Written by Ade Ramos (@vibewithade)

Electric Forest is one of the most notable and unique festivals to attend in the United States. For one weekend in June, attendees immerse themselves in a magical forest where lots of special surprises, hidden nooks, and memorable experiences are held. If you’re attending Electric Forest this year, you have four days to see what the forest will provide for you. Here are some of the hidden features that I highly recommend checking out at Electric Forest. 

Note: this list may be more suited to a forest first-timer, but you may discover something new as a veteran too!

The Campgrounds

Whether you’re camping in GA or in Good Life, you have access to many amenities for your festival experience. In GA, you can attend a Brainery workshop, shop from vendors, or learn more about non-profits partnered with Electric Forest. 

If you’re camping in Good Life, you have access to a morning brunch (for an additional fee), the Good Life Live Stage for daily yoga and late-night sets, as well as a silent disco. One of the more unique experiences you could do is visit the waterpark nearby. Check the map for where the shuttle stop is for both GA and Good Life. 

The Forest

There is so much to discover once you get into the festival grounds. The best thing to do is go into the forest and explore every part of it. Within the forest, you’ll find a trading post, a post office, a chapel, an art bar, an organ, three stages, lots of performers, clues for scavenger hunts, art installations, and more. You could even ride an air balloon over the forest and get a whole bird’s eye view of the festival (the entrance is typically by the Tripolee stage).

One of my favorite features are the fairy doors hidden throughout the forest where you might find some goodies hidden within. The Luminaria area is also special place to for remembering and celebrating the lives of loved ones who have passed. Throughout the forest, definitely interact and talk to the performers as they may send you on a side quest or two. 

And if you take away one tip from this post, ALWAYS answer the phone if it’s ringing. You’ll see what I mean.

The Hangar

You could spend all day doing all the activities within The Hangar. There is a whole scavenger hunt dedicated to being in The Hangar (more on that below). Within The Hangar, you could play games in the game room, visit the apothecary, find your match at the Matchmaker, get a massage or a tattoo, and visit the beauty bar. If you hang around long enough, you could see a flash mob or get pulled into an activity by a character.

Scavenger Hunts

One of the more interactive features of Electric Forest are the scavenger hunts. There are two main ones you could participate in, but again there may be side quests you could get pulled into as well. These change every year so here’s what you could do. 

For the first scavenger hunt, you start in The Hangar and visit the Time Travel Agent to get started. It might be helpful to go early when the day starts or during headliner sets when it’s less busy. See where this one takes you and the rewards could vary.

Another scavenger hunt could begin in the forest where asking performers will get you started. There may be keys and hints hidden throughout the forest through art installations and more. You truly never know what the rewards are from secret sets, visiting secret spots like a poetry brothel or BDSM speakeasy, or getting some forest memorabilia. Happy hunting!

Secret Sets

There is lots of room for surprise sets to catch at Electric Forest. Keep your push notifications on for the Electric Forest app for any announcements. There could be surprise slots on some of the core stages or at The Grand Artique Stage.

Surprise performances could also happen at the Ocular Organ where Porter Robinson surprised fans with a special set in 2022. There are no rules at the after-hours RV sets in the GA campgrounds as your favorite artists could appear and play until the sun rises. For RV sets, you could find out on social media (either the artist or RV camp) or hear by word of mouth. 

Electric Forest is truly so special and every year can bring a memorable experience. It can be overwhelming to try to do all the things so I recommend picking 1-2 must-dos then let the forest provide and guide you to the experience you’re meant to have. Happy Forest!