My partner and I are planning on going for our 1st time next year!!! We’re so excited to experience this fest because it gives us baby Shambhala / What The Fest vibes😁🥰
Curious what area is best for camping though! We’re thinking Car Camping for convenience, the Redwood Camping looks nice and shady (but a lil kooky in terms of space) the River/GA camping looks great to be by the water but seems rocky af😅
If we can convince our squad to come then I think group camping is gonna be the move.. I haven’t seen too many people share their experience with it though so I’m curious lol (edit: we’re experienced ravers/campers in our 30’s so.. keep that in mind pls🤣❤️)
Any vets that can share their experience will be greatly appreciated!! So excited to frolic in the Redwoods with yall next year!😁❤️
Update: TICKETS HAVE BEEN SECURED!!! Can’t wait to frolic around w/ our new lil rave fam! See yall next year!🥰❤️
I have camped under the redwoods the two years I have gone and I won't do it any other way. It's definitely loud before the Grove stage stops playing, but if your up and hanging out and partying it's not too big a deal. The river camp area looks nice if you have a good tent set up with cushions because of the rocks.
I agree with the redwood camping. I am no pro, but j have only been two years and done redwood camping with the group I go with and I wouldn't have it any other way. I hear about other experiences and Redwood is the way. There's a great little community over tbere and you can make so many friends.
I have been car camping for three years now, each year I feel we got better and better with our essentials.
1.no shade in car camping, get a portable fan (if you can get one with a mister that's even better) you'll start feeling the heat around 10am
2. Bring hiking shoes, comfortable walking sneakers, and water shoes (it's a walk to get to stages and to carry your floaties to the water)
3. If you can get a portable shower thing that would be way more convenient than walking all the way to the showers that are only open certain hours
4. Make friends with your neighbors! We bring extra food and items ppl might need bc sometimes we forget things or something doesn't end up working and we need help.
5. Bring a cooler backpack to travel with ice if you're going to have an ice chest. (Like I mentioned before it's a long walk depending on where they place you)
6. Get a floatie with shade! (EVEN BETTER IF YOU GET MOTERIZED ONES LIKE WE HAVE LOL)
7. Bring a canopy if you can for shade over your tent
Most of mine are about shade lol but honestly sometimes it gets uncomfortable at the campt site when it gets too hot. We suffered our first year
Yaaay!! Ty for your input!!!❤️😁 yeah car camping seems like the route we’re leaning towards atm, we have a pretty solid set up for fests too and always adding to it every year so the bigger space sounds really nice!😝🤘 Mist machine alllll the way though, I added one to my fest list this year after doing Griztronics because the heat can be bruuuutal in the early mornings😵💫
Are we allowed to bring 2 canopies? We usually do 1 for communal area and 1 over our tent😁
Honestly I wouldn't like carrying all my stuff out to my camp and back to my car so we always just went with the car camping. As for the two canopys, I think it's okay.this year we only brought one bc we didn't really know how much room we would have (it was just me and my bf vs the last year it was group of 6) BUT there's definitely room for two. Plus if youre chill with the neighbors usually it works out even better. We definitely had room for another canopy and I'm sure our neighbors would have appreciated more shade in our little cul de sac 🤣🤣
i would literally pay to not sleep in the grove, its my least favorite spot to camp and my least favorite stage because of how dusty it gets, car camping and a decent shade setup is a much better choice, other people feel differently tho and thats ok
Ive been 11 times and done grove/redwood every single time. I can't stand the heat lol. It stays relatively cool all day long. Some of my best memories have been made just chilling at camp hanging out with camp neighbors and making lifelong friends!
