Burning Man Festival [2023]: Ultimate survival guide & details!

Burning Man is an event that many people have heard of. Still, few people understand the festival, and even fewer people have attended Burning Man. 

If you want to know more, my article has everything you need to know about Burning Man, including where and when it is, how to get there, and what happens at the event. I'll also include what you should know about ticket information and tips for attending Burning Man.

Even my friends, who don't know much about festivals, have heard about how unique Burning Man is. Before you go, let me help you so that you'll feel more prepared!

What Is Burning Man Festival?

Burning Man is not your traditional festival! I promise you, it's a once-in-a-lifetime type of trip...

In fact, there aren't any planned events or performances like many other festivals. Some people don't even call Burning Man a festival. Burning Man could be more accurately described as a 'temporary city'.

This temporary cityscape, known to its inhabitants as Black Rock City, materializes in the Nevada desert for a single week every year. Unlike traditional cities, however, everything that unfolds within the boundaries of Black Rock City is a direct result of the actions and contributions of its citizens.

There's no spectating here... everyone actively participates!

From the moment festival goers arrives, citizens are responsible for constructing, operating, and eventually deconstructing their city. If you want to attend, you'll need to understand this is a community that values creativity, self-expression, and radical self-reliance.

You'll see a view filled with striking art installations, spontaneous musical performances, and gravity-defying structures. Part of your week could also be spent at insightful workshops.

Plus, when the week-long celebration concludes, a communal sense of responsibility ensures that the location is returned to its original state, as if the city had never existed—hence the temporary city.

For the 2023 festival, Burning Man has a new theme: ANIMALIA. The theme will celebrate the animal world and how humans interact and live within it.

Each year, Burning Man focuses on 10 principles that reflect the event and the community surrounding the event. 

These are the ten principles of Burning Man:

• Radical Inclusion
• Gifting
• De-commodification
• Radical Self-reliance
• Radical Self-expression
• Communal Effort
• Civic Responsibility
• Leaving No Trace
• Participation
• Immediacy

Burning Man 2023: What happened?

Burning Man's 2023 festival had an unfortunate turnaround when the Western United States, Nevada's desert in particular, received an unusual amount of rain during the event, which caused the festival battered full of mud.

The downpour started on Friday night, which caused most forms of transportation to become stranded. Bikes were ineffective as mud it became clogged with mud, and cars were not able to traverse through and exit the desert. Officials closed the road later that night.

This caused festival goers to become stranded as thousands of attendees attended this year's festival. Around 70,000 partygoers were trapped in the northern Nevada desert, with 1 reported death thus far. The reported death appears to not be weather-related.

On Monday afternoon, the driving ban was lifted, and a mass exodus of festival goers were able to leave the festival ground. Many of those actually remained to witness the festival's main event, which involves the namesake effigy going up in flames as a form of celebration. This was delayed one day past the original schedule.

The rest of the attendees have postponed their departures until Tuesday. However, the National Weather Service warned that there were chances of light rain showers throughout the night into Tuesday morning, which become problematic.

Muddy conditions and heavy rain did not appear to dampen the festival's remote desert site, as attendees of the event worked together to help each other out to distribute supplies during the weekend.

Catch the full article of what happened here.

Where Is Burning Man?

Burning Man takes place in the Black Rock Desert every year, as it has since 1991. As I mentioned above, the location of Burning Man ends up as a temporary city as soon as all of the participants set up! 

To get to Black Rock Desert, you'll need to get to the northwestern part of Nevada. Just a heads up that it's quite isolated as it is 100 miles north of Reno, the nearest city. 

When Is Burning Man?

Burning Man always happens at the end of the summer. 

It's a 9 day festival that ends on Labor Day each year, which is the first Monday in September. So, Burning Man takes place from a Sunday in August to the first Monday in September, including both days. 

This year, the 2023 Burning Man event is being held from Sunday, August 27th to Monday, September 4th.

How to Get to Burning Man

The easiest way to get to Burning Man is to drive. 

If you are coming from the United States, consider planning a road trip with your fellow Burning Man goers. It'll be the easiest way to get to the desert, especially if you have a lot of survival gear to bring. 

