diff --git a/layers/CMakeLists.txt b/layers/CMakeLists.txt
index 984b878f0..31003176a 100644
--- a/layers/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/layers/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -112,14 +112,8 @@ endif()
 if (USE_CUSTOM_HASH_MAP)
     message(STATUS "Using parallel_hashmap as custom hash maps")
     target_compile_definitions(VkLayer_utils PUBLIC USE_CUSTOM_HASH_MAP)
-    # Prefer using a locally installed parallel-hashmap package before using the in-tree sources.
-    # This approach supports installation with package managers such as conan
-    find_package(phmap CONFIG)
-    if (TARGET phmap)
-        target_link_libraries(VkLayer_utils PRIVATE phmap)
-    else()
-        add_subdirectory(external/parallel_hashmap)
-    endif()
+    find_path(PARALLEL_HASHMAP_INCLUDE_DIRS "parallel_hashmap/btree.h" REQUIRED)
+    target_include_directories(VkLayer_utils PRIVATE ${PARALLEL_HASHMAP_INCLUDE_DIRS})
 else()
     message(STATUS "Using STL maps instead of custom hash maps")
 endif()
@@ -468,7 +468,8 @@ if(MSVC)
     target_link_options(vvl PRIVATE /DEF:${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/${LAYER_NAME}.def)
     target_compile_options(vvl PRIVATE /bigobj)
 
-    set(NATVIS_FILES "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/types.natvis" "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/external/parallel_hashmap/natvis/phmap.natvis")
+    find_file(PHMAP_NATVIS "phmap.natvis" REQUIRED)
+    set(NATVIS_FILES "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/types.natvis" "${PHMAP_NATVIS}")
     target_sources(vvl PRIVATE ${NATVIS_FILES})
 elseif(MINGW)
     target_sources(vvl PRIVATE ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/${LAYER_NAME}.def)