I had the best time camping at Coachella the past two years (2025 and 2026) and couldn’t recommend it enough. It does require preparations to make sharing an un-airconditioned 10 feet by 30 feet patch of grass with your car and friends comfortable. It’s insanely hot, but an amazing and immersive way to experience the festival. Camping allows you to disconnect and be fully present. At around $50 per night, before splitting the cost with friends, camping makes Coachella one of the cheaper festivals I have attended.
Here are my top tips and a very thorough packing list below.
- E-Z Up style canopy tent with walls
- This is essential and worth every penny. There is zero shade at the campground. Its unfortunately a non-negotiable to have somewhere to hide from the sun. Nothing wakes you up at 6 am like the sun beating directly into your tent. While weather is variable, temperatures hit 100 F the past two years. The tent walls also provide privacy from your campground neighbors. It doesn’t need to be an E-Z Up or a specific brand. Just anything that will give you some shade.
- Buying one or two “walls” is fine. Some of your neighbors will likely have “walls,” so use yours strategically. Obviously, if you want a guaranteed four walls, bring four walls. For a budget option, check out Facebook Marketplace or use an old bedsheet or tarp with string or zip ties for a “wall.”
- Arrive early
- The earlier you arrive, the closer to the festival you’ll be which minimizes your walking time to and from the festival. Just be mindful that if you arrive past 2 am on Friday morning, you’ll have to wait until 9 am to get in to the campground.
- Hydration Backpack
- These are allowed into the festival and double as a daypack. They hold a lot of water which limits time spent refilling and you can sip constantly and stay hydrated. It also works better for dancing than carrying a water bottle. Also, metal bottles are not allowed and they really did not let me in with one. I ended up stashing it at a nice random person’s campsite and grabbing it later.
- Take a photo of your campsite “street” so you can find it again.
- Campsite Shower
- There are real showers in a trailer, but expect a wait of an hour or two. I recommend bringing a swimsuit and some biodegradable shampoo and conditioner. The cold water is refreshing. If the melted cooler ice isn’t super gross, that works great. Obviously it’s a desert so keep water use minimal, but this likely uses less water than a real shower. With the walls of the E-Z Up for privacy, I didn’t really feel weird about this, plus its Coachella so anything goes. Body and face wipes are great for wiping off sweat, dust, and makeup before bed.
- Freeze water bottles and gallon(s) of water ahead of time.
- They stay frozen much longer than ice and double as cold water after they melt. Then reuse the bottles and gallons to transport water from the Camp Hub to your site and buy some ice.
- At least one comfortable outfit.
- Loose, flowy long pants, fun biker shorts, or a loose long sleeve shirt. Definitely comfortable shoes. Just something you don’t hate sweating in that will protect you from the sun. If it is especially hot, you already got sunburned, or your feet hurt, its good to have options.
- Portable Charger
- There is no electricity at the campsites and you’ll want to take lots of photos and be able to find friends. If you have an electric car, that doubles as a giant charge bank. If there is a true emergency, you can charge off a gas powered car, but otherwise try to be nice to your neighbors. Bring energy banks and their chargers for them so you can recharge the banks at the Camp Hub.
- Lower the E-Z Up
- Just lower it when you leave for the festival so it doesn’t get blown over by the wind.
- Some items to make it feel like home.
- A table and chairs were great for food prep and just hanging around. We took an old table with legs that unscrew, which makes it perfectly packable. Get creative with something you own. Lawn chairs work great. Think about how you want to spend your mornings and what you need to make yourself comfortable.
- Organize with packing cubes
- Living out of a car in a 10 foot by 30 foot space is tight. I recommend one packing cube for each day’s outfit and accessories. And then do another packing cube of comfortable campground clothes.
- Makeup
- Its so hot. Either bring tons of powder and setting spray or do your makeup when it starts to cool down. My face gems slid off my face. Don’t forget to put on sunscreen under the makeup! Bring a mirror if you have one.
- Be mindful of the heat.
- Obviously hydrate, use sunscreen.
- If you are worried about makeup melting, wrap it up super well in a baggie and put it in the cooler.