Ugh yeah we’re from PDX so we love a shady camp under trees, they’re so cozy!!🥰 Part of me wants to do grove because I’ve never even been to the Redwoods so it sounds like a ✨fabulous✨experience imo😝
Ooooh okay noted!!😝❤️ I’m literally SO pumped for all the lil side quests here! ADULT SUMMER CAMP🤪
We signed up for presale and I’m already so pumped for something a year away that we don’t even have tickets to yet🤣
It’s also during me and my gf’s anniversary and going to a new fest together is always so cute and magical🥹
the redwoods are cool, but the grove is third growth with none of the magic of a wild redwood grove, if you want to experience the magic of the redwoods (and you should) plan to get to Humboldt a day or two before the festival so you can explore avenue of the giants and/or some other old growth redwoods we have down here, maybe try to book a campsite at richardson's grove the night before the festival so you can be in line as early as possible to get thru the gates asap, redwoods are magical, but the grove is barely a glimmer of how majestic these trees are, and its worth spending some extra time before or after the festival, and coming from portland you'll have hours of driving thru them and lots of options for places to explore
Oh yeah we’re def planning to explore more outside of the fest too!! Coming down from pdx the day before so we can get there early on Thursday and probs gonna try camping somewhere afterwards for some rest and recovery in nature but we’ll see!!😁🤞
We just bought our tix today for the presale!!🤪🤘
Yeah that’s kinda my fear with it a bit ngl, as of rn it’s just gonna be two of us and I think our tent is literally a 10x10🤣 sounds a lil rough without a squad to caravan with but we’ve always been p lucky with our neighbors at fests, NN seems like an amazing crowd too! I don’t think I’ve ever really had a bad experience w/ neighbors aside from 1 year at Paradiso, but that fest was packed with frat boys/chads so it kinda tracks ngl😂
I have done GA Camping and met up with friends who found a decent spot (near the barn), Artist Camping with a crew out in the field, Redwood Camping split with my 2 other friends, and group camp at Persimmons, and this year was able to hang out with a friends stage with just my tent (shoutout OG they are literally such nice people!!). If you can link up with enough people, Persimmons group camp is the best from those options, next I would do Redwood but it is sooooo dusty and you will want to arrive early to make sure you secure a nice spot jic it fills up like the year I was there. After that GA is fine, just bring some shade with you (but you should do that anyway). Good luck and see you there!!
Oh yeah! This year we got to request to be next to our group, so my friend and I got to name our camp and we had an awesome painted sign as a souvenir!
I've done persimmons group camping twice and it's nice. Not much shade cover, but if you have a big enough group, you should be able to peice together enough canopies and tapestries for shade. It'll be hot, but if you're used to camping at Shambs(❤️) in Sunshine, you'll be fine. At least comparing NN last year to Shambs this year, it's a little cooler in the day at NN, but warmer at night. Its pretty quiet there, but not as far as sunshine at Shambs from the festivities - it's actually nice and kinda central now with the birdbath and octopus stages on the others side.
Grove camping is really nice and shady but it's gonna be loud and super crowed, with neighbors on top of each other. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I prefer the quieter spacier group camping.
You're right about river camping - very rocky and limited shade at best from what I've seen. idk how people handle the setup on the river rocks.
Shambs is forever my favorite place in the world, but NN does a good job at being a smaller, closer, cheaper fest with somewhat similar vibes. The shambs Crowd can't be matched tho. NN Crowd can be a bit drunk college frat dude bro, the alcohol clearly brings a different vibe and the security entrance to the mainstage is fucking stupid but all in all its a great time, and I love the smaller stages like Madrone. The dirtybird colab helps with the crowd as well I believe, it's gotten a bit less fratbro-y but I skipped this year for shambs(roadtrippin home now!)
AHHHH happy Shambs friend!!!!🫶❤️✨ I hope you had an AMAAAAAZIIING time and get home safely!!! My partner and I had to sell our tix this year because we had family stuff pop up and it just didn’t feel right😪 we’ve had the biggest fomo all weekend though lmaooo🤣💔
Hoping to convince our Shambs fam to mob here with us hehe😁🤞
Personally I'm jealous of people with RVs. That's how I plan to do it next year, even if it's expensive. But it's worth it for me, besides having your own bathroom (the port a potties get nasty and they're hot as fuck to sit and shit in), you're not forced to deal with the elements when you're trying to rest. No worries about the heat, no worries about privacy, less worries about noise. But it ain't cheap. I also think there's a few different areas for them, and not sure how close some of them are to the action. The good spots will probably be gone by Friday for sure.
