Packing Like A Pro For Camping Festivals

What Should I Be Packing?

The holidays are coming up and you had best bet I have some new camping gear on my list so I can make my festival experience better. Camping festivals are so much fun, but they can be such a chore. If you plan your packing right, you can save yourself a lot of stress!

Do you remember your first festival? Gosh, I do. It was so much fun but honestly, I’m not sure how we survived. I think we had a tent and some blankets. Of course, it was wayyyyy colder than we had anticipated and it rained all weekend so I remember sleeping in every dry article of clothing I had and using our towels in addition to blankets. I’m not even going to begin to think about how I survived food-wise, I’ll save that for another article. But that being said, I’ve learned a lot over the years to help me become better at packing for festivals. Here are my tips on things that you may or may not think of.

Tips to Make Packing Easier

  1. A wagon! This is only crucial if the festival is not a car camping festival. If you are going to Electric Forest or Lost Lands, you really don’t need a wagon as you park right by your car. But other festivals?? Invest in a good, heavy-duty wagon with the thicker wheels. Personally, I like the collapsible ones.  And pack light loads- seriously, trust me here. I remember thinking I wanted to get everything in one trip… big mistake! Make an extra trip. Don’t forget the bungees to hold all your things down!
  2. Duct tape. Seriously, I don’t have much to say about this. One time, we discovered we had lost a tent pole. No problem with duct tape! Break the totem?? Duct tape!!! Hole in tent?? Duct tape!
  3. A collapsible shower- we have found this to be a great investment. We always have a shower and our shower bags are warmed by the sun. With the $100 we spent on this contraption.. we’ve saved hours in line at festivals. It also doubles as a changing room. Running a little low on cash? Just buy the shower bags! You can hang them up and then take a quick shower at your campground. In addition, you’ve got running water.
  4. A totem- in my opinion, this is a must-have for any festival. I’ve shared my thoughts on totems before- check out the article here– but they help you find your crew and help you find those long lost friends you met one time at another festival!
  5. A camp stove- how do you survive without one??? I alluded to this earlier, but we about starved our first festival. What did we even eat.. ham sandwichs and chips??  As a result of purchasing a camp stove, we have saved tons of money and eaten well at festivals!
  6. A canopy!!!! Our neighbors had a canopy at EDC Chicago during our first festival and we loved sitting under it! We avoided the rain for the whole weekend. In addition, a canopy is a great place to sit in the shade when you are relaxing. HOWEVER, DO NOT BUY A CHEAP ONE FROM WALMART!! I have seen too many canopies break during the storms!
  7. Water jugs are phenomenal. We like our collapsible one from Farm and Fleet. We fill it with water and then we always have water at our campsite. You can do dishes, wash our hands, fill our water bottles, or any other need that arises!
  8. A camping rug is super awesome too! Our friends have one and it’s nice to walk around barefoot. Similarly, it is fun to lay on. We have come back to our campsite many times and have had people sleeping on the camping mat. However, make sure it is lightweight and waterproof!
  9. Do NOT forget the lights! Make sure you have plenty of lanterns for when it gets dark! Plus, don’t forget the batteries! Plus, you can also make your campsite fun with cool lights. Our friends have some cute pineapples we use to spice up our campsite.
  10. Seriously, invest in a good cooler. People always complain about yeti coolers, but mine lasts forever! Thinking about the cost- we’ve had our knock off yeti for one year. Our ice can last us all weekend. At $8 a bag per day with our cheap cooler, we spend an average of $25 a festival, if not more. Go to a few festivals a year? Right there, you’ve spent $100. As a result, the cooler will pay for itself.

Thoughts? I’m just sharing a few tips and tricks I’ve picked up along the way. Above all, have fun with your packing and express yourself!

I do not own the rights to any of these images. I found them on Google!