Burning Man is an annual, week-long event in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, where tens of thousands of people gather to create a temporary city dedicated to community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance.
At Burning Man, participants are expected to adhere to a strict “leave no trace” policy. Everything you bring into the desert must be taken out, and the event provides no infrastructure for waste disposal—no trash cans, no food, no water, and no vending. The entire experience relies on radical self-reliance, meaning attendees must come fully prepared with all necessities, including shelter, sustenance, and supplies. Despite the vast numbers—nearly 70,000 people in the middle of the desert—it’s remarkable how little litter is ever seen. The community takes great pride in preserving the environment, leaving the desert as untouched as when they arrived.
Burning man lingo… Moop = Matter out of place (trash)
When my friends and I decided to go to Burning Man, I was filled with a mix of excitement and nerves. On one hand, it’s a massive festival that celebrates self-expression in every imaginable form—you’re surrounded by larger-than-life sculptures, art cars, music, and an incredible community of open-minded individuals. On the other hand, Black Rock City is set in one of the most unforgiving desert environments, notorious for its frequent dust storms. Temperatures can soar into the 90s during the day and drop to the low 40s at night. Regardless of the challenges, I knew this would be an unforgettable experience. Burning Man had been on my bucket list for years, and now it was finally time to witness this extraordinary event in the heart of the Nevada desert.
In this post, I’ll tell you about our experience at Burning Man 2016.
Day 1: Biking, cocktails & Major Lazer
Even though I was tempted to sleep after the long journey, we immediately hopped on our bikes to explore. At Burning Man, bikes are essential. The pop-up city grows larger every year, and it’s easy to bike miles upon miles to different events happening around the clock. We kicked off the experience by visiting a few camps serving cocktails. There’s no money exchanged at Burning Man—only gifts. Most camps offer some sort of gift or event for the community, so throughout our stay, we could visit workshops, parties, and events without any extra cost. We stopped by a friend’s camp serving drinks, and then spent the evening riding around, getting a feel for this incredible temporary city.
We were completely sleep-deprived, so we headed back to camp to try and nap, but the midday heat was relentless. After tossing and turning, and even resorting to icing my back with frozen bacon to cool off, we gave up and ventured out again. We biked to the Burning Man effigy in the middle of the playa, a vast expanse of dusty desert filled with art installations and art cars. The sheer scale of it all was incredible—massive, multi-headed dragons breathing fire, bikes and buildings illuminated like a neon carnival, fire dancers, and even cage fighters. As the night came to a close, we ended up at one of the large stages and were thrilled when Major Lazer unexpectedly took the stage. We did miss Skrillex, though—he played at 3 a.m.
Day 2: Phish Cover Band, Sangria Party & Dancing at Distrikt
We finally got some rest overnight and got back on our bikes to roam. It was a fun-filled adventure. We had a few drinks, then fought through a dust storm to see a Phish cover band.
Next we stumbled across a camp serving micro brews, then found some snow cones at the peak of a hot day. After that we went to a sangria and salsa dance party.
We left the sangria party to find a place called DISTRIKT. When we reached the location, it was clear this was the mecca of all parties! DISTRIKT is an outdoor club with hundreds of burners dancing at sunset. I had died and gone to dance party heaven. The energy of the crowd was vibrant! And so were their costumes!
After the sun went down, we went back to the RV for an enchilada dinner. After napping, I decided to stay in to get some good sleep while most of my friends went to see Diplo and stayed awake for their first sunrise party. This made me have some regrets later. I dreamt in #fomo.
Day 3: Temple & Booty Dance Party
I woke up the next feeling fresh, and heard tales at breakfast of the night before. My friends had visited the Temple, where you must enter in silence and pray, meditate, or leave trinkets in remembrance of loved ones. At dawn everyone flocks to the outer playa to watch the sunrise together. I was convinced that tonight I would stay out all night and participate.
My friend’s mom was DJ-ing at noon so 3 of us went to support. It turns out her set got moved to 4pm, so we wandered around to take photos with some of the installations.
After some time, we went back over to watch the set at 4pm and headed out across the playa to DISTRIKT for some more dancing.
After sunset, we started back across the playa for dinner. We were in the middle of the open desert when we got hit by a dust storm. We stopped in our tracks to stick together and weigh it out. Goggles, handkerchief, body and bike lights are key in these moments. If you’re stuck without them you’d be inhaling dust or in danger of getting hit by a bike or an art car. To be honest, I thought it was exhilarating. Since we were prepared I was taking in the rare moment and the interesting elements of the planet we’re shielded from most of the time. After some waiting, we made it back to the RV some 45 minutes later for a tamale dinner and a nap.
We woke up and got ready at midnight. The first thing we did was hop on an art car that looked like a ship and danced to some beats. We danced at the large DJ stages, then got on our bikes to make a loop around the playa and see what gems we could find. It was peaceful on the rim of the playa as we cruised along with our bikes lit up like Christmas. We found an art exhibit, then a trance bar with a fire sculptures. We were just hitting a tired patch when suddenly, out of nowhere, a “Booty” popup was before us. For those who are unfamiliar, Booty is a San Francisco and L.A. mashup dance club that goes off! They were playing some great upbeat music and it was just the pep we needed at about 4:30am. The highlight was when the DJ played “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King,” while we were all wearing our fur animal hoods.
We biked at dusk to the sunrise celebration to find thousands of people flocking to see the colorful glow pass over the vast expanse of the desert.
Day 4: Burning Man & Carl Cox DJ Set
I think I finally get the Burning Man schedule, or at least what works for me.
- Sleep mornings from 9am to about 1pm, then eat lunch.
- Go to events from about 2pm to 8pm, then eat dinner.
- Sleep from about 9pm to 1am.
- Go out at night from about 2am-8am, then eat breakfast.
- Repeat.
After our post sunrise morning nap, we got on our bikes to head to a party. Near it was an entry into a small popup party. It was humid inside the tent as we entered but the ambiance was beautiful. It had an old french circus feel, chandeliers, pearls, and costumed dancers. Eclectic music played as we swirled around the dance floor. This is the kind of magic Burning Man brings. We stayed until it was too hot to handle then left for, you guessed it, DISTRIKT. It was crowded per usual evening scene, art cars full of dancing people, and a Cara Delevingne sighting.
We were back in the RV eating dinner, when another dust storm formed. I actually thought the Burn might be delayed to the next night because the wind and visibility were so bad. After about an hour of drinking wine and listening to the radio, it started clearing up. We walked out to the playa for the show.
Thousands of people lit up in strings of light, hundreds of fire dancers, and hundreds of art cars circled the Man in what seemed like a mile radius, each blasting their own beats. The stimuli was all consuming. Something to marvel over at every glance. And then, the burn. I’ve never actually watched a structure burn to the ground before. It’s memorizing. Also, it was the greatest fireworks show I’ve ever seen! I’d add a video of the burn here, but it wouldn’t do it justice. Add this to your bucket list pronto and see it live for yourself! It was so much more spectacular then I could have ever imagined!
Burn night was our last night on the playa. Everyone was out after the burn, 70,000 lit up souls navigating the numerous mobile art car dance parties. Each car was bumping music. We danced on a friend’s car and could hear the pulsating rhythms of at least 3 more DJs.
We ended our first burn with a Carl Cox DJ set.
If I could describe Burning Man in one word it’d be “surreal.” In fact, the whole festival feels a bit like stepping into a Dali painting. I admit, I was skeptical even through my first day and half of being there. Now I’m convinced it’s one of those experiences that you’ll covet forever.
2 Responses
Your video is awesome!!
Thanks Erin!