DONE: 10 Things You Can Do At Burning Man

Koi
May 12
6 min read

Burning Man is not just a music festival - It’s a temporary city created and run by the participants. An experiment in community, art, and decommodification, Burners use their own creativity to survive and thrive in the middle of the unforgiving Black Rock Desert. Here are 10 things you can do at Burning Man during your adventure.

Fall in Love

Approximately 80,000 people gather in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert every year to create the temporary experimental society known as Black Rock City. Inevitably, you’re going to meet some new folks there. Throughout your burn you can interact with others in countless ways, including talking, dancing, sharing food, riding art cars, gifting, speed dating, workshops, and so much more.

If you bring buddies, you can become closer to them by carpooling, sharing unique experiences together, or having your own adventures and convening to talk about them. You can also do this by joining a camp, where you share resources and to survive the harsh environment of the desert. Most camps also have a theme and communal projects.

Many people even get married at Black Rock City- either a real legal marriage that is set up beforehand, or a “burner wedding” which is a temporary affair for you to enjoy with your burner lovers or friends.

2. Soar to New Heights

Like many big cities, Black Rock City has its own airport. The Black Rock City Municipal Airport is the hub for flights in, around, and out of the Burning Man event. Right before the Burn, a mile-long stretch of smooth playa is designated as the runway, and the airport comes alive with a Customs Office, theme camps, and art.

The 10 Principles apply in the airport as much as everywhere else, creating a much different experience than most. There are no vending machines, trash cans, ticket counters, or luggage carriers there. Fancy restrooms have been replaced with the typical Burning Man porto-potties. Instead of expecting to be waited on, you have to make sure you are prepared for your burn, practice radical self-reliance, and Leave No Trace.

Even if you aren’t flying to Burning Man, there are many exciting ways to see Black Rock City from above. This includes riding in a glider, hot air balloon, or helicopter as well as skydiving. These experiences are gifted by burner volunteers, so their availability depends on the year and they are normally first come first serve.

3. Move Your Body

Black Rock City occupies over four square miles, with countless rows of neighborhoods in a clock formation around the Man and the stunning art installations of Deep Playa.

In order to preserve the desert environment, only select vehicles such as registered art cars and staff work vehicles are allowed to drive around during the burn. Because of this, you will be walking or biking almost everywhere - talk about getting your steps in!

Burning Man is also full of fun physical activities such as dancing, climbing, flow art, yoga, and more. Your time at Burning Man is the perfect opportunity to get out of your normal routine of sitting in a chair or car for hours on end and move your body as much as it desires.

4. Look Inside Yourself

Burning Man doesn’t have to be all fun and games.

Whether you are in the middle of a big change and need some insight about your life or you are just being actively mindful, there are many ways to delve into your mind and spiritually. This includes activities such as yoga, meditation, breath work, sound baths, prayer, barefooting, exercise classes, psychedelics, and deep conversations.

You can also join a camp specifically dedicated to what you are interested in. Some examples are camps focused on queer inclusion, trance music, sexuality, spirituality, art, and soberness.

You can even reinvent yourself with a playa name- similar to thru-hikers, burners often give each other names based on their personality or experiences.

5. Interact With Art

Beyond the man is an area of open desert called Deep Playa, where burners display art in an ever-changing museum of inspiration and creativity.

Some pieces are at their most stunning when displayed brightly at night while others more fun to interact with during the day. Some are think pieces, others humorous, others anomalies. Perhaps the most iconic are the giant sculptures that invite you to scale their heights and movable art cars that drive around like a mobile party. With so many artists and styles, something is sure to resonate with you, making it worth your time to stop and interact with the myriad of art at Burning Man.

There are also many burners whose gift is to spread art by providing the supplies and knowledge to create your own during your burn. This includes bike decorating, sign painting, sewing, temporary tattoos, drawing classes, glass blowing, metalworking, and more.

6. Let Go Of Your Inhibitions

Julian Walter

Hidden away in the Black Rock Desert amongst radical free thinkers, Burning Man is the perfect place to step out of your comfort zone. This can include trying a new food, learning a new skill, dancing without reserve, or being bold about talking to new people.

You can get as extra (or minimalist) as you want with your clothing - there are indeed people who walk around naked at Burning Man! But laying it bare isn't the only option for changing up the way you dress. Your time on Playa is the perfect opportunity to traipse around wearing something you normally wouldn't, whether it's as simple as a skirt or as extravagant as a full costume with makeup and body paint. Just be careful to wear things that won't drop MOOP (Matter Out Of Place) on the ground.

7. Show Off Your Skills

Black Rock City is a community of artists. Whether it is carpentry, architecture, painting, tailoring, glass blowing, belly dancing, or making the best breakfast burritos, people will enjoy and applaud your work.

There will also be a community of people excited to share it with you through a camp, workshop, or friend group. And if there isn’t, you can create one by starting a camp with friends.

8. Heal Your Inner Child

Looking at photos and videos, Burning Man might seem like a giant playground for adults. In many ways it is. You can climb things, curl up in hidey holes, wear whatever you want, get dirty, and make new friends without fear of judgment.

Once inside Black Rock City, there is no need to spend money on goods or services - instead, you bring everything you need with you, and the fun extras are provided for free by other attendees. This means that for the week of the burn you not only get a break from work, but a much-needed break from capitalism as a whole.

9. Watch The World Burn

Black Rock City is unofficially the largest clock in the world, with the distance from 3:00 and L to 9:00 and L being 2 miles. The man, standing proudly in the center, was 38’ tall in 2024 and has become 100% solar-powered following the 2030 Sustainability Roadmap.

As it sounds in the name of the event, the man gets burned at the end. For many, it’s the most exciting part of the burn. Others feel slightly forlorn, knowing they will be leaving their burner friends until next year and returning to the grind of everyday life.

Burning art can be seen as a celebration of the immediacy (one of the The Ten Principles) of the event. By burning an art piece, we are reminded to appreciate the time we are currently spending at the festival, knowing it will be different the next time, or even that we may not be able to attend again. It can be a larger acknowledgment of the impermanence of life, a reminder that all things which live must also die.

The Burning Man Org does what it can to keep people and the environment safe while burning things. This includes registering art pieces that will be burned and burning things on elevated platforms. Being careful ensures that we aren’t releasing toxins into the air or damaging the soil of the Black Rock Desert.

10. Help Make The Magic Happen

Burning Man is a community effort made engaging by the radical participation of attendees. Burners bring art, teach workshops, host events, give out food, put on concerts, and drive around art cars as much for the enjoyment of others as for themselves.

Volunteering can be an exciting and rewarding way to interact with others. Just a few volunteer opportunities include the Rangers, who serve as non-confrontational community mediators, Arctica, which sells ice, and Earth Guardians, who help participants learn how to Leave No Trace at the event.

You can also spend your summer working for Burning Man, which involves spending anywhere from one week to several months onsite. The construction of Black Rock City involves hundreds of hours of dedicated work building lamp posts, street signs, shade structures, fences, temporary buildings, burn platforms, porto potties, and solar panels under a strict time limit. Not to mention feeding, housing, and transporting all of these people as well as acquiring equipment, materials and fuel for the construction. After the burn you can always stay to help remove waste and restore the playa to its natural state.

With so many options for experiences, the world of Burning Man is your oyster. It can feel incredibly freeing, slightly overwhelming, or a bit of both. So if you find yourself on Playa wondering what to do, consider simply following your heart and seeing where it takes you.