The festival is in late September. The vans book up by mid-summer. Here's the play if you want to keep your group together.
If you've never been to the Warrens Cranberry Festival, here's the short version: it's three days, more than 100,000 visitors, 850+ vendors, and a town of 350 people that briefly becomes one of the busiest places in the Midwest. It happens the last full weekend of September, every year, and for the people who go regularly it's the highlight of the fall calendar.
And if you're trying to organize a group trip — extended family, church group, friends from college, work team — there's one thing you'll learn quickly: getting everyone there together is harder than it should be. Three or four cars in a caravan turn into "I lost the third car at the gas station in Tomah" within an hour. Parking in Warrens festival weekend is a sport. And nobody really wants to drive home after a full day of cranberry bog tours and craft tents.
The answer most groups eventually land on is the same: rent one 15-passenger van, designate one driver, and stop coordinating four vehicles' worth of logistics. This post is about why you should be making that reservation now — not in August.
Most national rental chains stopped carrying 15-passenger vans around 2008 after federal safety rule changes. The vans never came back to the major fleets. What that means in 2026: if you go to Enterprise, Avis, or Hertz looking for a 15-passenger van for festival weekend, you'll get told they don't carry that vehicle class — period.
Independent rentals like ours are the remaining option. Riverside Auto Rental is one of the only providers in western Wisconsin still carrying 15-passenger vans, and we're 17 miles west of Warrens on I-94 — closer than any other independent rental to the festival grounds.
We have a finite number of vans. Festival weekend books up fast. By mid-July, festival-weekend van rentals are usually reserved.
You don't need to commit to a specific itinerary right now. You don't even need to know exactly which days you'll be in Warrens. What you do need to do is get the van reserved on the calendar. Once it's blocked off for your group, the dates can flex. If you wait until August, the calendar will already be full.
A reservation requires:
That's it. No deposit required to hold a reservation.
Here's what most groups end up doing for the trip:
Pickup the day before. Pick up the van Friday morning of festival weekend. Drive it to wherever your group is staying. Caravan from there to Warrens.
Park once, stay all day. The festival has dedicated parking lots. With one van, you park once and the whole group walks together — no "where did Mike park?" texts at 3 PM.
Designated driver makes sense. Cranberry Festival has a beer tent, a wine garden, and several distilleries showcasing. With one driver responsible for the van, the rest of your group can enjoy the festival without worrying about who's driving home.
Return Sunday or Monday. If festival weekend is Friday-Sunday, picking up Friday morning and returning Monday afternoon usually fits the weekly rate ($750) better than three daily rentals plus mileage.
"I rented a 15-passenger van for a family trip taking my daughters to a volleyball tournament in Kansas City. The entire rental process was completely seamless. Staff is super friendly, quick paperwork, and no hassle at all. The van was a perfect fit for our needs. It had plenty of room for the girls, their stuff, and everything we had packed. It drove smoothly, was comfortable and clean."
"My car broke down late at night on my way to a business meeting in Eau Claire. I called Riverside Auto Rental and was able to reach Tas after hours. She immediately arranged a reliable rental for early the next morning. They truly go above and beyond."
The 15-passenger van isn't just for Cranberry Festival weekend. Groups using our vans throughout the year include:
If your group needs to be somewhere together and a couple of cars feels like too much logistics, the van is usually the answer.
Festival is the last weekend of September. Vans book up by July. Reserve yours now while the calendar is still open.
Call 715-396-1466 with your dates and we'll block off the van for your group. No deposit required to hold the reservation.
The festival happens the last full weekend of September each year and runs Friday through Sunday. It typically draws over 100,000 visitors.
About 17 miles east on I-94 — a 15-minute drive. We're the closest independent rental for 15-passenger vans to Warrens.
15-passenger vans are scarce — most national chains stopped carrying them years ago. Festival weekend is the busiest weekend of the year for our van rentals. Reserving by July is strongly recommended.
$135/day plus $0.10/mile, or $750/week with unlimited mileage. The weekly rate is usually the better deal for festival weekend trips.
Our full guide to passenger van rentals — family reunions, sports teams, church groups, and weddings.
Side-by-side comparison of cars, minivans, and 15-passenger vans for your trip and group size.
Pricing tiers with the math — especially relevant when you're keeping the van for festival weekend.
Reserve your 15-passenger van today. No deposit to hold the date.
Call 715-396-1466