Burning Man, if you are flying in.

What the week actually is

Burning Man is a city people build, not a show you buy a seat for. Art, camps, music, and a lot of walking. Days run hot, nights drop, and the dust is fine enough to get into a sealed bag you thought was clever. There is not a shop in the city you should count on. What you want for the week is either in the car, in the rig, or on the bike.

We would still hand a friend the same short list: goggles that seal, water by the gallon, shade that stays down, and a bike you can see after dark. The longer version is the packing list. The conditions are the note on the week.

Dates, and how you get there

The city's gate hours for 2026 say the gates opened at 12:01 am on Sunday 30 August and stayed open through Monday 7 September. The event FAQ still prints 31 August through 7 September. When two of their pages disagree, read both before you book a flight. We do not publish next year's dates. Their page is the week.

You fly into a city that has a counter, then you drive. Reno-Tahoe is the airport for the Reno and Sparks rigs. San Francisco's rental page is in Newark, not downtown. Las Vegas is a published pickup and a long drive north. Los Angeles has more than one address. The city pages match a counter to a page. A same-day pickup after a long-haul flight is allowed on Cruise America's notes, and a late aircraft is yours. A night in town is the kinder plan. That night is Reno hotels. A car, if you are not in a rig, is rental cars. Airports, including San Francisco and Sacramento, are flights into Reno.

Tickets, without a price we would have to invent

Burning Man Project sells the tickets, on their ticketing page. We do not sell them, and we do not reprint a price or a sale window that moves. How those sales usually run is the ticket season guide. A vehicle pass, if the rig or the car needs one, is on that same page. Read it for the year you are going.

A camp can tell you whether they have a spot. A camp cannot sell you a package of ticket, RV, bike, and meals. The city's camping pages say that package is not allowed. Sharing a rig among people who already have tickets is a different conversation, and it lives on the cost split.

What to pack when the suitcase is the limit

The day bag is goggles, a respirator, a bottle, a headlamp, earplugs, and any medicine you already take. Water by the gallon and a shade frame do not belong in a carry-on. They ride with camp, or they ride in the rig. The flying-in note is the suitcase. The water plan is the gallons.

Dust gear is the thing we would not skip to save weight. A whiteout is not the afternoon to discover the goggles were mesh. The dust note is that choice.

Where you sleep

An RV out here is a wonderful way to do the week: a door that seals, a real bed, and air conditioning after the dust. A campervan is the smaller, easier drive, and several of them have no toilet, so the city's toilets are still the plan. A tent under shade is the other bed, and it is a good one if the shade stays down. The RV or tent note is that choice. The companies are on renting an RV.

You rent the rig in the United States, from a fleet that already allows this desert. A camper that lives in Europe, or a van that lives at home, does not drive to Nevada for the week. Tell them the destination before you pay. The flying-in page is the licence, the one-way, and the counters. Country notes sit under it.

The bike is not optional

Once the rig is parked, it stays parked. Feet and a bike do the city. We would not do this week without one. Rent a frame in Reno, Sparks, Nixon, or Gerlach, or buy one in Reno and keep it. Lights, a lock, and a flag are still yours. The bike guide for people flying in is that errand. The shop list is how to rent a bike.

The first time

Go with people if you can, and ask them what camp already covers before you buy a second shade. If the answer is vague, pack as if the answer is no. Goggles, a bottle, lights, and a lock are still yours when camp said yes. The questions are ask your camp.

Eat before you are furious, drink before you are thirsty, and light the bike before it is dark. The art will still be there. The friend who cannot find camp at 2 am will not. Put your name on the frame. Come home with the trash you brought.