Festival & event · Nevada, USA

Burning Man

Purists insist Burning Man isn't a festival, and annoyingly they're right: it's a temporary city of 70,000 in the Nevada desert with no line-up, no headliners and nothing for sale except ice and coffee.

Best forAdventure seekers · Groups of friends · Solo travellers
In October20°C · 3 rainy days
Ideal stayA week
Approx. flying time~1h 20m from Los Angeles

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Takes place in Burning Man, Nevada, USA — nearest airport Reno (RNO), about 151km away.

CurrencyUSDUS dollar
LanguageEnglish
Local time11:208h behind the UK
PlugsType A / BBring an adapter
Drive on theRightOpposite to the UK
Dialling code+1

The festival

For a week at the end of August a temporary city appears on a dry lake bed in the Nevada desert, laid out as a horseshoe of numbered streets around an open plain of art installations. There is no commerce beyond ice and coffee, no line-up and no audience: everything is built, cooked, played and given away by the people who turned up.

Preparation is most of the work. You bring all your own water, food, shelter and shade for a week of 35 degree days, near-freezing nights and dust storms that erase visibility completely. Joining an established camp makes a first year far easier than going alone. Fly into Reno, allow a full day each way for the queue, and expect dust in your kit for years.

Ideal stay: A week
The vibe: Dusty, communal, relentlessly awake

From our guides

You bring everything, gift freely, and dance at sunrise beside art cars the size of galleons. Fly into Reno, join an established camp rather than winging it solo, and pack triple the water you think you need. The dust stays with you forever.

Featured in Ten festival trips worth building a holiday around

Make a trip of it

The Man and the Temple

Two structures burned at the end of the week, the first as a party and the second in near silence. They are very different nights.
Art on the playa

Large-scale sculpture and installations scattered across the open plain, much of it interactive and best discovered by wandering at night.
Mutant vehicles

Licensed art cars, some the size of ships, which double as mobile stages and are the only permitted motorised transport across the deep playa.
Sunrise sets

The desert's best hours run between about four and eight in the morning, when the dust settles, the temperature is bearable and the light arrives.
The gifting economy

Nothing is bought or bartered on site. Camps give away food, drink, workshops and bike repairs, and you are expected to contribute something of your own.

Getting there

Fly to
Reno (RNO)

Nearest airport to Burning Man, about 151km away as the crow flies.
Then
To Reno

Reno (RNO) is the gateway. From there it is roughly two and a half to three hours by road north east to the playa, and much longer during the gate queues at the start of the event.
On the ground
Getting around

Black Rock City is laid out as a grid of radial streets and is covered by bicycle. Vehicles cannot be driven once parked, so you arrive stocked with everything, water above all.

Public transport: Only the official coach service from Reno and San Francisco. Otherwise you drive or you camp with someone who does.

Flights

Los Angeles Burning Man, Nevada, USA

Flying from

Fly from anywhere — search 4,000+ airports worldwide.

Roughly 1h 20m in the air from Los Angeles (LAX), estimated from the distance — check for a direct route. Pick a month to see every available flight with live prices.

Check dates and prices

Pick your departure date, then your return.

Search flights

Flight times are estimates; prices open on Google Flights.

When to go

Daytime highs run from about 6°C in December to 35°C in July. Driest in July and August; wettest in March, with rain on about 9 days.

The year at a glance — pick a month for detail

October20° · rain 3 daysMild and dry.

Monthly figures averaged from daily records for 2020–2024 at this location (ERA5 reanalysis). Highlighted months are warm and mostly dry — May and June and August to October.

Where to base yourself

Tents, RVs and shade structures you bring yourself, plus a few costly turnkey camps. Off-playa, it is Reno chain hotels and casino rooms rather than anything characterful.

Best base overall
Black Rock City

You camp on the playa, ideally with an established camp that has shade, water and a kitchen sorted. There is no accommodation to book, only a ticket and a vehicle pass.
Find stays in Black Rock City
Best value
Reno

The nearest city, where everyone flies in, buys supplies and books a room for the night before and the shower after. Hotel rates rise steeply for the event week.
Find stays in Reno
Closest to the sights
Gerlach

The tiny town at the gate, useful for fuel and a last meal. There are almost no beds, and what exists is spoken for years in advance.
Find stays in Gerlach
Quietest
Sparks and north Reno

Motels and chain hotels away from the casino strip, better for sleeping and closer to the road north. You will need a car, which you are hiring anyway.
Find stays in Sparks and north Reno

Worth knowing before you book: Reno hotel rooms and RV hire for the week around the event sell out in spring and prices multiply, so book those the moment your ticket is confirmed.

Search everything else in Reno by budget. These are indicative budget bands in GBP per night for two people, not live quotes or guarantees of hotel type. Check your dates, guests, taxes and final price on Booking.com.

Or see everything in Reno

Good to know

Tickets: Sold months in advance through a registered process, along with a separate vehicle pass. There is no gate sale and no on-site transfer.
Water: Plan for several litres per person per day for drinking, plus more for washing. There is no water source at all on site.
Leave no trace: Everything you bring leaves with you, including waste water and cigarette ends. The rule is taken extremely seriously by everybody there.
Dust: Goggles and a dust mask are essential kit rather than optional extras. Whiteouts arrive without warning and last for hours.
Connectivity: Assume no phone signal and no cash machines. Arrange meeting points and times in advance, because you cannot call anyone.