Forest Camping For 2016 - Worth it?

This also very helpful b/c future fests (like The Festy) will utilize this area as the only camping grounds.

Nice write-up luminary. We were also in West Forest. Set-up on Thursday was grueling due to that hill, for sure. We did not bring a cart and man, was that a dumb move. Proximity to the main stage was nice, although you have to cut through sober camping for the most direct route (totally supportive of sober options!)...BUT we are carrying a beer 99% of the time when we walk towards the stage and doing that through sober camping didn't sit well with the conscious....so we just kept going around the longer way (up by BRB) nullifying that advantage. With that said, the back paths to the BRB and Infinity Downs was quick and a shaded walk. We logged just under 60 miles walking for the weekend, and any part that was shaded was appreciated. As we walked from CATS to JRAD on Friday, I smiled thinking about not having to walk from Forest camping where the Woods stage now is - that was a haul. Thought there was PLENTY of space in Forest Camping this year too - it was great to have the breathing room.  Great morning shade - we slept until 10am on Friday after being at JRAD until... Bathrooms and water were both a pretty far trek compared to previous years. It was also the most quiet camping area I have ever experienced at a festival. The only irritatingly spun person we dealt with had a freak-out, ended up naked in a ditch, and was gone by 10am on Thursday. Poor fella, hopefully he didn't unpack. 

To be clear, there was NO security regarding who came/went in and out of Forest; they gave a half-hearted effort to hand out those camo-wristbands, but never saw anyone check them around West Forest.

Given the sun this year, I can't imagine a better year to stay in the Forest if you are a tent camper. We walked through the High Forest - it was not as wooded/shaded, but overall seemed more accessible and probably preferable overall from a cursory glance. We'll be back in Forest again next year.

While that hill was STEEP in west, I really enjoyed being in the forest. I noticed way more people at camp during the day this year, most likely due to the heat.

Blueindian - my husband was giving me shit for high fiving people while borderline sloppy drunk in sober. I didn't even realize we were in sober and felt like a huge asshole after that. we started going the "long way" after that night.

Pro tip - if you have a day parking pass there is a gate right on the road that is a shorter walk without the huge hill. they didn't technically allow us to walk down digs mtn to access it, but it was worth being a little sneaky. until sunday when there were about 40 poop piles through there...

If you ride a bike, you're legally a vehicle and entitled to the road. That's what we did when we were out beyond Forest in Year One. Just make sure you have at least a headlight (wearing a headlamp will suffice) and rear reflector after dark.