Where was the Woodstock festival actually held?

Woodstock was actually held in Bethel, New York. The 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair took place on Max Yasgur's dairy farm, not in the town of Woodstock itself.

The festival was named after Woodstock because organizers hoped to associate it with the New York town's artistic reputation. Their original venue plans changed several times. After Wallkill officials blocked the event, Yasgur's farm near Bethel became the last-minute location.

The site was roughly 60 miles southwest of Woodstock, which is why the location is one of the festival's most common trivia traps. The concert ran from August 15 through August 18, 1969, and drew an estimated 400,000 to 500,000 people. Today, the site is associated with Bethel Woods Center for the Arts and the Museum at Bethel Woods.