Getting to Burning Man

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Another post stolen from the most awesome Capt RON of the ORPHANAGE camps at BURNING MAN http://orphanendorphin.com/index.html

INgress

The voyage to Black Rock City is a long one, be it by plane, train, or automobile. Let ye CAPTAIN offer some sage advice on making your journey a smooth one.

PLANES

The closest COMMERCIAL airports in order of proximity to Black Rock City

CITYSTATEAIRPORT CODEDISTANCE (miles)
RenoNVRNO125
SacramentoCASMF261
OaklandCAOAK345
San FranciscoCASFO351
San JoseCASJC371
PortlandORPDX509
Las VegasNVLAS514
BurbankCABUR566
OntarioCAONT566
Salt Lake CityUTSLC574
Los AngelesCALAX582

DOMESTIC FLIGHTS

Reno is a great airport! Close and convenient, it’s IN town, so you’re just an uber ride to shopping and lodging. BUT because it’s the closest and most convenient, some of you will find that some flights are already SOLD OUT!

Well here’s a little tip, fly in a DAY earlier or a DAY  later! 

Not only will there be better flight availability, but you will avoid most of the mad crush at the markets, and the traffic to get into BRC. Ditto for your departure flight as well. Try to book a flight out a couple of days after you leave the playa. This gives you plenty of time to “decompress” and get cleaned up! 

Nobody wants to sit next to a smelly & dusty burner…..

There are KILLER after parties at many hotels in downtown Reno. If you want a special treat or a real change of scenery, spend a day or two up in Lake Tahoe!

Sacramento offers quite a few connection options from all the major hubs, like Los Angeles, Salt Lake, Dallas, Denver, and Chicago. It also has a rental car fleet about 4 times larger than Reno. 

OAK, SFO, SJC, are all pretty much the same time and distance to Black Rock City. You may find it’s a lot cheaper to fly into OAK or SJC because of promotional airfares offered by a carrier to take business away from SFO.

LUGGAGE

Your “hard side” or fancy roll aboard luggage is NOT going to work very well for the volume and BULK of your gear.

Oh, it’s a camping trip…. I can just use my backpack? 

NOPE, don’t do it! The baggage machinery at airports LOVES  to BURST zippers and RIP  straps and pockets OFF of your pack!!! 

Wanna know what works well?

A plain old simple “military surplus” duffle bag!!!

  • Tuck away shoulder straps, and a simple single closure system makes this ideal for the playa. 
  • Bag capacities run around 80 to 120 liters in volume. 
  • It’s better to split your stuff across (2) smaller duffle bags to keep the “individual” weight below 50 lbs to avoid overweight charges
  • Affordable at $20.00 to $40.00USD USED. It’s going to get FILTHY anyway, so why buy new?
  • USE packing cubes, stuff sacks and vacuum compression bags to keep your gear organized, otherwise you’re going to be WASTING lots of time trying to find shit…
  • BUY one of these and use it for your “carryon” allotment: Milwaukee 150 lbs. Capacity Foldup Truck – Walmart.com
  • You’ll be able to stack your duffle bags and a cooler on this, making it super easy to get around…..

Decompress at Lake Tahoe

INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS

You’re flying THOUSANDS of miles to BURN? Plan on flying IN at least (2) days earlier so you can get all your shopping, packing and prep work done.

After a week of art and partying non stop, you’re going to want to DECOMPRESS, take a LONG hot shower and snooze poolside or swim in a high mountain lake.

ADD a few days on the tail end of your trip, so you have time to chill out. (hint, Lake Tahoe is fucking AWSOME) https://visitinglaketahoe.com/ 

San Francisco, City by the BAY, for those of you coming from afar, this is numero uno! Pretty much every major international carrier has flights into SFO. Yeah it’s a 7+ hour drive to BRC, but you’re probably coming in a few days early anyway to get used to the time zone change and get acclimated. Might as well do some sightseeing and shopping in one of the top tourist destination cities in the world.

Los Angeles would be the next closest international hub. Although it’s about an 11 hour drive to BRC, it’s a pretty scenic drive once you get out of LA and cruise up along the eastern Sierra Nevada mountain range.

Captain’s advice

How much is your time WORTH? 

Some of you will try to “save” money by flying into SFO, LAX, SLC, and renting a car to drive in. Well if there are several of you, splitting the cost of fuel and driving duties….. and extra rental car days, that might work out.

BUT

Did you ever consider all the extra partying you could be doing instead of wasting time driving 7 to 11 hours? 

After a long week in the desert, do you really want to spend HOURS crammed inside of a car, driving back to the airport????

Rental CAR

BOOK it NOW!!!! But DO NOT opt for the advance payment option!!!