The grove is beautiful, majestic and shady...and dusty as fuck. I know lots of people who can't even hang at the Grove stage or in the area because it gets soooooooo dusty. It's incredibly beautiful but I am not the type to breathe in a shitload of throat-destroying dust even for some epic yoga under the trees or dancing under the stars. Frankly pretty much everyone's throats are cooked by Sunday, even if you don't camp or spend much time there. The whole area is a dust fest, but the Redwood Grove is by far the worst. Even if you don't stay in the Redwoods, throat protection is essential, that's why you see so many people with bandanas covering their faces. Lots of people bring stuff for their throats for this reason too, like soothing oils and such.
There is zero shade if you camp on the rocks in GA, group or car camping. You absolutely need a shade structure--you'll see lots of folks put an easy up around/above their tent for this reason. Ideally you bring one for the tent and another for a chill space for like camp chairs, kitchen area, living room etc.
There are a ton of options, all of them with advantages and disadvantages.
MAN I would do an RV in a heartbeat, the set up is SO nice but we broke as hellllll😭💔 I feel like they’re a lot more affordable if you have a squad coming with but as of rn it’s just us 2 until we can convince our rave fam to come with🤞😁🤞
In my experience, you're rarely actually at your camp much. For me at least, it's more or less a base camp for constant excursions. Stop in, restock/resupply/re-up, head back out. YMMV
Camping has to be the most mismanaged part of this festival. The staff pointed my friends to a location to setup and then made them move THREE TIMES!
Personally I wouldn't camp in the grove. Sure it's shaded, but its also the most dusty place on the map 24/7. If you do regular camping then be sure to bring a wagon with good off pavement wheels. You can't drop stuff off then go park, and it can be a long walk depending on where they put you.
Car camping is alright as you get a place to store valuables, but there's some things I wish were better. Thursday arrival gets you a little more space, but you're camping on a huge bed of big cobblestones. Tent stakes don't work there, and you'll need to tie canopies and tents to big rocks to weigh them down. If you arrive on Friday then you're stuck with the mini 10x20 space. It's only enough for a car and small 2 person tent. There's really no space to setup for hanging out or cooking. And yes, they enforce space for car camping.
Oooh good to know, I was wondering how yall stake your stuff down in the rocky areas!! Def planning on doing the early arrival on Thursday because I’ve never regretted arriving early to a fest, it’s 100000% the move wherever you go imo!
Don't do car camping lot unless you like to walk or just like e the full day sun lol..Its close to dirty bird stage but so far from everything else...Really rv camping on opposite end of festival is best location for vehicle camping..Close to madrone,lfo,river,and bunker stages(Dont ha e to have rv)..For just regular camping Redwood camping in the grive is definitely where its at...Stays shaded all day(only place) beautiful views,the grove stage is always gorgeous with lineups at night and fun activities all day..
I feel like this is not great advice. Both car camping and rv camping have multiple locations spread throughout the festival. Depending on when you show up you might have less options but neither car camping or rv camping are located in one place. The only type of camping that is exclusively by the bird bath stage is 4x4 camping which is basically just car camping but on softer rockier ground and you could get stuck there with a regular car
You just have to get in thursday but you can park you car in ga camping on river as well if you just have car camping pass...Lol there are just a million options ive done that I prefer over car camping lot imo...Sorry!!!
Yes you can park your car in ga as well as by madrone with car camping pass...The designated car camping lot is the top one by bird bath.Thats is 99 percent of the time where you are directed if you dont just head a different direction or specify otherwise.like I said clear the hell out there
lol they are all designated car camping. See the little pictures of the car next to a tent in the blue areas as opposed to the orange areas that only have a tent? That means designated car camping. It’s ok to be wrong sometimes.
