How to Survive Camping at the Coachella Festival
Each year, over 60,000 people travel to Indio, California to enjoy three days of music, innovative art projects at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Many of these visitors camp on the festival grounds for the entire festival. Follow these steps to make your camping experience pleasurable.
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Instructions
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Pack only what you will need. You will have to carry all of your luggage through a long line and across the polo fields, so you don't want to be encumbered by useless things which you won't even have time to use.
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Pack a tent which meets the 7 by 7 feet per person requirements. If you have more than one person, bring a bigger tent and some shade.
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Make sure you have good directions to the festival. Getting lost on the way will set a bad tone.
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Load at least one cooler full of water, juice and non-perishable food items. The closest store to the campground is nearly two miles away and you won't want to move your car once you've parked.
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Arrive at the festival at least an hour before the campgrounds are scheduled to open the day before the festival. This way you won't have to wait in a long line in the glaring, unforgiving Coachella sun.
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Choose a tent near one of the mobile showers located along the perimeter. This will give you an advantage of being first in line as well as being close to the sinks for the entirety of the festival.
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Take a shower as soon as possible after arriving. They may be shut off in the early evening and there will be a long line by the early morning of the first day.
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Go to sleep scantily clad. Use a blanket or sleeping bag for warmth, as it gets very cold at night. However, it heats up rapidly and you will want to throw off the blanket as soon as the sun rises.
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Get up fairly early. Sleeping too late in your hot tent can result in heat stroke.
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Pick up empty water bottles during the festival. You aren't allowed to bring any food or water in to the festival from your camp. Ten empty bottles can be exchanged for a free new bottle of water as part of the Coachella Festival's recycling initiative.
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Tips & Warnings
Personal shade will be your best friend during your time at the campground. There are no trees in the camping area and your tent will be stifling and humid by 7 in the morning.
Use dry ice in your cooler as it lasts much longer and regular ice is very expensive at the campground's general store.
The best way to collect empty water bottles is to hang back after the end of a set and collect the bottles left on the ground.
Avoid being placed near the portable toilets. By the second day these will smell disgusting, despite the responsible emptying by Coachella Festival management.
