How to find and evaluate a camp

Decide what you want from a camp

Write down your own requirements before contacting anyone:

• the kind of contribution you want to make, such as food service, art, building, performance, repair, education, hospitality, or Leave No Trace;
• whether you can arrive for build, remain for strike, or only work during the event;
• the maximum cash you can commit beyond your ticket, transport, personal supplies, and emergency reserve;
• the number and length of shifts you can realistically complete;
• your needs around sleep, sound, sobriety, accessibility, meals, refrigeration, power, shade, children, task-trained service-animal accommodation, or RV parking;
• the kind of social environment in which you feel welcome and safe;
• any firm boundaries involving nudity, sexualized spaces, alcohol, substances, photography, touching, or late-night activity.

A camp's public offering may sound exciting while its residential culture is a poor match. Evaluate both.

Search in a realistic order

Start with channels where the camp has chosen to be found:

1. Review the official 2026 camp directory. The tent symbol identifies camps open to new campers. Use the listed website or contact link rather than guessing private contact information.
2. Search Spark for public camp and project recruitment posts that match your skills.
3. Read or start public threads on ePlaya or Burning Man Hive.
4. Ask people you have met through regional events, volunteer projects, or other Burner communities for introductions.
5. Use public social groups as leads, then verify the camp through a current website, video call, named organizer, and written expectations.

The directory describes a camp's public gift and hometown. It does not certify that its internal culture, finances, or leadership will fit you. The 2026 page also lists camps that applied for placement; appearing there does not confirm that a camp was selected or remains in good standing. Ask the camp to explain its current status without treating placement as a guarantee of fit.

Playa tip (community practice - not an official requirement): Contact a small number of camps with a specific note about what attracts you and what you can contribute. A tailored message is more useful than sending the same request to dozens of camps.

Use the planning calendar

There is no official membership deadline, but camp planning has a real cycle. Burning Man's placement calendar provides a useful approximation:

• September through January: returning camps review the previous year, choose leads, estimate size, and make preliminary plans. This is the best period for building relationships for the following Burn.
• February through April: placed camps define population, infrastructure, interactivity, safety, and Leave No Trace plans. Joining during this period leaves time for meaningful onboarding and pre-playa work.
• May through July: placement, dimensions, addresses, and neighboring camps become clearer. Some camps recruit for open roles or replace cancellations, but many rosters and budgets are already set.
• August: treat any opening as late-stage. Join only when a named leader can explain the role, dues, shifts, arrival plan, sleeping space, and onboarding in writing. Otherwise, prepare for open camping.

For 2026, the official directory is live. In late July, focus on camps that explicitly say they are accepting campers and ask when they need a decision. Do not let a rushed deadline replace a real conversation.

Send a useful first message

Include:

• your name and home region;
• whether this is your first Burn;
• why that camp's offering interests you;
• useful skills or work you genuinely enjoy;
• your expected arrival and departure dates;
• whether you can help with build or strike;
• any major logistical need, such as an RV, accessibility accommodation, quiet sleeping, dietary restriction, task-trained service-animal accommodation, or sobriety-supportive environment;
• two or three questions that cannot be answered from the camp's public page.

Do not begin by asking only what amenities you receive. A theme camp exists to bring a shared gift to Black Rock City.

Ask these questions before committing

Purpose, culture, and membership

• What does the camp contribute to Black Rock City?
• What does a normal day in camp feel like?
• How many campers are returning, new to the camp, and new to Burning Man?
• How are new campers oriented or paired with experienced campmates?
• What behavior has caused someone to be asked to leave in the past?
• Are the camp's values and member expectations written down?
• Is there a membership call, meeting, or project session before acceptance?

Work, shifts, build, and strike

• Exactly how many shifts are required, and how long is each shift?
• Are meetings, off-playa preparation, loading, build, strike, cleanup, or storage work also required?
• Which jobs require training, lifting, driving, food handling, tools, or late hours?
• How are unpopular shifts assigned?
• What happens if someone is ill, injured, delayed, or unable to complete a shift?
• Can campers trade shifts, and who approves the change?
• Is arrival for build or departure after strike mandatory?
• Who is responsible when another camper does not do their share?

Dues and shared resources

• What is the total amount due, when is it due, and what is refundable?
• What does the budget pay for?
• Are ticket, vehicle pass, transport, storage, fuel, food, water, ice, wastewater, power, showers, shade, or bike costs separate?
• Is there a damage, cleanup, or strike deposit? What exact condition returns it?
• Who holds the funds and who can see the budget or expense summary?
• What happens to a surplus?
• What is the cancellation and refund policy?
• Are any organizers, staff, or service providers being paid for work on playa?
• If a ticket allocation is discussed, how will the individual camper receive and purchase it through an official Burning Man process?

Official guidance: Burning Man's Camp Resource Guide says most larger camps collect dues and gives a broad example range from about $50 to $500 or more. The amount alone does not tell you whether a camp is responsible. Burning Man describes legitimate dues as shared actual camp expenses, not profit for organizers or payment that lets someone avoid participation.

Shelter, food, water, and logistics

• What must every camper bring independently?
• Is personal sleeping space assigned, measured, or first-come?
• What shade is communal and what shade must you provide?
• Are meals included? If so, how many, for how many people, and who cooks and cleans?
• Does every camper still bring personal emergency food and water?
• How are drinking water, handwashing water, gray water, trash, recycling, and MOOP handled?
• What power is available, during which hours, and for which approved uses?
• What are the generator and quiet-hour rules?
• Are RVs accepted, and what space, power, pumping, fuel, and arrival rules apply?
• Where do vehicles and bikes go?
• Who communicates the final address and arrival instructions?