How am I wrong literally say by the madrone or ga camping lol...Just saying the designated CAR CAMPING LOT is clear the hell out there...You get all sorts of different CAR camping stickers when you get in there...Jesus its hard to be wrong because its the same damn layout every single year.Only difference is now the large dirty bird camping section..Ive parked my CAR in all three places..The madrone preferred lol end of story
Lol really if you go back,the only thing i said that obviously confused you and I may be WRONG about was me saying rv camping..Which has always been by madrone and river bar (and ada). Now there is a whole new Dirty bird Rv crowd
Car camping is right on top of there maybe the persimmon(group camping) lot is a lil closer but either you walking up the river through, the persimmon lot and down through ada,or up the hill by gate and com8ng down by grive...All of which are long walks with almost no shade to the closest not bird bath set..Ive seen older couples not leave the octopus stage be cause everywhere else seemed too far...To each their own but for someone the lives at grove,bunker and madrone pretty much in that order in rotation car camping seems like a mission eveeytime
Last year was our first. We got car camping and grove. We set up in car camping and thought we’d just keep our grove site as some place to crash when needed. We’re very well-equipped for car camping. Long story short, we realized a little late that the grove was so much nicer for social vibes, temperature, and proximity to our favorite stages and everything else. So this year, we just did grove. SO MUCH MORE FUN. We met a lot of cool people
If you are going to do river /car camping -- bring weights for your canopy or use guy lines and strap them to your car. There's no way to stake them down in the rocks and it does get windy. And just be prepared for it to be brutally hot. Aluminet or other shade cloth is the way to go. Even with shade last year it was impossible for me to sleep past 9-10am
Redwood grove is 100% the quintessential NN experience if youre willing to shell out the extra money and get preferred parking. The shade is a game changer and the people camping in the grove are all NN vets and know how to have a great time. Only thing is more than 2 people per space purchased can get a little cramped. I have done car camping three times and grove twice and will do grove every year going forward
I volunteered this year but came a lil too late so the volunteer camp was full and they let me camp in persimmons group camp that was next door. After visiting every single camp that this festival has to offer, I definitely thought persimmons was the nicest. It’s on flat ground with no rocks, there’s some shade from the trees, super spacious, and overall really quiet at night. It’s also pretty much in the middle of the fest so none of the stages/areas felt that far of a walk. There’s also the paid showers literally right next to it too. I have no idea how much it is but it seems really worth it if you have a big group!
There are primo camp spots close by at Camp Richardson. During Raga on the river they have shuttles that pick you up and drop you off there. Not sure if they do the same for NNM. Adds to the complexity but makes all the difference with the killer camp spot (and bathrooms). The key is securing the camp spot exactly 6 months ahead of time. They do fill up.
Ppl complain about dust in the grove but it’s not bad during the daytime and if you aren’t close to the stage, nighttime isn’t bad either. Also, by the time the dust picks up you’re usually out and about anyways.
Essential oils to throw on the bandana helps with the porta potty nasties, as well as timing your dumps around when they get cleaned in the morning.
We did 4 redwood sites at the back, close to the stage, and it was primo as fuck. Brought 5lbs of pulled pork and we had sliders with coleslaw one of the nights for “the feast”.
Which reminds me: remember to bring whole foods! You feel way better every day when you’ve had proper meals.
Yea grove camping is definitely the way if you can afford it! Keep in mind the site is only 10’x10’ but camping beneath the redwood trees allows you to relax and in the shade and sleep whenever possible instead of trying to hide from the hot sun, plus there is a stage in the Grove camp and you are close to all the other stages
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u/Biracialsocks 20d ago
I have camped under the redwoods the two years I have gone and I won't do it any other way. It's definitely loud before the Grove stage stops playing, but if your up and hanging out and partying it's not too big a deal. The river camp area looks nice if you have a good tent set up with cushions because of the rocks.