the general public. Across the corner, there's also the Legion Pool parking lot.
There's decent greenspace lining the UGA campus past Cedar Street, and further back there's greenspace adjacent to Myers Hall. There's also a parking lot in front of Tyche's Games and at the Christus Victor Lutheran Church that could offer vantage points.
Any further back closer to the start point of the parade and you're really mostly looking at random spots along South Lumpkin.
Dawg Walk viewing
According to parade organizers: "Players.... will walk up Baxter Street extension toward the stadium and down back stairs to the Georgia locker room."
They note this is not the traditional Dawg Walk route on game days.
Georgia Bulldogs parade parking
As noted, there are some parking decks in and around the campus areas on South Lumpkin, but it's not hard to see those being either fully closed off to the general public or being functionally inaccessible.
Your better bet is to park somewhere on the other side of West Broad Street and then walk to the parade route.
There are a number of lots including the Washington Street Deck, 140 West Hancock Avenue, 440 College Avenue, 550 North Jackson Street, 165 East Dougherty Street, 140 West Clayton Street, a Prestige Parking lot at 345 West Hancock Avenue, and a public parking deck at the courthouse at 325 East Washington Street.
Those are just a few of the options - note that, again, some may be restricted to the general public for parade day - and it might be easiest to just park somewhere clear on the other side of town and just take an Uber or Lyft to get within walking distance of South Lumpkin.
Georgia Bulldogs parade weather
Temperatures by parade time should be in the 40s and it's going to be windy - so prepare for that. Otherwise, it's looking sunny without any threat of rain.
Get there early!
Athens is not a huge city, the parade route itself is small, and the number of Georgia fans who are eager to take part in the festivities is very, very large.
If you're aiming to see any of it, you're gonna need a place real, real early.