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Directions to Burning Man from Phoenix &
Tucson (Open
as a PDF)
Take I-10 through PHX and follow the signs that say I-10 West-Los
Angeles.
Take this way out past Dysart and Litchfield roads to Cotton
Lane-Loop 303.
Take the Loop 303 exit and turn right onto Loop 303.
Go down about 15 miles until 303 intersects at Highway 60 to
Wickenburg. There is an overpass at US-60 and a turn you must
take when you get to the US -60 and Loop 303 Junction. At US-60 and
turn left to Wickenburg. This is a good road with only a couple
stops and light traffic. There is a new Albertson's grocery store
and gas station on Loop 303 about 3 miles or so before you get to
US-60. It is on your left in a shopping Plaza at the intersection of
Bell Rd and loop 303/Cotton lane. I recommend buying gas there. It
is at least 20 cents a gallon cheaper than Wickenburg, which is
about 20 miles away. Pay attention after you go past Bell Road, the
Junction to US 60 is just down the road.
When you get to downtown Wickenburg, turn right at the Circle K on
highway US-93 and head to Wikiup and I-40 to Kingman. There is two
24 hour gas stations in Wikiup Arizona if you need them. The area
around Wikiup is patrolled by the Highway Patrol. They have a zero
tolerance for speeders.
Once you get to Kingman you will go the usual route on 1-40 out of
town. Pay Attention to the signs on the west end of Kingman. You
must exit I-40 again at US-93. It is very easy to miss. You must
take this exit whether you are going over Hoover Dam or the Bullhead
City bypass and around through Searchlight.
If you have an RV or heavily packed vehicle, they are now allowing
those across the dam if you consent to a cursory search. However if
your vehicle is so tightly packed that they can't inspect it, you
will be sent back the other way. Also they will not let you cross
the dam if you have over 25 gallons of gas stored in gas cans in
your trailer. Official guidelines are located at this link:
http://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/crossingguide.pdf
We have heard the inspections are getting more involved lately. It
is up to you to decide if the time it saves using the Hoover dam
route is worth the hassle.
Instead of taking the exit to Hoover Dam you may want to use the
Laughlin-Bullhead City route. A little warning, the grades over
these mountains and down to the river are steep and will be the
hardest grades of the entire trip. If you are loaded heavy you will
need to use your gears to help control speeds on the down grade.
Also pay attention to your engine temperature on these grades. This
is where a lot of RV's and heavy loaded vehicles overheat. There is
a bridge across the river at the bottom of the grade. Pay close
attention to the road signs that will direct you over the bridge.
Once you leave Laughlin you'll go up to Boulder City and Vegas by
way of Searchlight Nevada. you will go through Las Vegas on I-515 /
US-95. You need to watch the signs at the Downtown Las Vegas
interchange. Make sure you stay on US-95 to Beatty and Tonopah which
takes you up the Eastern edge of Nevada
Once in Boulder City you are back on the standard route into Vegas.
Las Vegas does have heavy daytime rush hour traffic. If possible, it
is best to plan your drive through Vegas to avoid the morning and
late afternoon rush hours. The last gas in Vegas is way out at Ann
Rd. There is a few stations out past Ann Road now. But we try to
stop someplace in that area because there is food and gas 24 hours a
day at the Ann Road exit. This is the last relatively cheap gas you
will find in Nevada. For current info on Nevada gas prices,
particularly larger metro areas try this link:
http://www.nevadagasprices.com/
The next gas and food are in Indian Springs about 60 miles away.
Generally, Indian Springs, Beatty, Tonopah and Hawthorn are about 15
to 20 cents per gallon higher than Las Vegas.
Beatty is just about half way to Burning Man for those coming from
Tucson. Baileys Hot Springs-RV Park is on the far north end of
Beatty about 3 miles out of town on your right on the way to
Tonopah. They have RV parking, rest rooms and showers plus enclosed
Hot springs for $16.00 per vehicle. This is an old haunt for
Azburners on the way to Burning Man. If you stop over you will
probably find someone there you know. Be sure and tell the owner you
heading to Burning Man. He can tell you who has already come and
gone and when they left. He will even give other Burners that stop a
note or message if needed. If you arrive at Baileys Hot Springs
after the office is closed it is totally OK to find a spot and park
and pay when they open in the morning. Sometimes they have an after
hours person who may stop by your vehicle to collect the fee. Be
advised that the Hot springs are locked after 8pm. There are no
facilities to dump RV holding tanks at Baileys Hot Springs. There
are a couple 24 hour Gas stations in Beatty if you need them.
