Are you spending your winter in the warmth of the US Southwest? Are you looking for community? Do you love free event? If that’s you, then look no further than Skooliepalooza!
Skooliepalooza is a FREE event that pops up in the desert every year. Imagine over 800 buses, vans, trailers, and rigs all gathered together to build community! It boosts a sound circus, arts and crafts section, silent camp, and family camp areas.
My partner and I went to Skooliepalooza and had no idea what to expect. We ended up having a blast and coming away with new friends. But here is what we wished we knew before we went.
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Skooliepalooza 2026: The “Un-Gathering” Event
Skooliepalooza is a non-event event. Essentially, that means that no permits exist for the event, so it’s not an event. Confused? Don’t worry.
🗺️ Basically, hundreds of people drive to a set of GPS coordinates provided about a week before the event. Then, those hundreds of people create a pop-up small city of nomads. After about a week, everyone cleans up and drives in separate directions, often in caravans.
If you have a hard time believing this…keep reading. It’s a very peculiar “un-gathering” event.
These are the things I wish we had known before we traveled to Skooliepalooza. So, read on and be prepared!
Skooliepalooza 2026 UPDATE
➡️ Skooliepalooza 2026 location is still TBD, but most likely somewhere in Southwest Arizona.
📍 The exact location with GPS coordinates usually doesn’t get released until about a week prior.
📆 January 16 – 26th, 2026
You should know that the Skooliepalooza organizers will release a general area location first, but not the exact location. That’s because too many vehicles there ahead of time can cause issues. However, you can position yourself closer to the action to decrease drive time later.
In 2025, the organizers did get a permit for Skooliepalooza on Arizona State Trust Land. As with most permits, it costs money. They asked for donations to cover the cost of the permit.
This might change as they explore other location options, so stay tuned!
If you want to know immediately, you can sign up for their WhatsApp group text on the Skooliepalooza website. I find it a bit chaotic, but it can be helpful.
1. The Exact Location Won’t Be Announced Until January (*see 2026 Update)
Unlike other van events, the exact location for Skooliepalooza 2026 won’t be given until sometime in January. *See update above*
This is so people cannot start the ungathering too early. If the informal city in the desert pops up too soon, the Bureau of Land Management or AZ State Trust Land might have a problem, as they did in 2022.
Don’t fret about this. It’s part of the adventure!
📍 Just position your early January literally anywhere in Arizona or Southern California. Then, you’ll be less than a day’s drive away. Most of my favorite 6 winter van life locations set you up well for Skooliepalooza.
If you are in the southern Arizona area early, there are plenty of cool things to do. We love to pair an activity with our errands day to make sure we have something fun as we fill water and get groceries.
I wrote a list of 10 things to do while boondocking in Arizona in winter that range in cost from free to moderate. Some of the activities only cost the amount of a yearly park pass, so it technically gets cheaper the more you use it. 😉
2. It Will Be on Public Land in Arizona
In the past, Skooliepalooza will pop up somewhere on public land in Arizona. That’s how they kept the non-event completely free!
🌵 Arizona has 3 main types of free public land: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Arizona State Trust Land, and Forest Service land (FS). Since the event needs to have relatively warm weather, it will occur on either BLM or State Trust land.
Last Year, it was on Arizona State Trust Land, and they had a permit. In keeping with the spirit of the “ungathering” they are kept it free.
HOWEVER, ➡️ if Skooliepalooza does the same thing and succeeds in getting an AZ State Trust Land large group permit and you would not need your own personal permit.
If you still want your own inexpensive AZ State Trust Land Permit, visit the link below. ⬇️
3. It is STILL FREE
The best part about Skooliepalooza…it’s free! There is NO entrance fee.
However, while you are there, you can pay for things.
First, you might head down to the arts and crafts zone. 🧶 Here, you can often find delicious baked goods, cookbooks, or other vendors. It’s nice to have a little cash or Paypal/Venmo set up to support other nomads.
Second, someone might put up some money for a few porta johns after a few days. If you don’t have a toilet in your rig, it’s nice to chip in a donation here. 🧻
Third, Sound Circus often sets up a large musical experience at its own expense. If you enjoy the shows they create, donations are greatly appreciated. 🎶
Lastly, if Skooliepalooza secures a large-group permit from the Arizona State Land Trust, you might want to donate what you can to help them out. It’s definitely a pay-what-you-can situation if this is the case.
4. Camp According to Your Noise Tolerance
When GPS coordinates are released, look for a basic map of the camp to appear.
It will have a crude designation of 4 zones: sound camp, arts & crafts camp, family camp, and quiet camp.
This will likely look like someone drew red circles on a map.
Sound Camp 🎶
Obviously, Sound Camp is the loudest. It’s where you can make noise and music can blast. Music will play just about every night from 8 pm-ish until often at least 1 am. If you want to camp in the heart of the party, this is your spot.
Arts & Crafts 🧶
Next, the arts and crafts camp is for vendors and artists. If you make money on the road by selling anything from baked goods to jewelry, this is your spot.
Family Camp 🧸
Third, family camp is a great spot for all the feral nomad children to form packs. They may run you over if you cut through the family camp without paying attention. If you have kids on the road that you need to socialize, this is where you camp.
