Woodstock Alum Returns After 56 Years for New Bethel Woods ‘Main Gate’ Tour

As part of Radio Catskill’s Woodstock anniversary week, Radio Catskill’s Jason Dole joined 1969 festival-goer Minna Traugott for a special trip back to the historic grounds where music history was made.

At just 18 years old, Minna packed into a Volkswagen Beetle with friends, a three-day ticket in hand, and made the journey to Max Yasgur’s farm. More than half a century later, she returned—this time on a golf cart—for Bethel Woods’ new

Main Gate Tour, led by curator Dr. Neil Hitch.

The tour revealed rarely seen corners of the original site, from the Bindy Bazaar woods to the “Freak Out” tent run by the Hog Farm collective. Along the way, Minna reflected on the peaceful spirit of the festival, the sensory overload of the crowd, and the unexpected calm of the Hog Farm’s sanctuary.

For Minna, the visit was more than a trip down memory lane—it was a chance to reconcile vivid personal memories with the site as it stands today, and to honor the spirit of peace that, against all odds, defined Woodstock.