Coachella Traffic: I-10, City Streets See Thousands Arrive In 2025

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, CA — Music lovers began their pilgrimage to the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio on Thursday, and traffic halted area freeways and city streets for miles.

The event runs from April 11-13, and again from April 18-20 at the Empire Polo Club at 81-800 51st Avenue in Indio.

Festival campers were allowed to start checking in at their designated areas on Thursday. Many sat in stop-and-go traffic for over eight hours, amid 97-degree temperatures.

They are ahead of the game for those planning to arrive on Friday.

Read also: Coachella's First Weekend Sells Out: Post Malone, Lady Gaga, Green Day

TRAFFIC REPORT: It's Just Going To Be Rough Out There:

The I-10 Freeway will see traffic throughout the festival, during both weekends, especially during the sold-out portions of the show.

As per usual, the freeway will be busy from Los Angeles, through the San Gorgonio Pass Area and into the Coachella Valley.

Watch for heavy traffic on both the 13 and the 20, as thousands will leave the area to return home.

Indio Police Department shut down Avenue 50, between Monroe Street and Madison Avenue, which will remain closed until May 5th.

According to the city of Indio's traffic plan, beginning Friday, April 11, there will be no access on Avenue 49 between Hjorth and Monroe streets, nor along Avenue 50, between Jackson and Madison streets, or on Hjorth, from Avenue 49 to Avenue 50, or along Madison, between Avenues 49 and 52.

Those closures will be in effect for each festival weekend — April 11- 13, April 18-20 and April 25-27, according to the police department.

Officials cautioned that travel delays will be heavy along Washington Street, between Interstate 10 and Avenue 52, as well as on Jefferson Street and Avenues 48 and 52 going into the Empire Polo Club grounds. Extensive delays are also anticipated on Highway 111 at Jefferson and Monroe, and at all the exits into Indio from I-10.

Options for slightly faster travel may be available on Jackson, Calhoun Street and Golf Center Parkway, going north- and southbound, while less vexing travel might be open on Fred Waring Drive, Miles Avenue and Dr. Carreon Boulevard going east- and westbound, officials said.

"On each Monday following the festivals, streets surrounding the site and I-10 will be busy with more than 40,000 campers leaving the area," according to a police statement. "Noise from the festival site could begin on each Thursday prior to the festival dates, due to sound checks and on-site camping guests."

Shuttle services will be available from area hotels and motels daily.

There will also be a designated pay ride spot for Uber and Lyft users at the southwest corner of Avenue 49 and Monroe, while family and taxicab pickup and drop-offs are designated on the northeast corner of Avenue 52 and Madison.

Along with Indio police, other law enforcement agencies will be lending support throughout the events, including the Riverside County Sheriff's Department and California Highway Patrol.
Arrests for various, usually misdemeanor violations, are common during the festivals.

The Coachella music fest runs April 11-13 and April 18-20.

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