Quiet Camp 🤫
Lastly, a quiet camp exists on the fringe. While its name suggests silence, it doesn’t mean it will be fully silent. You will still be able to hear sound camp from quiet camp. It’s quiet camp because the music does not originate there.
If you aim for quiet camp, it’s helpful to have a few people to park with already. Being quiet, it tends to attract more introverts. So, if you’re looking to meet people here, it’s helpful to know someone first.
Importantly, you can walk between all these camps seamlessly. So, you can participate in all the activities of sound camp and then sleep in quiet camp with a short walk. Totally doable.
BEST ADVICE: Wherever you choose to park, set a pin on Google Maps. Finding your way back to camp during the day is easy, but much harder at night. 📍
5. Bring Plenty of Food, Water, & Propane
Once you find your spot at Skooliepalooza, it’s best to stay put. Sometimes, to move, you’ll have to coordinate several rigs’ shifting.
Make everyone’s life easier by bringing all your food, water, and propane for the whole week.
🛒 Also, Skooliepalooza only occurs in super rural, open desert. Therefore, any grocery store will be a minimum of 30 minutes away. Save yourself the time and gas money by picking everything up on the way into Skoolie.
I’d also recommend bringing extra food to share. You might find yourself piecing together a group meal for your circle. Or, if you really want to meet people, put out a sign that says, “free food,” and people will come.
6. Buy that Extra Bundle of Firewood
If you’re debating how much firewood to bring, grab the extra bundle.
Skooliepalooza exists in an area where there literally is NO firewood that can be gathered. If you do see some small pieces of deadwood around, it’s actually important to the fragile desert ecosystem.
🔥 The un-gathering has lots of campfires. There are big bonfires over by the sound camp. And, smaller campfires start up by other circles of rigs.
🪵 If you’re looking for an excuse to meet new people, having an extra bundle of firewood is it.
Or, your smaller circle will use it, and you’ll have a great time that way.
7. Pack a Onesie!
What’s a van life un-gathering without a onesie? Usually, there is an entire evening dedicated to onesies at Skooliepalooza!
Yes, they take up a lot of space. However, they also bring joy and, more importantly, warmth.
Desert nights get surprisingly cold. 🥶 Having a onesie to walk around with can help you stay warm and have fun!
You can find them online and at larger box stores like Target and Walmart beforehand.
Trust me, you’ll have serious fomo without one. And, you can use it at just about any other van event in the future.
8. Have Earplugs or a Sound Machine
No matter where you are at Skooliepalooza, if you want to sleep before 1 am, you’ll want earplugs. It might even go later than that some nights.
🔊The big speakers come out. The bass gets cranked up. It’s loud. It reverberates across the open desert landscape.
Just bring some earplugs. Even if you don’t end up needing them, someone in your circle might.
🐾 Also, keep in mind that if you have a dog, sometimes the sound can be a lot for them. A sound machine that plays soothing rain or something might help the dog calm down at night.
Personally, we have earplugs for the loudest nights and Calm sleep stories for nights of moderate noise. The Calm sleep stories help me focus on something peaceful before drifting off to sleep.
9. It’s Harder to Meet People than at Other Events
My partner and I made an effort to attend several van life events when we first started van life. And, they’re all a little different.
During Skooliepalooza, we made several fantastic new friends. However, we personally found that Skooliepalooza was harder to meet new people at than other van life events like Holy Toledo or Tiny Fest.
I’d like to say that we’re extroverted introverts. We like to go join the party, but we want our space at the end of the night. Each evening, we walked over to sound camp and hung out. Then, we walked back to the quiet camp to sleep. 💤
During the day, we wandered around and through the arts and crafts camp to stretch our legs.
We also got to know our smaller circle of friends in quiet camp. We knew only 3 other rigs in our circle before coming to Skooliepalooza. One person knew 2 more rigs, and someone else knew 2 more rigs. Our circle became really great friends.
🔊 I did notice it was harder to join other campfire circles, though. If you’re willing to give up sleep and camp in sound camp, you’d likely meet more people.
10. Pack Out Your Trash!
The Arizona desert is a fragile environment. We are guests visiting in the winter, seeking warmth and community.
🏜️ If you include the desert landscape in your community, you’ll keep it clean and trash-free.
You can do a few easy things to keep trash under control at Skooliepalooza.
🗑️ First, make sure you get rid of all the trash in your rig before you get there. It’s a good idea to get rid of all the extra food packaging boxes at the grocery store where you bought them.
Second, bring extra trash bags to keep your own trash contained and to help clean up after others.
Third, make space inside your rig for trash if you can. Open deserts have a lot of wind. Wind topples your careful trash piles outside and spreads them across the desert floor.
Fourth, clean up after others when necessary, and do a group clean-up before leaving!
➡️ Always remember to leave no trace.
Final Thoughts on Preparing for Skooliepalooza
Lastly, with these 10 tips, you’ll have a blast at the Skooliepalooza un-gathering. It’s a wild ride and crazy to see a mini city pop up in the middle of the desert.
As we all travel, think safety first! Set a GPS pin for your camp and stay aware of your surroundings.
Make friends, get a flash tattoo, support a crafty nomad, and dance into the night in a onesie around a blazing bonfire.
