Coachella starts THIS weekend — are you ready? 🏕️
Coachella is a lot of things. A music festival. A fashion moment. A social media spectacle. But ask anyone who's camped there and they'll tell you the same thing — camping is the only way to do it.
You're three minutes from the main stage. You wake up to desert sunrises. You meet people at 2am who become your friends for the whole weekend. There's a silent disco in the campground that goes until dawn. None of that is accessible from a hotel in Palm Springs.
The problem is most people have never camped before — or haven't camped in years — and the idea of figuring out gear on top of flights, tickets, and outfits feels like too much.
This guide covers everything you need to know. What to bring, what to skip, how to survive four days in the California desert, and what to expect when you get there.
What Coachella camping actually looks like
The campgrounds at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California open Thursday morning and close Monday at 9am. That's four nights of desert camping alongside tens of thousands of other festival-goers.
Car camping is the most popular option — you get a 30'x10' spot, enough for a tent and a canopy setup beside your car. Sites are assigned in order of arrival, so if you want to camp next to your crew, you need to arrive together.
There are also tent-only sites, powered sites, and premium options like La Campana — a pre-pitched tent setup with cots, sleeping bags, and luggage assistance for those who want the experience without the setup.
The campgrounds have food vendors, a general store, showers, charging stations, and the notorious campground silent disco. It's less 'wilderness camping' and more 'temporary desert city' — and that's exactly what makes it so fun.
The desert is not forgiving — here's what that means for your kit
Daytime temperatures at Coachella regularly hit 95-100°F. Nights drop sharply — sometimes into the low 50s. The wind picks up in the afternoon and covers everything in a fine layer of dust within hours.
Everything you pack needs to account for heat, cold, wind, and dust — sometimes in the same 24-hour period. Plan for all of it.
What to bring
Shelter & sleep
Tent — freestanding, easy setup, with a rainfly for wind protection. Plastic stakes only — metal stakes are not allowed at Coachella campgrounds.
Sleeping bag — lightweight is fine, nights are cool not cold. A 40-50°F rated bag covers most Coachella conditions.
Sleeping pad — the ground is hard and dusty. Even an inflatable pad makes a huge difference.
Canopy/shade structure — the single most important thing at your campsite. Set it up first. The afternoon sun is brutal and you'll want somewhere to decompress between sets.
Rubber mallet — for tent stakes. Metal hammers have been confiscated at security.
Wheeled cart or wagon — the campgrounds is large. A cart for hauling gear from your car to your site will save you multiple painful trips.
Surviving the heat
Water — bring more than you think you need. A 2-liter hydration pack or a large insulated water bottle is non-negotiable.
Electrolyte packets — dancing in 100°F heat depletes electrolytes fast. Pack enough for every day.
SPF 50 sunscreen — apply before you leave camp, reapply every two hours. Bring at least two bottles for a full weekend.
Wide-brim hat — your scalp and face will thank you by day two.
Cooling towel — damp it down, wrap it around your neck. One of the most underrated items on this list.
Surviving the nights
Light jacket or fleece — the temperature drop after sunset catches everyone off guard their first year.
Earplugs — the campground is loud until 4am and your tent offers zero soundproofing.
Eye mask — it gets light early in the desert. If you want to sleep past 6am, you'll need one.
Headlamp — for navigating the campsite at night without waking your neighbours.
Practical essentials
Portable phone charger — your phone will die by midday. The charging stations at camp have long queues.
Power strip — bring one to your campsite for charging multiple devices overnight.
Hand sanitizer — running water at the campsite is limited.
Toilet paper — yes, bring your own. Trust everyone who has ever been to Coachella on this one.
Camp chairs — you will spend a lot of time sitting at your campsite between sets. Don't skip these.
Broken-in shoes — you'll easily hit 15,000+ steps a day on hard desert ground. New shoes at Coachella is a guaranteed blister situation.
What to leave home
Metal tent stakes — will be confiscated at security. Use plastic.
Glass bottles or containers — strictly prohibited in the campgrounds.
Aerosol sunscreen — not allowed inside the festival. Bring lotion SPF instead.
Bags larger than 18x13x8.5 inches — won't make it through the venue entrance.
Valuable items — don't leave anything worth stealing in your tent. Lock valuables in your car.
New shoes — we can't stress this enough. The desert ground is uneven and unforgiving.
Food and drinks at camp
You can bring food and drinks to the campgrounds — just no glass. Campers 21+ can bring one case of beer or a box of wine per person.
The smartest move is to prep meals at home before you leave. Breakfast burritos made in advance and reheated on a camp stove take 5 minutes and cost a fraction of the campground food vendors. Bring a cooler with block ice — ice is $14 a bag at Coachella but $4 at the Ralphs in Indio via the free Coachella Supermarket Shuttle.
Decant any sauces or liquids into soft containers before you leave — glass isn't allowed and hard containers take up unnecessary space. Keep drinks in insulated tumblers — warm water in 100°F heat is not the move.
Pro tips from people who've done it
Set up your canopy first. Everything else can wait. Shade is more important than anything at Coachella.
Arrive with your group. Camping spots are first-come, first-served and you can't hold spots for friends who arrive later.
Bring a shower setup. The campground showers work but the lines are long. A simple bucket and camp shower hose at your site is faster and better.
Download the Coachella app before you go. Map out your must-see sets in advance — the Empire Polo Club is massive and you will lose time walking if you don't have a plan.
Stay hydrated before you feel thirsty. By the time you notice you're thirsty in the desert, you're already behind.
The campground silent disco is non-negotiable. Go after the main sets close — it runs until 4am and it's one of the best parts of the whole weekend.
One more thing — we're working on something for Coachella 2027
At Wild Rigs Co. we rent curated camping kits — tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, stove, headlamp — delivered straight to your door. No gear to buy, no storage headaches, no post-trip cleaning.
Right now we're focused on camping near NYC — the Catskills, Harriman, Fire Island — but Coachella is very much on our radar.
We're hoping to have a dedicated Festival Kit ready in time for Coachella 2027 — everything you need for four nights in the desert, delivered before you fly out, ready to return when you land back home. No checking a bag full of camping gear. No figuring out what to do with a tent after the festival.
If that sounds like something you'd use — join our waitlist. We'll be the first to let you know when the Festival Kit drops.
Join the waitlist at wildrigs.com 🏕️
