Music Festival Camping Checklist: What to Bring

Now that you know what to pack to the actual festival itself (if you don’t, check out this guide), the next thing is to make sure you know what to pack if you are camping at the festival grounds.

Some festivals allow car and RV camping, while others just have tent camping. Be sure to check out the rules for the specific festival you are attending!

THE ESSENTIALS

The first item you will need is a canopy. This will help provide shade to your area. Make sure you find one that is easy to pull down when you head into the festival grounds to help avoid it from flying away.

A tent is the second thing you will want to look into. Look into the rules of your festival to see how much space you are allotted. Depending on how many people are in your group you may be able to bring several small tents or one large tent. Also, depending on the weather at the festival and the type of vehicle you bring, you may or may not need one. For example, at Coachella, it gets really hot by 6-8am in the morning, so some people opt to not sleep in a tent. Or, if you have a truck, you can sleep in the back of the truck instead.

Third, is a sleeping bag. Depending on where you are, you may want an air mattress or sleeping pad to place underneath the sleeping bag for more comfort. If it gets chilly at night, bring extra blankets!

Some sleeping bags may have a built-in pillow, but you will want to bring a real pillow if you can.

The grass or dirt can get wet/dirty, so it’s nice to place a tarp down first on your campgrounds. With this, you may also need stakes and a tool like a hammer or mallet to help make sure those stakes are really hammered into the ground.  The tool and stakes will also help with your tent as well. These festivals can get really windy, so make sure everything is staked down! A tarp (or tapestries) can also be attached to the canopy to block off the sides if needed.

Bring some folding chairs so that you have a place to sit. If you have a small folding table as well, this can be nice to play card games or to eat on top of.

If you plan on drinking at your campsite, don’t forget a cooler, cups, ice, and beverages. Some festivals have shuttles that take you to grocery stores so you can refill your ice if needed. If you plan on eating, don’t forget plates, plasticware, paper towels/napkins. Check to see if you are festival has food vendors on the campgrounds or if you need to cook your own food. If you do plan on making your own food, check the rules on things like grills. Lastly, don’t forget to pack some snacks!

At night, it will be really hard to see. Bring a lantern to place in the middle of your campground. What has also been nice for us personally are headlamps. If you wake up in the middle of the night and need to use the port-a-potties, wear a headlamp so you can see where you are going without having to hold an extra thing. Don’t forget to pack batteries for these items too.

What’s a campsite without music? Don’t forget to bring some bluetooth speakers to jam to your music while you’re getting ready. If you forgot one, chances are your neighbors will have one so hopefully you guys enjoy the same type of music.

A portable charger is also mentioned on the other checklist, but it is just as important to mention here. The chargers can help power your phones, speakers, etc. You don’t want to be running your car to power your electronics, so invest in a charger instead.

Games and Toys are another thing to bring. This can be something as easy as a deck of cards. Other options are cups and ping pong balls, party board games, sports balls to toss around. 

Trash bags are another good thing to bring. This will help with clean up at the end of your festival weekend.

The final item on our general camping list is jumper cables if you are car camping. The worst thing that can happen after a fun-filled weekend is being stuck in the campgrounds with a dead car battery.

THE PERSONAL ITEMS

You’re going to want to stay clean throughout the festival. Below are some items to pack away.

The first item is a toiletry bag. Chances are, the showers will not be that close to your campsite. You are going to want a toiletry bag of some sort (or several even) that can hold all of your items.

Next is shampoo, conditioner, and body soap. You can find travel sized bottles in stores like Target and Walmart or online at Amazon to fill.

A towel is the next item on our list. If you want one that doesn’t take up too much space and can dry pretty quickly, look into the micro-fiber camping towels.

Getting to and from the showers, you may want to bring some flip flops that you don’t mind getting wet. It’s going to be too dirty or even too hot to walk around barefoot, and you definitely don’t want to get your shoes that you’re planning on wearing into the festival dirty.

Depending on the weather, you may or may not need a hair dryer. Festivals like Coachella get pretty warm in the day, and as soon as you walk out of the showers, your hair is practically dry.

The communal showers may have mirrors to help you get ready, but likely you will need one at your campsite. The car mirrors can help, or you can bring your own small mirror.

If you are a light sleeper, it’s good idea to bring earplugs. You never know which of your neighbors snore or like partying throughout the night.

Other items to pack are: a razor, deodorant, hair brushes, toothbrush, toothpaste, hand sanitizer, wet wipes.

If you are taking any medication, don’t forget to pack those away too. Other things to think about bringing is painkillers, Emergen-C / Airborne, Pedialyte / Gatorade, and a first-aid kit. You never know when you may need bandages.

Also, don’t forget to stay safe. Don’t forget condoms, birth control pills, etc.

Lastly, if you want to lay out and tan at your campsite, don’t forget to bring a swimsuit, tanning lotion (optional), and sunscreen.

THE CAMPING CHECKLIST

  • Canopy
  • Tent
  • Sleeping Bag
  • Air Mattress / Sleeping Pad
  • Blankets
  • Pillow
  • Tarp, Stakes, Hammer
  • Folding Chair, Table
  • Cooler, Ice, Cups, Beverages
  • Plates, Plasticware, Paper Towels/Napkins, Grill, Food to Cook, Snacks
  • Lantern, Headlamps
  • Bluetooth Speakers
  • Portable Charger
  • Games / Toys (deck of cards, party board games, ping pong balls, football, soccer ball, throwing disc)
  • Trash Bags
  • Jumper Cables
  • Toiletry Bag
  • Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Soap, Travel-Sized Bottles
  • Towel
  • Flip Flops
  • Hair Dryer
  • Mirror
  • Earplugs
  • Razor
  • Deodorant
  • Hair Brushes
  • Toothbrush & Toothpaste
  • Hand Sanitizer
  • Wet Wipes
  • Medication
  • Painkillers (Ibuprofen)
  • Emergen-C / Airborne
  • Pedialyte / Gatorade
  • First-Aid Kit
  • Condoms, Birth Control Pills
  • Swimsuit, Tanning Lotion, Sunscreen

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