  • Rates have gone down from pandemic years
  • $500.00 $700.00 depending on vehicle type
  • Recheck the rates about (2) weeks prior to your arrival.

*SAVE some money, DON’T rent from the airport agencies. Take an UBER to an “OFF airport” property rental office and then you avoid all the bullshit airport fees

Many agencies will refuse to rent cars to burners and the ones that do, will charge you a $150 to $200 “cleaning fee” 

Pretty much every rental car company in Reno is wise to ALL the cover stories that burners use. You could be standing at the counter wearing a nice suit and tie, and they are going to either ask you if you’re going to Burning Man or make you sign a document that states that you will not operate your vehicle “off-road”

Gee, can’t I just go to the car wash and run it through a couple of times?

Well that would clean the exterior of the vehicle, BUT what they’ll do at the rental return lot is pop open the hood and check the engine compartment for playa dust or another thing they’ll check is the air vents and door seals.

TRAINS

Why YES, there is train service to Reno, so you would have to go to Reno Airport first and then arrange transportation to BRC. (See BUS Below).

PROS

  • Cheaper than flying
  • Scenic
  • Plenty of time to catch a nap

CONS

  • Takes TWICE as long as driving

AUTOMOBILE

PROS

  • Haul EVERYTHING you could possibly need
  • Travel on your own schedule
  • Secure place to LOCK up your valuables
  • Air conditioned sanctuary when you really need it

CONS

  • Playa DUST gets into EVERYTHING
  • You’re going to be wiffing Playa dust for the life of the vehicle…….
  • HINT: Switch your vehicle’s airflow to “RECIRCULATE” before you leave the pavement!!!
  • Highly corrosive and will corrode parts on your car for years to come

***BUS***

FUCK YEAH!!!

You can take a bus to Black Rock City.

https://burnerexpress.burningman.org

Save your sanity and some MONEY

It’s a charter bus service run by the BORG, with departures from San Francisco and Reno. Once on board, it’s like a rolling playa party and you get to BYPASS the 8 hour entry and exodos lines via dedicated EXPRESS LANES in and out of the city.

If you’re in a theme camp, this is the BEST way to get to BRC!!!!

ARRIVE ALIVE

It’s a LONG drive, no matter if you’re coming from North, West, East, or South. 

SLOW the HELL down….. it’s only a (2) lane road from all points on the approach and there will be DUMB FUCKERS trying to pass buses and RV’s all the time.

Every year there are horrific head on collisions because some asshole wants to shave a few minutes off their drive. 

Ye Captain does not really care if YOU die in a rollover, or are horribly maimed and disfigured for life…… it’s the other innocent victims that I’m concerned for

Don’t be a DUMB FUCKER 

SPEEDING

  • Don’t do it…….
  • SPEED TRAPS in Wadsworth, and Nixon.
  • Seriously……. You WILL get a ticket and that’s a shitty way to start your burn!
  • REDUCE your speed at night! Nothing will FUCK your burn like hitting wildlife or a cow

THE LONG WAIT

THOUSANDS of vehicles will be creeping along the 7 mile long GATE road on the final approach to Black Rock City. Depending on the day you pick to enter the city, the wait in line could be as LONG as 6 HOURS!!! Sunday and Monday are usually the busiest days for arrivals and the traffic can back up all the way to Gerlach.

  • It’s a good idea to pack some food and drinks in an EASY to access place
  • Ye Captain recommends stopping at the supermarket and picking up a “sub” sandwich or wrap because they keep well and don’t make much of a mess….
  • There are porta potties positioned along the entrance road on the playa
  • Don’t speed on the playa entry road!!! You’re NOT going to get in any quicker and it just ruts out the road

<end of LOG entry>

The Twisted Swan Celtic Pub and Temple of Bacchus are not affiliated with Orphan Endorphin, but we think they, and Captain Ron, are fuckin’ awesome. We hope they aren’t too pissed at us for yoinking their content.

WHO the fuck is Captain RON? 2025 BIO – Captain RON

WHAT the hell is the “Captain’s LOG? “The Captain’s LOG” is a (36) part series of articles about surviving and thriving at Burning Man. Written in a concise, and simple format, it appeals to the short attention span of today’s social media generation. LOGS are UPDATED every year and are posted in various related fb groups. You can view some of the LOGS here: http://orphanendorphin.com/reading.html

These articles are used and referenced by hundreds of theme camps to acculturate their members. Additionally, thousands of “Burgins” rely on this pushed content to help them prepare for the burn.

If you’re an “eager beaver” you can skip ahead of the class by joining this facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2121462864584866 You MUST answer the qualifying questions in order to join the group! If you don’t know the answer, then you should probably just stay home or go to Coachella……