How to Survive Car Camping at Sasquatch! Festival

At some point, every Northwest music fan should make the Memorial Day weekend pilgrimage east of the Cascades to witness the grandeur of the Gorge Amphitheatre for Sasquatch! Music Festival. But the Gorge’s remoteness limits lodging options, effectively forcing you to fork over the venue’s $150 fee to park and camp. (The festival stopped including camping with ticket purchases in 2014, which is a total racket.) The camping area’s mayhem of feral humanity has rightfully earned it the nickname District 9. The best way to manage the chaos? Ditch the tent and sleep in your car.

Upsides

It’s Simple. Even if you learn something from our guide to setting up a tent on pages 54 and 55, tearing one down and packing it up in the dark after four days of roasting in the sun to earsplitting music can be excruciating. The cure (not the headlining band with Robert Smith) for these issues? Just throw a pillow and blanket in the back seat. Worlds easier.

It’s Quiet. Fun fact: Tents aren’t soundproof! A locked car provides a much quieter sleeping environment, dampening the wails of random car alarms and the bros three cars down blasting Major Lazer until 3am.

It’s Dry. You know what’s worse than waking up in a soggy tent at Sasquatch! after a nighttime rainstorm? …I’m legitimately asking.

Essential Tips

Throwing Shade Wake and bake takes on a whole different meaning when you rouse in a pool of your own perspiration (though it’d be a good way to prep for Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats). Leave the sticky, sweaty vibe for Baauer in the dance tent. A simple sunshade placed in the eastern-facing windshield allows for cool and calm sleep that’s refreshing and energizing.

Feel the Power  Car camping may be on the opposite end of the spectrum from glamping, but having a phone with some power for all four days isn’t asking too much. How else will your Internet friends see blurry Instagram pics of your new favorite band (perhaps the Internet, if you’re meta)? Invest in a battery power bank (they’re cheap now).

So Fresh and So Clean  Sasquatch!: Pro-Grimes, antigrime. Unless you’re fine with making Oscar the Grouch your festival spirit animal, you’re gonna want to bring a towel and some singles to pay for the on-site trailer showers. Women, wake up early, as the ladies’ lines can take hours.

Published in the The New Guide to Camping in the Pacific Northwest issue of Seattle Met.