Hey everyone, UCLA fan here, I'm really excited for this game and hope a bunch of you decide to make the trip. Just wanted to give some info about this for those who are unfamiliar with the Rose Bowl.

Hotels: If you are looking for more reasonable rates try some hotels in surrounding cities like Glendale, Arcadia, or Monrovia. These are all within a 20 minute drive of the Rose Bowl and shouldn't be as fully booked as I'm sure most Pasadena hotels will be. If you're staying a bit longer I would suggest what some are doing and stay at least a few days in Santa Monica or Manhattan Beach, great places to hang out and have dinner or drinks when you're not going to the game.

Tailgating: In my opinion, the Rose Bowl has some of the most underrated tailgating in the country. Lot H south of the bowl opens up 6 hours before game time and is the best atmosphere for tailgating, it's densely packed with rows of cars and generally has the most elaborate setups. There is a large fair-like area to the east of the bowl with food vendors and merch stores. To the north is Brookside golf course which is more spaced out and laid back and is great if you want a more relaxing type of tailgate in the trees.

I would highly recommend tailgating at the bowl rather than Old Town Pasadena, you kind of miss the experience if you're just sitting in a bar, and the setting of the Rose Bowl is a unique experience compared to most other college stadiums. If you want to watch other college games during the day there are plenty of tailgates with TVs set up at the bowl. The bars in Old Town do fill up after the game so there is still plenty of opportunity to check that out once it's over, it's about a mile walk from the stadium.

Another option is the golf course clubhouse, the road team typically has a sponsored alumni party/tailgate there on the north side of the bowl, and it's a short walk to the stadium.

The traffic situation can get bad, especially on the golf course side, so I would recommend coming early and parking in a lot on the south end if you want to avoid waiting an hour to exit, typically it only take 10 minutes or so to get out on the south side.

It's been 2 long years since we had one of these so I'm really looking forward to it