Wasteland Weekend
- Dates
- Sep 30 to Oct 4, 2026
- Status
- Confirmed
- Venue
- Mojave Desert
- Price
- Not announced
- Camping
- Available
- Last checked
- Sep 1, 2026
Wasteland Weekend returns to Mojave Desert, North Edwards, CA, Sep 30 to Oct 4, 2026. Froligo tracks ticket prices, camping, attendee feedback and travel details.
The experience
What's special
Wasteland Weekend is a fully immersive, post-apocalyptic desert festival billed as the world's largest event of its kind, staged in the Mojave Desert near North Edwards, California. Rather than a music lineup, the draw is total immersion in a Mad Max / Fallout-style theme: in-theme post-apocalyptic costume is required of every attendee, performer, vendor, staffer and volunteer in all areas, including the non-theme zone. The build is participant-driven, with elaborately themed campsites, custom vehicles and camps ('Tribes') that stage much of the programming themselves. Alongside that, the organizer runs main-stage entertainment each night live bands, DJs, dance and fire performers plus costume and vehicle contests, a post-apocalyptic car show, combat spectacles and LARP-style quests woven through the encampment. The event is strictly 18+
What people love
Long-time attendees describe Wasteland Weekend as very much what you make of it: those who go out, explore and engage with the camps tend to have a great time, and many veterans call it a highlight of their year. Repeat visitors talk about it as a chance to fully drop out of everyday life for a few days, and about the community friendly camps, being 'adopted' by a Tribe, and a family-reunion-of-strangers atmosphere. First-timers are encouraged to join newbie events (bar crawls, meet-and-greets, quests) and to do their reading beforehand, since a lot of the fun is participant-run rather than centrally programmed
The ideals
Burners describe the culture through ten principles, written by the community in 2004.
Radical inclusion
Anyone may belong; no prerequisites.Gifting
Giving freely, no barter, no expectation.Decommodification
No ads, sponsorship or selling, which makes room for independent art.Radical self-reliance
Bring everything you need.Radical self-expression
Offered as a gift, unique to the giver.Communal effort
We build it together.Civic responsibility
Organisers answer for public welfare.Leaving no trace
Everything packed out, to the last sequin.Participation
Made real by doing, not watching.Immediacy
No barrier between you and the moment.Tickets, how they work
Burn tickets do not work like a normal festival. Here is the system, the price detail is in Pricing below.
- 1Limited, and advance-onlyThere are no sales at the gate. No ticket before you go means no entry.
- 2Sold in timed roundsRegister in advance for the main sale, with later releases if earlier rounds sell out.
- 3Often pay-what-you-canMany burns use tiered or donation pricing, with low-income and ticket-aid options.
- 4A vehicle pass may be separateSome burns charge per car on top of the ticket.
- 5Transfers are official-onlyTickets move through the organiser's system, which shuts out scalpers.
Pricing
Your first burn
What it actually feels like to go for the first time, and how to land softly.
It will feel overwhelming, and that is normal
The scale hits everyone the first time. You cannot see it all, so do not try.Pace yourself
Water, food, shade and sleep first. Burnout is the classic first-timer mistake.Say yes, and come ready to give
The best moments are unplanned; accept a gift, join a camp, but bring something to offer back.It can move you unexpectedly
Many are surprised by the emotion. That is part of it.How to participate
A burn has no audience. Here is how a first-timer actually takes part.
- 1There are no spectatorsEveryone takes part. Turning up ready to contribute is the whole idea.
- 2Join or build a theme campCamp with a group that offers something back, a bar, a workshop, a stage.
- 3Gift somethingGive freely, no money changes hands. A drink, a skill, a repair, a moment.
- 4Make or help the artVolunteer with an art crew, help build and burn the effigy.
- 5Take a volunteer shiftGreeters, gate, Rangers and Leave-No-Trace crews keep the city running; a shift is how newcomers plug in.
- 6Leave it betterPack out your own litter and pitch in on teardown.
What to wear
By day
- Loose natural fibres and a wide hat
- Goggles and a dust mask for whiteouts
- High-SPF sun cover, the desert is relentless
- Sturdy closed shoes for hot, sharp ground
After dark
- Warm layers, nights turn cold fast
- Lights or EL wire so you are seen
- Something expressive, costumes are the norm
- Skip loose glitter and feathers, they become litter
The playa fashion
Costumes are the norm, not required. A look at how people actually dress the part.
What to bring
Radical self-reliance is literal: come stocked to live the whole event unaided.
At this burn specifically
- On-site desert camping is the core of the event and everyone stays on the playa for its full run.
- There are no RV hookups on site, so RVs need their own power (generator, solar or battery) and attendees fill their water/RV tanks in advance (a water license from the nearby national park is mentioned for filling tanks).
- There is no potable water supplied on site;
- long-time attendees advise bringing plenty of water at least around 4 litres per person per day.
- Porta-johns are provided, but bring your own toilet paper.
- The desert climate swings hard: days can top 100°F while nights get very cold, so shade, sun protection and warm layers/blankets for sleeping are all recommended.
The art
Enormous installations built by independent artist collectives, many burned at the end.
Old-timer tips
Hard-won advice seasoned burners pass to first-timers.
- Overprepare on water, then add morethe most common veteran tip, by far
- Red-mode headlamp, and label everythingyou will thank yourself at 3am
- Build in a rest daythe people who last the week pace the week
- Gift experiences, not stuffthe best gifts leave nothing behind
- Learn the address system before you arriveit is how you find anyone and anything
See it before you go
Burner lexicon
- Playa
- The dry lakebed the temporary city is built on.
- MOOP
- 'Matter Out Of Place', any litter, to a single sequin.
- Default world
- Everyday life, outside the event.
- Sparkle pony
- A newcomer who turns up underprepared.
- Gifting
- Giving with no barter or expectation.
- Dusty
- Caked in playa dust, a badge of honour.
- Virgin burn
- Your first year.
- The Temple
- A reflective structure, burned at the end.
Getting there
No travel details for Wasteland Weekend yet.
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Where
Exact location not mapped yet.
Venue
Mojave Desert
Camping & Accommodation
No camping or lodging details for Wasteland Weekend yet.
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Accessibility & comfort
What the organiser publishes on access, ages and comfort.
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