Weekend One of Coachella has barely gotten off its feet and already tension seems to be brewing in the desert. Along with its celebrity attendees and abundance of flower crowns, the California festival is also known for its communal campground, where thousands of attendees can park their cars and camp out of them for the festival’s run. But on Thursday night, also known by seasoned festivalgoers as Day Zero, car campers were fuming on X about what they claimed was a 12-hour wait to enter the Indio campgrounds.
Long lines of cars outside the #Coachella festival grounds. Some campers said they've been in line for more than 7 hours without access to water or restrooms. @luisavilanews will have more live starting at 4PM
Details: https://t.co/moPPIrDEsD pic.twitter.com/2aYHHjhf30
— KESQ News Channel 3 (@KESQ) April 10, 2025
people are setting up camp in the waiting area blocking people from getting to camping areas. selfish-ass people who don’t give a shit about the problems they are causing around them. @coachella. worse car camping organization I have seen in all my years of attending
— dj baby bok choy (@neznoonz) April 10, 2025
Per the Daily Mail, complaints began swirling on Twitter and Reddit early Friday morning. One festivalgoer identified simply as Ethan told local station KESQ that he’d spent $900 to camp at Coachella only to “spend eight hours in a car [and] we aren’t even inside yet.” The conditions in the car line are apparently deteriorating fast — as the festival officially gets underway, attendees have reported insufficient water supplies, cars running out of gas in the middle of the line, and a lack of porta-potties, forcing campers to pee along the side of the road. Another camper identified as Olivia told the outlet she’d “seen people pass out through heat exhaustion.” “It’s been chaos,” she added. “We’ve been here since 3 a.m. … It’s literally almost 11.”
Coachella descends into chaos, and it hasn’t even started yet. These are cars lined up to get through security to enter the car camping area. Attendees are reporting a 12 hour wait, and no porta potties, with some saying it’s “worse than Fyre Festival”. pic.twitter.com/ztjACmd70u
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) April 11, 2025
coachella camping entry line is unconscionable tbh. fyre fest 2
(still in line to get in. 4 hours so far)— Mystery Ad Exec (@MysteryAdExec) April 11, 2025
Though Coachella typically functions as a well-oiled machine, the situation has already drawn comparisons to Fyre Fest. Some campers posting on Reddit claimed they plan to request a “full or partial” refund.
Hearing lots of reports of Coachella getting off to a rough start for campers today — some have waited as long as 12+ hours to reach a campsite, including one person who sent the DM below. pic.twitter.com/i19KcDgjeA
— Festive Owl (@TheFestiveOwl) April 10, 2025
According to KTLA, entry into the campgrounds usually took about two hours in past years. And while Coachella Valley authorities claim to have dispatched all agencies in the region to help with the traffic jam, it’s unclear why the admission process seems to be such a nightmare this time around. Hopefully organizers can sort things out before Billy McFarland gets inspired.
