Exploring New Horizons: The Black Rock Desert
The Black Rock Desert – most popularly known for the location where the art/lifestyle festival of Burning Man is held every August, as droves of people from all over the world make their way to The Playa for a week of music, connecting and self-expression.
I’ve lived in Reno, NV for almost 8 years now. That means I’ve seen hundreds of “Burners” (as they are colloquially referred to) come in and out of Reno each summer, (the closest major city), and caravan off North for their pilgrimage. Although I’ve never been a Burning Man person myself, after visiting the Black Rock Desert recently for a camping trip – I realized it’s so much more than Burning Man. Frankly, the fact that there weren’t thousands of people there with us was just the icing on the cake.
We were seeking some respite from our current reality – and where better to do that than one of the most remote places in Nevada, which is probably up there as one of the most remote places in the whole United States.
We took off around 9am on a Friday for our trip to the Black Rock Desert, we headed toward a teeny town called Gerlach, which is spitting distance from the Playa itself. It took about 3ish hours to get there from Reno.
(Just to clarify, I’ve mentioned “The Playa” a couple times now, which is the huge dried up lake bed that used to house Lake Lahontan many, many years ago. Now, it’s flat, barren, dried up and covered in very fine mineral deposits which make it inhospitable for any plant life. Oddly enough, the word Playa actually means “Beach” in Spanish.)
Gerlach, NV is the home of just 107 residents. It has one gas station, a post office, some houses, a small Burning Man office, and that is about it. From there, we kept heading North to a dirt road called Soldiers Meadow Road – that was the last paved road we’d see for our entire trip. Soldiers Meadow Road is still a county maintained road even though it’s unpaved, so as far as dirt roads go, it wasn’t terrible to drive on. From here, you can stop several places to camp within the 5 – 10 miles.
We winded back up into the desert about another 40 miles where we started to scout our camping spot for the next 2 nights. We weaved back a bit further and happened to stumble upon a little cabin. A unique thing about the Black Rock Desert is there are a few user-maintained cabins around that are first come, first served. There is no reservation system, they don’t lock, and if you get there first you can stay there for up to 14 nights consecutively. The cabin is quaint and small, it had just enough room inside for a small table, a wood burning stove and a few shelves stocked with some necessities campers have left behind – some cooking oil, spices, paper plates, etc. We were able to set up our air mattresses inside, and there was also a separate bathroom structure about 30 feet away with a bucket toilet stocked with toilet paper and hand sanitizer.
We were ecstatic about the lucky find, we knew the cabins existed, but had no idea where they were, or if we’d be able to find one.
After some lunch and setting up, we headed out to explore. We wanted to check out both Fly Canyon and High Rock Canyon.
Insider Tip: Keep in mind, all the dirt roads (except Soldiers Meadow Road) are VERY bumpy and rocky. You need to have 4-wheel drive when going up there.
As I mentioned before, I have lived in Nevada for the better part of my life, and I have never seen anywhere like High Rock Canyon. The cliffs were sharp, and a deep red color, which contrasted beautifully against the blue skies and green grass. You can even camp in the High Rock Canyon when they open the gates second week of May. We walked around a bit and took in the scenery, and then headed back to our cabin where we made dinner, started a fire in the fire pit outside and enjoyed some smore’s, laughs and stories.
The next day, we went rock hounding. The Black Rock Desert is notorious for having lots of agate, turquoise, jasper, geodes and maybe even gold, if you really know what you’re doing and know where to look. We didn’t find any gold, but we found handfuls of bright red jasper, obsidian and opaque opalite. That second night was windy – brutally windy. It had started earlier in the day and got increasingly worse as the day went on. For that, we were grateful for our little cabin.
Insider Tip: Camping in the desert is completely different than camping in the forest where you’re surrounded by trees. In the desert, you are exposed. There is nothing to break the wind.
We were able to make some dinner in a spot away from the wind, and then enjoyed a night in our cabin with a small fire going in the wood burning stove, after a smore, we went to bed completely exhausted from our adventure that day. We capped off our trip the next morning with a dip in the hot springs. There are a bunch in that area – just takes some patience and a little research to find them. The warm water felt wonderful on our sore and tired bodies. After that, we headed back to the Playa for one more look. The Playa is incredible, and a sight I think everyone needs to witness at some point in their lives. When you’re stopped in the middle, you feel like you’re on the moon, being surrounded by miles and miles of completely flat, white land with mountains way off in the distance. Driving across it feels like driving a boat – there’s no roads, it’s all just wide open space.
All in all:
We had an incredible time — and I’d go again in a heartbeat. The sights were extraordinary, we saw tons of wild horses and some wild donkeys. Cows and wild antelope are also very common up there. Being completely disconnected from any cell service was a welcome change. As someone who manages social media for a living, it’s impossible to completely disconnect. Only using my phone for pictures was wonderful.
A few tips if or when you plan a trip to the Black Rock Desert:
1) As mentioned above, you will be doing quite a bit of driving, you will need 4-wheel drive. Some of the dirt roads are better than others, but there is a lot of bumps and rocks in the roads. Be aware, and if you see wet or muddiness – check before you drive on it. Getting stuck in the mud is the last thing you want. As I said, there is NO cell reception, and nothing for miles. Drive carefully.
2) Also in the realm of driving, it’s a great idea to make sure your gas tank is full, and even to bring an extra 5 or 10 gallons with you. Depending on how far you go, you want to make sure you have enough to get out there, do some exploring, and more importantly, be able to get back out.
3) Time of year is important when it comes to exploring the Black Rock Desert and the Playa. We went early May, I think in a few weeks, it will get very hot and even more windy, and anything too soon at the end of winter could be wet and muddy. Early winter would also be a great time to go, around November before snow starts flying.
4) It is DRY. Very, very dry. Bring more water than you think you’ll need. We definitely did not drink enough water while we were out there, and I wish we had brought even a bit more than we had. There was 3 of us and we think about 5 gallons per day would be sufficient (that includes drinking, dish washing, hand washing etc.) Drink up.
5) Do some map research before you go up there, go into Google maps on your phone and drop pins where you want to go and be sure to download your maps at home where you have wifi. You won’t be able to access offline maps when you’re up there.
6) Be courteous to the area – if you pack it in, be sure to pack it out.
7) Be careful. Drive carefully, and be careful as you’re walking and hiking. We were very far from any kind of medical help if we needed it.
The Black Rock Desert is no longer just associated with Burning Man for me. It now brings me memories of good times with my dog and boyfriend, the conversations we had, and the joy, peace and serenity of escaping society for a moment.
If you’re considering a trip, I cannot recommend it enough. It’s an incredibly special place with new and beautiful findings around every corner. Enjoy this massive desert – and don’t be afraid of a little dust.