Summernats 2026 Car Festival Beginner’s Guide
Not sure if Summernats is just for motorsport lovers or perhaps worried about taking the family? My first visit in over twenty years showed me that Summernats has changed to become a very family-friendly event…
Summernats car festival in Canberra
What is Summernats?
Summernats is known for it’s loud cars, mullets and black t-shirts – but there’s so much to this exciting Canberra car festival than just that! It’s a really fun family-friendly event that even us non-car enthusiasts can really enjoy!
Summernats is a huge annual car festival held in Canberra. It’s really popular with all kinds of car enthusiasts. Vehicles featured can be anything from souped up street cars to classic vehicles, rally cars to hot rods.
There are several car competitions held over the weekend. Competitions include presentation of vehicles such as the Show and Shine, and driving skills competitions such as the burn out competition where competitors spin their car wheels to make smoke until eventually something gives – usually the tyres! There are car cruise parades, fireworks on Saturday night and outdoor rock concerts. This year there was an aerial stunt show several times a day over the grounds.
Summernats pavilions
At Summernats you’ll also find lots of car-themed shopping, every outdoor food stall you can think of, numerous outdoor bars and several display pavilions for car products and hotted-up display cars.
It’s safe to say that although the Summernats has a high admission cost, there is lots to see and do!
Summernats 38 2026 Car Festival Canberra is coming!
One event to put in your calendars for January 2026 is the Street Machine Summernats Australian Car Festival!
Head on down to Canberra for some great rev-head fun as car-loving fans from all-over Australia converge on the National Capital for the Summernats Annual Car Festival.
Summernats burn outs can get very colourful and very smoky!
Summernats 37 2025 Car Festival Canberra – the year that was
We attended on the Friday of Summernats 37 and had an absolute ball checking out the Show and Shine cars, shopping stalls, food, car displays and of course the famous burn outs!
The 2025 Festival ran from Thursday the 2nd of January to Sunday the 6th of January 2025.
Now with its conclusion, eyes turn to planning next year’s Summernats 38. From our day at Summernats this year we gained some valuable insights in how to prepare for a successful Summernats visit!
Prepare for lots of rubber smoke if you’re watching the burn outs!
What are the Summernats 2026 Dates?
The Summernats Car Festival in the ACT will be run a little later next year, from Thursday January 8th to Sunday 11th 2026.
Is Summernats safe for kids?
When I went to Summernats as a 20-something it was all still pretty new, and it fast grew a reputation for young women flashing, drunk driving, burn outs all around the grounds and basically trashing Northbourne Avenue – Canberra’s main road in. The locals in particular were not very happy with how Summernats visitors were treating the area, and families didn’t feel it was a safe environment to take children to. But all that has changed.
Samantha was thrilled to meet & get a signed poster from John Bowe at the Rare Spares stand
Is Summernats Family Friendly now?
Yes! The ACT Government and Summernats organisers worked together to clean Summernats up and make it more attractive as a family attraction. One of the main measures was moving the date of the car festival to after New Year’s Eve instead of during, to avoid combining the two celebrations. Another was restricting the street access to temporary road-closures and a single organised city cruise at the start of the car festival. Permanent car barriers were also installed along Northbourne Avenue.
An internal pedestrian crossing at Summernats
Inside the venue, safety measures were strengthened with increased security and policing. Fences and barriers now line the internal cruising roads and are speed limited to 20kph, and pedestrian access and crossings are strictly controlled. As a result, Summernats is now very safe – and family-friendly!
What can kids do at Summernats?
Kids love watching the brightly painted, loud cars cruising up and down and burning out brightly coloured smoke. There are kid-friendly give aways in the pavilions, kid-friendly food and snacks and kid-tailored merchandise like blow up swords and even show bags.
We had lots of fun at Summernats 37!
For the bigger kids and teenagers there are go-karts, and lots more. My teenager was excited to get a free big finger to wave at the burn outs and an in-person meet and greet with motorsport legend John Bowe at the Rare Spares stand.
Watch our Summernats 37 2025 videos here.
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What should I take to Summernats?
One thing about Summernats is that it is hot-hot-hot! The weather is usually around thirty degrees, but with the all-concrete and tar surrounds it feels hotter still!
The standard Summernats uniform is appropriately shorts, t-shirts (all black usually!) and huge Mexican sombreros which are available for purchase from around $15.
Slushies offer welcome relief from the heat at Summernats
Cold drinks, slushies and of course many food vendors are scattered everywhere around EPIC, but shade can be sparing. Whilst the reserved grandstands for Burn Outs is covered, the general grandstand for casual day attenders is not. Prepare for the heat.
Whilst the reserved stands are protected from the sun, the general stands aren’t
At a minimum, here are the Summernats essentials:
- Sunblock
- Wide Brimmed Hat
- Ear plugs or headphones for the kids, those sensitive to noise such as for Autism – and for everyone else for burn outs! – Tip: Rare Spares stall inside a main pavilion offered free ear plugs (and big hands!) this year.
- A refillable water bottle – Tip: there are water refilling stations which are connected to hoses and not chilled, but numerous bars offer free water which is chilled.
- Pram shades and fans
Be aware that the Summernats car engines can get very loud!
Prebooking is highly recommended for the following Summernats services and merchandise
One of the frustrating things for day visitors is that even attending in the early days, event entrants have basically sold out some options. Here are some services and merchandise you may like to consider booking in advance:
- Parking everyday
- Casual day tickets for the main day of Saturday
- Season Passes were unavailable by Friday
- Event T-Shirt men’s medium and large sizes were sold out by Friday morning.
The car pavilions are filled with perfectly presented classic cars
How much are Summernats T-shirts?
We bought Summernats event T-Shirts for $50 each, both men’s and women’s. Men’s medium and large sizes were already sold out by Friday and also the brightly coloured bucket hats, so get those first! Also available is a large range of branded Summernats official merchandise including hoodies, caps and much more.
One of three Summernats merchandise posters
How much are tickets to Summernats?
Adult (17+) casual day tickets start from $85 per day.
Child/Youth (11-16) tickets start from $55 per day.
Kids 10 and under are free.
Family tickets start from $215.
Summernats 2025 ticket prices at the entrance gate
Are there Concession Tickets to Summernats?
No, however accompanying Carers/NSW Companion Card companions enter free.
How much is it to park at Summernats?
Casual parking is $35 per day, however car parks can pre-book up very quickly. The ACT Government offer a park and ride service as a backup. A Tram Station is located within ten minutes walk of the venue.
Summernats car festival
Where is Summernats located?
Summernats is held at the Exhibition Park In Canberra, otherwise known as EPIC – you’ll find it on Google Maps here.
Have you ever been to the Summernats, or do you plan to go? What do your kids love to do there? Tell me, or ask your questions in the comments below…
All information is correct as at January 2025 – always check the official website for relevant, up to date information and prices.
The Let’s Go Mum Family attended Summernats at their own expense. As always, all opinions remain firmly our own.
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