- If your phone is too hot to charge, wrap it very well with a waterproof bag or a few baggies and place it in a spot in the cooler where it won’t come into contact with water. If your cooler has a tray insert, that is a good spot. If you have a big waterproof bag that will hold the phone, charger, and power bank, that works great.
- It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
- Take care of yourself.
- Don’t rely on sleeping all day to recover because the campground gets hot and noisy around 7 am.
- Have fun in the morning!
- Bring games, books, or other activities. Check out the camping hub for fun happenings, lots of freebies, yoga, and water balloon fights.
- Bringing food will save a fortune! Here are some recs:
- Electrolyte packets
- Coffee
- We used an aeropress to make amazing iced coffee. Bottled coffee works too.
- Avocado toast–Californian and two ingredient! Bring hot sauce too.
- Fruit!
- Cut it at home, buy pre cut, or get things like berries, grapes, oranges. Cold fruit tastes amazing in the heat and is hydrating.
- Bagels and cream cheese with cucumber, tomato.
- Peanut butter and jelly. While you aren’t allowed to bring food into the festival, these are highly portable. Do with that what you will.
- Don’t bring hot things like canned soup, chili, or instant oatmeal.
- I brought these and a camp stove both years and had zero desire to eat anything hot in 100 degree weather!
Packing List
General Items
- Your Coachella wristband!!!
- ID card to prove 21+
- Cash–always good to have on hand
- Plastic water bottle and/or hydration backpack–my hydroflask was not allowed in
- Charging cords
- Noise cancelling headphones or ear plugs for sleeping
- Eye masks for sleeping–obsessed with this one
- Fully charged power banks with their chargers (keep them out of full sun so they hold their charge)
Apparel
- 3 festival outfits
- General items–comfortable clothes for wearing in the morning, shorts, t shirts, underwear, bras, socks, etc
- Sunglasses
- Hat
- Pajamas for sleeping–don’t expect full privacy at the campsite
- Comfortable shoes for wearing around camp–sandals or flip flops work well
- Water shoes for showering or the camp hub water balloon fight
- Shoes that are good for walking for the festival
- Swimsuit for outdoor shower or water balloon fight
- Bring old clothes to upcycle in craft tent
Camping Specific Items
- Frozen water bottle—FREEZE 1 week in advance
- Frozen gallon of water—FREEZE 1 week in advance
- EZ up
- Ez up “wall” or extra bedsheet/tarpString to tie sheet/tarp to EZ up
- Plastic tent stakes (no metal allowed)
- Flashlights/headlamps
- Foldable table
- Tent—take out metal stakes
- Camping stove and propane fuel–only allowed in car camping
- Sleeping pads
- Sleeping bag/bedsheet/blanket depending on the weather
- Pillows
- Camp chairs
- Camp table
- Trash bags
- Cutting board and a knife that isn’t super sharp for any chopping or spreading you want to do (sharp knives are not allowed so make sure you are ok with whatever knife you bring getting confiscated)
- Baggies/tin foil for transporting snacks and sandwiches
- Cups, utensils, plates, bowls, etc
- Biodegradable dish soap—if you have a little container or baggie, just put a bit of soap in there so you don’t have a big container
- Paper towels or cleaning wipes
Personal Care Items
- Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, menstrual supplies)
- Hand sanitizer to use after portapotties
- Medications
- Contact lenses
- Hairbrush
- Dry shampoo
- Lotion and chapstick (its so dry in the desert)
- Towel
- Hair ties
- Toilet paper!
- Sunscreen–the festival has sunscreen, but bring some to put on before the festival
- Face wipes
- Aloe vera
- Makeup
- Deodorant
- Face mask or bandana to protect against dust
- NO GLASS 🙂
Nice to have
- Portable speaker
- Games/activities/books
- Aeropress or cold brew maker for coffee
- Any random water bottles you have lying around at home. You can’t have too much water.
- A wagon for bringing heavy water bottles back to the campsite. Not necessary, but I was jealous of people who had one!
- Yoga mats for yoga class at Camp Hub
- Makeup mirror–but you can also just use the mirror in the car or at the Camp Hub
- Hair tools, but you can only use them at the Camp Hub
- Large baggies or a waterproof bag to store anything you don’t want to melt or overheat in the cooler
- Camera
Poppies and Passports 
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