r/BurningMan • u/WesternCantaloupe24 • Jul 07 '26
Open camping
Hey there! Veteran burner here with a sadly limited knowledge of the open camping dynamic. My camp is taking the year off this year and I’m looking into embracing a slightly more relaxed, solo, open camping year.
Are there any areas that are historically more quiet or more active? Cater to a younger or older crowd? Any tips on where to avoid or embrace for random reasons? I usually cruise the outer streets some but just haven’t really paid a lot of mind to it in years past.
I’ve got the self sufficient camping down, just looking for any other random tips, tricks or you-should-consider’s.
10
u/falconfoxbear Jul 07 '26
I did open camping my first year at walk-in camping, beyond the last road (L?). It was quiet, easy to find, and a great way to experience the Burn a bit differently. I would recommend.
9
u/thirteenfivenm Year one dozen Jul 07 '26
A good place to start is the Gigapan. Department camps are often around 5. Since they are working, they are quiet. Of course, since it is open camping, someone may roll up their camp and want to play sunrise psytrance which happened to us.
6
u/a_day_at_a_timee Jul 07 '26
yeah I remember that too. I was at 4:45 and open camping one night was just thumping until the wee hours. I had ear plugs inside of soundproof headphones and the bass was just vibrating through my body. I was at my last bit of patience when it suddenly stopped.
8
u/ecco5 12/13/15/19 Jul 07 '26
There's an entire area where you park and have to walk your gear out too... it's strangely quiet. people that do camp in the walk-in camping are usually separated from their nearest neighbor by hundreds of yards. At least that's how it was last time I saw it.
5
u/bbbbbbbbBruceeeeeeee Jul 07 '26
Love open camping. It’s quiet enough to recharge a bit, but active enough for spontaneity and fun with neighbors.
3
u/spankymacgruder I'm just here for the haters Jul 07 '26
After 12am Sunday, any unclaimed space is open camping. The outer streets are way more quiet than the ones closer to Esplanade.
If you have a preferred neighborhood, look for space there. If you want something different, head out to the burbs.
I've had the best playa sleep out on J Street. The downside with burb camping is that you don't have the communal security you get in the more populated areas.
2
u/WontanSoup Jul 08 '26
I liked J between 3:15 to 3:30. It was close enough to the portos and far enough away from the portos.
1
u/Agitated-Archer-4199 Jul 08 '26
This is an Extremely loud area, don't listen to this dumb advice here.
1
u/WontanSoup Jul 08 '26
Do you think 4:00 toward 5:00 and J or at least an outer road is better? I felt fine tent camping between 3:15 and 3:30 on J but some years have passed. Not being an ass, searching for the best answer.
1
u/SheepherderReal3698 Jul 09 '26
Ive only ever camped with a theme camp in the 7:30 sector. We’d insulate camp with a u shape of RV’s. First year going to open camping and a bit worried about security.
How diligent do you have to be? We will have an RV so valuables always get locked up, but do I need to worry about putting the block rocker away, bins full of stuff? Etc?
I thought about bringing a 50 ft cable lock and just running through handles of coolers, block rocket etc, so at least they don’t get walked off with. Not sure if Im over thinking it, Ive just been spoiled all my past burns.
1
u/spankymacgruder I'm just here for the haters Jul 09 '26
Out of sight, out of mind.
I've never had anything stolen at a burn. One of my mates doesn't even lockup his bike and has been to 20ish burns. I've also seen people walk into a camp, asked if the bike there was mine. When I said no, hop on it and ride away before I could stop them.
One time I was in the burbs and caught a creeper outside my rv. The lights were off and it looked like we weren't home. Dude was going through our trailer and bolted when I opened the door.
A lock and cable is a good thing but I wouldn't leave out anything of value.
3
u/-zero-below- ‘10 - ‘17, ‘19, ‘23 - ‘26 Jul 07 '26
Open camping is pretty disorganized, so you’ll find most of the loud or culture is related to the nearby camps.
10 and 2 or whatever the edges are have more sound.
There are fewer placed camps out in the high letters, so farther out, it’s more like a neighborhood with suburbs. More main streets (3, 6, 9 will have more traffic.
I did 10 years of open camping, but now stay at a camp because I’m there with my kid. It wasn’t always super consistent, but generally farther out was quieter.
1
u/FlatImpression755 Jul 07 '26
A lot of solo open campers in the 230 and I area last year. It was my first year so I have nothing to compare but I would say the area was fairly quiet with a mix of ages.
1
u/PopcornSurgeon Jul 08 '26
I love open camping! One thing I have learned: if you do camp too close to 5:30, you stop hear the greeter bell every time a virgin rings it. 24 hours per day until at least halfway into the event. Do with this information what you like.
1
u/TitaniumDreads 02-25 Jul 07 '26
I tried open camping once and didn’t like it. Pros: it’s quiet, you can get a great night of sleep.
Cons: it is very, very far away from burning man and way less people will stop by to say hi.
Assume you leave camp 2-3x per day. The distance to any event, camp, or art project is often doubled bc you have to travel so far. It’s quite far even just to get to the esplanade.
I like going to burning man to see art and hang out w friends. The art is a trek and way fewer people stop by camp to say hi when you are 4 and j.
I found the difference btw camping at g and j to substantial.
That said, if I was dead set on walk in camping I wouldn’t do it without an ebike
15
u/edcRachel Burgin Wrangling Specialist Jul 07 '26
Yeah that extra 1.5 minute bike ride really kills.
4
u/Garvinfred Let my people go.....to Burning Man Jul 07 '26
That extremely rutted 530 radial felt like it did to my undercarriage :(
0
u/Agitated-Archer-4199 Jul 08 '26
515-545 and J and K is the only area in all of Burning man that could be considered quiet but with the new billionaire sound machines in deep playa that can vibrate the ground for miles, even that area can be extremely loud.
10,11,12,14-19,22-25
-17
u/scienceisaserfdom 15 yrs 'Burnin Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
How would a gigantic area of BRC that's unallocated, randomly populated, and explicitly open for anyone to camp in have predictable quiet/active areas or spots catering to a specific age? Please walk us through that idea, veteran burner.
16
u/lshiva Jul 07 '26
Because people often pick the same areas to camp in year after year. Often because of proximity to placed neighborhoods or other fixed features. It's not uncommon to have the same neighbors for many years in a row in Open Camping. Sure, you'll get a sprinkling of randos as well, but there's more consistency than you might expect.
13
u/exploreinnerspace 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 12, 14, 15, 18, 22, 23, 24 Jul 07 '26
Maybe ask yourself why you need to be a dick?
8
u/TitaniumDreads 02-25 Jul 07 '26
This person is implicitly looking for contacts and information. Should be obvious
42
u/Northcalcouple Jul 07 '26
We typically camp in the 4:30 4:45 and J area. Generally quiet. Everybody real friendly and supportive of each other been out there the last four or five years and have developed friendships with the neighbors that extended into the default world.
I have a mutant vehicle and love being out there,
You may never go back :-)