Consent, safety, and conflict

• Is there a written consent policy covering touching, photography, sexualized activity, intoxication, and revoking consent?
• How are visitors informed when an activity requires an explicit opt-in?
• Who can receive a concern privately?
• Is there a second reporting path if the concern involves a camp lead?
• What are the steps for conflict resolution and for urgent escalation?
• How does the camp respond to harassment, retaliation, violence, coercion, or repeated boundary violations?
• What safety leads or trained roles exist for structures, fire, fuel, electrical systems, kitchens, and first aid?
• How are accessibility needs handled?
• If you use a task-trained service animal, what accommodation and safety plan will the camp support? Pets and emotional-support animals are not permitted at the event.
• Are adult-oriented spaces separated and clearly identified?
• Can you decline an activity, substance, touch, photo, costume, or performance without losing membership or being punished socially?

A camp does not need a corporate handbook. It does need clear answers and leaders willing to be accountable.

Calculate the real commitment

Camp dues are only one part of the commitment.

Use this cash formula:

Maximum cash committed = dues + required shared purchases + transport or storage share + deposits + required personal equipment

If a deposit is refundable, calculate both the maximum cash you must have available and the expected final cost.

Example:

• $350 dues;
• $85 shared transport;
• $60 required consumables;
• $100 refundable cleanup deposit.

Maximum cash committed is $595. Expected final cost after return of the deposit is $495. Ticket, vehicle pass, personal water, food, shelter, and travel may still be separate.

Then calculate time:

Camp work hours = preparation + meetings + loading + build + event shifts + strike + unloading or cleanup

Example:

• 6 hours of preparation and meetings;
• 8 hours of build;
• three 3-hour event shifts;
• 6 hours of strike;
• 3 hours of unloading.

Total camp work is 32 hours.

These numbers are not reasons to reject a camp. They make it possible to commit honestly instead of discovering the agreement in the dust.

Watch for red flags

Decline or pause when:

• someone sells an all-in package of ticket, transportation, RV, food, bikes, costumes, or staffed service;
• dues are demanded before you receive a written description of costs, participation, cancellation, and refund terms;
• leaders cannot explain who controls the money or what the budget supports;
• paying more allows someone to avoid the work expected from other campers;
• the camp describes members as guests and other members as staff serving them;
• leaders promise that you do not need to prepare, read the Survival Guide, or remain self-reliant;
• required shifts, build, strike, or cleanup obligations change after payment;
• a camp claims placement, ticket access, facilities, meals, or services but will not explain what is actually confirmed;
• there is pressure to drink, use substances, remove clothing, accept touch, be photographed, or participate in sexualized activity;
• saying no is mocked, debated, or treated as disloyalty;
• the only reporting path is the person whose behavior concerns you;
• leaders dismiss safety, consent, accessibility, conflict, or Leave No Trace questions as bad vibes;
• urgent payment pressure replaces a call with a named leader;
• former members consistently describe retaliation, hidden obligations, or missing refunds and leadership will not address the pattern.

Official rule: Burning Man Project says concierge companies and camps selling packaged Burning Man experiences are not permitted. Camps should share actual expenses, not generate personal profit or purchase on-playa labor.

A camp being unplaced, small, new, inexpensive, or informal is not itself a red flag. The concern is deception, coercion, unsafe practice, or unclear commitment.

Score the fit

First apply vetoes. Any unresolved consent, safety, coercion, package-sale, or financial-integrity red flag means stop, regardless of score.

For everything else, rate each category:

• 0: unknown, contradicted, or does not fit;
• 1: partly clear or workable with a specific change;
• 2: clear and a strong fit.

Multiply each rating by its weight:

• consent and safety: weight 5;
• clarity of expectations: weight 5;
• culture and values: weight 4;
• work and contribution fit: weight 4;
• shelter and logistics fit: weight 4;
• financial clarity: weight 3;
• communication and trust: weight 3;
• excitement about the shared gift: weight 2.

The maximum score is 60:

Fit score = sum of each rating multiplied by its weight

Use the result as a conversation tool:

• 48 to 60: strong candidate; confirm the agreement in writing;
• 39 to 47: potentially workable; resolve every low-scoring item and score it again;
• below 39: keep looking or choose open camping.

A high score never cancels a safety or consent veto.

Confirm the agreement

Before paying or promising labor, save a copy of:

• the total dues, deadlines, refund terms, and any deposit conditions;
• what the camp provides and what each camper provides;
• required meetings, preparation, build, shifts, strike, and cleanup;
• arrival, departure, vehicle, RV, sleeping-space, and meal expectations;
• consent, photography, conflict, and reporting policies;
• the name and contact method of your lead;
• the process for changes, emergencies, or withdrawal.

If a camp's plans change materially, decide again. An earlier yes does not oblige you to accept a different agreement.

If no camp fits

Do not join a poor fit out of fear that you need a camp. Open camping is a valid way to live in Black Rock City, not a consolation prize. Use the open-camping guide to calculate a complete footprint, verify an available site, and build around the people and equipment that are actually present.

You can still participate, volunteer, visit camps, contribute to projects, meet future campmates, and build relationships for another year.