There next gas stations are 100 miles down the road. If you are not
sure you can make it, get gas in Beatty. Goldfield has no gas!
Down the road in Tonopah there is free truck and RV parking at the
Casino. You can sleep there and have breakfast in the casino the
next morning. There are several 24 hour gas stations in Tonopah.
Warning! Tonopah is well known speed trap. The highway through town
is patrolled 24 hours a day. The speed limit through town is 25 mph,
Do Not speed in this area. Most of us just get gas there and move
on.
There is a free RV dump at the Casino in downtown Hawthorne and at
the Shell Truck stop. There is free RV parking at the Shell truck
Stop on the North end of Hawthorn. They also have clean hot private
showers for 7 dollars a person. If you decide to park and sleep at
this truck stop, this would probably be your last chance for a nice
long hot shower for another week! If you want a sit down meal in
Hawthorne, El Capitan Casino's restaurant is open 24 hours.
The last stop is Fallon. This will be the last "for sure" place for
supplies and cheap gas. As you come into Town on highway 95 there is
a convenience store on the right, Across the street is a restaurant
called the "Cock and Bull". We recommend this restaurant from past
experience. It is reasonably priced and has general home style and
diner type food. However we DO NOT recommend Jerry's in Fallon,
which many of us stopped at in the past. It is in middle of town on
Hwy 50-Williams Ave. Jerry's in Fallon has bad food and very slow
service. They are also not friendly to Burners and have been quite
nasty to some of our people in the past.
When you come into Fallon you'll take a left in town to Fernley and
Reno. The intersection where you make the turn is well marked. This
is the Junction of Hwy 95 and Hwy 50. Just down the road on the
right after you make the turn onto Hwy 50-Williams Road will be a
Safeway store. Down the road further is a 24 hour Super Wal-Mart. If
you need a tire replaced for your rig or trailer the Wal-Mart has
them. Fallon has a Radio-Shack, Napa, Ace hardware and Checker Auto
supply along that same road as Safeway and Wal-Mart. On the way out
of town a few miles down the road on the right is The SAGE VALLEY RV
Park, formerly known as "The Hub". Here is where you can get water,
Propane and a hot shower if you need it. However depending on what
you need, the water for you may want to buy pre bottled drinking
water instead of using Fallon's tap water. There have been reported
issues with water quality for drinking purposes. The last stop
before BRC for cheap gas is past the RV park and will be on the left
hand side. It is a small mom and pop store with the cheapest gas in
Fallon.
As you get near Fernley there is a traffic circle or round about.
You will enter the circle on your right. The first exit out of the
circle will take you over a bridge to the I-80 junction. There you
will find gas and a shopping plaza with a Scolari's grocery store.
The grocery store closes at 9pm! You can enter I-80 there and head
to Reno. At the next exit is Wadsworth. You need to get off there
and head to Wadsworth-Nixon.
If you take the traffic round and use the road on the far side this
will take you through Fernley and then to the junction to Wadsworth
and Nixon mentioned above. At the 1-80 Junction in Fernley there is
a Loves Truck stop where you can get fuel. They also have an RV dump
station. Try to stock up with everything in Fallon. your choices get
slimmer as you leave Fallon. There is a small country store in
Empire but it gets cleaned out pretty quick. Don't wait until Empire
or you may have to do without.
After you leave Fallon you will head out Hwy 50 to Fernley, then to
Hwy 447 North to Wadsworth, Nixon, Empire and Gerlach. It is roughly
90 miles from Fallon to Burning Man. Be careful on this last stretch
of road. Obey the speed limit at all times. The local and state
police are out in force during Burning Man. Do not give them a
reason to pull you over. You will be passing through two Indian
reservations on this road. Both have zero tolerance for speeding.
These guidelines are not designed or intended to replace good sound
trip planning, or recently printed maps. As always please use a road
map to plan your trip.
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