You can also fly into Reno, but as mentioned earlier, the airport is 100 miles away from the desert, so you'll still need to hire a car or rent one to get to the location. 

Another option, which is the easiest if you want to go on a budget, is to take the Burner Bus shuttle. It can pick you up in San Francisco or the Reno airport and take you to the desert. 

Or, if you want to meet some fellow event-goers, you can check out the Burning Man rideshare board. You can offer other people a ride or post your need for one. The rideboard is a great option if you are a first-year event goer and want to ride with a seasoned one to learn more about the festival before you go. Or if you want to find other first-year people to travel with. 

How Many People Attend Burning Man?

If you love huge social gatherings and events, you'll have a great time at Burning Man! 

The number of people attending Burning Man had slowly increased over the years until 2020 and 2021 when the festival was officially canceled. But luckily, it was back for 2022 and had about 80,000 participants!

Burning Man Tickets

Burning Man offers a few different ticket sales throughout the year. Here's how to get your tickets to the next event. 

The first thing you need to know is that tickets that go on sale at different times are very different. Some tickets are extremely pricey, while others are a more affordable price. I'll list the types of tickets, when they go on sale, and what the prices are like for 2023 tickets:

• FOMO Sale - Start selling February 8, 2023 at $1,500 - $2,750
• Stewards Sale - Selling period between March 8 - 10, 2023 at $575
• Main Sale - Start selling April 12, 2023 at $575
• OMG Sale - Start selling August 2, 2023 at $575

Approximately 43,000 tickets are sold outside of their "main sale", including the Stewards sale in mid-March, the Ticket Aid Program, and the OMG sale in early August. 

There are also resale tickets available between late April and late August so there's plenty of opportunity to snag one!

What Happens at Burning Man?

So, Burning Man is over a week-long, and thousands of people go yearly. But what exactly happens at the event?

Well, the event's highlight is the literal burning of a large wooden effigy called the Man. As you can guess, this is where the festival's name comes from. The Man is always burned on the Saturday of the festival, which is the 7th day and the Saturday before Labor Day. 

Besides the Burn, the event is an experiment where people live in a temporary community. Nothing is planned, and what happens is up to you and the other people at the event.

While nothing is scheduled and you decide what happens, they have three suggestions for ways to get involved:

• Volunteer
• Create or join a camp
• Make some art

Survival Checklist for Burning Man

Burning Man is an event where your survival and safety depend entirely on you and how prepared you are. Here are some things you must bring to the event, especially if it is your first time. 

• Ticket or Photo ID and confirmation - this is a given!
• Water - Aim to bring about 1.5 gallons of water per person per day. The desert gets hot during the day, and no water is available to purchase at the event. 
• First-Aid Kit - Safety first! Make sure you bring along an extensive first-aid kit and prepare for any accidental injuries!
• Sunscreen/Sunglasses - During the day, the sun is extremely hot and bright, and the UV is high. 
• Goggles - Seems a little silly, we know! But having secure goggles will protect your eyes during any dust storms!
• Hand Sanitizer - Always a great item to have on hand. Try to bring along hand sanitizer with 60% or more alcohol content.
• Shelter - At Burning Man, you are camping, and there is no shelter for you to use other than what you bring. Bring along a tent, sleeping bags, and bedding.
• Food - There is also no food available. You are responsible for bringing everything you need for nine days in the desert. 
• Flashlight/Headlamp - Either or will work just fine and will be super useful when the sun goes down!
• Garbage/Recycling Bags - Definitely a must for clean up.
• Prescriptions/Medications - Make sure any prescriptions are in their original containers. Since you're going to be in a fairly remote area, you want to make sure you have everything needed to stay in optimal health!

And remember that the desert gets cold at night, with temperatures ranging around 10˚C, so bring warmer clothes and blankets. 

Finally, dust storms are common in the desert, so you should also bring protective gear. 

Enjoy the Burn!

If you decide to go to Burning Man, you'll definitely have an unforgettable experience. To better prepare for all your plans, including transportation and budgeting, use Pilot, a social trip planner that'll keep everything in one place!