Wasteland Weekend: The EASY Way

Helpful tips for first timers (and veterans too)!

This includes a lot of helpful Wasteland links in one place!

There are a lot of questions out there from people thinking about going to Wasteland for their first time.
Questions we hear all the time are things like:

How do I get a ticket?
Check out our TICKETS page.
(Has information about how our tickets work)

What’s up with bartering?
Contrary to what some people think, our event is NOT barter-only.
Food and goods vendors at our event take old world cash, and most of them take credit cards too!
Bartering is a fun side activity many Wastelanders engage in.
(Please, don’t barter food or drink, due to health codes.)

Do I need to have a cool car?

Nope. Any vehicle will do. The dirt road to the event site isn’t too bad if you take it slow, so something like a Pius can make it out there no problem. The only place where you need a fully-themed car is if you want to drive into the themed Wasteland City area or participate in the Armada (Car Cruise) or Car Show.

Don’t I need a cool campsite?

Not at all. Tents, RVs, and even car camping are totally welcome in the non-theme zones.
(Also, we don’t charge extra for parking and camping, it’s included in your ticket!)

Do you know where I can rent an RV?

Yes, actually! Check out El Monte RV. 

Do I need to have a tribe with me? 

No, you can just come by yourself.
Themed camps and cars are great, but you don’t need one, You don’t need a Tribe, either. Those are things people do who want to take their Wasteland experience to the next level. But Wasteland can be a hell of a lot of fun with a just few friends or all on your own with nothing more than a place to sleep; a tent, an RV, the nearby hotels, or joining an existing tribe that is recruiting new members (Wasteland Tribe Recruiting Facebook group), some basic supplies for camping for a few days (though there are also FOOD VENDORS on site), and something Wastelandy to wear.

Is this event way out in the middle of nowhere?

Yes and no.
The site is about 2 hours North of Los Angeles, and you can’t see any signs of civilization when you look out from Wasteland Valley where the event is held.
But you’re only about a 20 minute drive from modern conveniences like a hotel, groceries, gas station, and even Starbucks.

Can I volunteer?

Yes!
Volunteering is a great way to experience the event, make friends, and get a complimentary ticket!
https://www.wastelandweekend.com/volunteer-program/

 

Appropriate post-apocalyptic clothing is required? What should I wear?

Yes, and we’ll get into that further down.

But first, let’s get more of the basic stuff out of the way:

WHEN AND WHERE

Wasteland Weekend 2025 takes place September 30th-October 4th, 2026 in Edwards, CA.
Gates open to the ticket-holding public at 7am on Wednesday, September 29th.
After that, gates are open 24 hours until the event ends.
For how to get there: MAPS under the HOW TO GET HERE tab.
You’ll also want to read our Event Entry Etiquette page, also under the HOW TO GET HERE tab.
As far as the map of the event itself, that’s the EVENT LAYOUT.

—

WHAT TO WEAR

Let’s talk about that.
For first timers or those that don’t want to put in a ton of time, effort, or expense into a costume, you can always go with what we call Wasteland Basic.
Our THEME PAGE goes into a ton of detail on what is or isn’t acceptable to wear. The big thing we want is for everyone to look like they are all part of the same world. Think of it as you’re watching a movie or tv show set in a certain place and time, and you see someone walking around in an outfit that stands out for all the wrong reasons. So, we don’t want anyone to break the sense of full immersion by wearing regular, modern, clean clothes.
There’s lots of inspiration out there, and of course the “Mad Max” movies are a great place to start.

YES, some parts of the Fallout universe are absolutely allowed (and have been since the beginning of Wasteland Weekend), but some aren’t.
We actually have a page about what is and what is not in theme from Fallout, which you can read here.
No mutants, zombies, supernatural creatures, Deathclaws, or power armor, please.

For the sake of this short guide, we’ll just say a few more things about costuming:

Wear earth tones. Skip plain blue jeans. Wear brown or black pants/shorts/skirt instead.
Cut/rip holes in your clothes.
Make it dirty!
A really great tip is to take photos of what you’re making dirty in different lighting.
(Sometimes you’ll realize what you think is ‘dirty’ really isn’t dirty enough.)
Brown and black acrylic paint rubbed on with your hands, brushed on, or spattered can work well.
Watered down acrylic paint in a spray bottle, applied in multiple coats, will allow you to make everything just the right amount of dirty and distressed.
You don’t need to win the costume contest, you just need to look like you belong in the same world as everyone else at the event.

There are tons of great, simple tutorials for creating and distressing Wasteland / post-apocalyptic clothing all over the internet, and you can also find a wealth of information in our Facebook Groups. If you ever have any questions about whether or not your outfit is in theme or not, please don’t hesitate to ask in any of our groups, or by contacting us directly.

Here are some of our official Facebook groups:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/wastelandbasictraining

https://www.facebook.com/groups/WastelanderCentral

https://www.facebook.com/groups/291851204741479

—

Here are a bunch of “wasteland basic” outfits to give you ideas:

—

RULES AND SAFETY AND THINGS:

Since we are a FAKE post-apocalyptic Hollywood-style Mad Max party- and not the REAL apocalypse- we DO have a bunch of rules.
But we think they’re pretty reasonable and won’t impact your ability to have a mind-blowing great time in an immersive make-believe world. 

Please read our official event RULES and FAQs.

Some of the safety stuff is covered under those rules links, but basically, if you are at the event and have a current medical or security emergency, please go to the MEDICAL or SECURITY tents.

There are also roving members of both our MEDICAL and SECURITY staff throughout the event site.
Or, worst-case, any of our staff or volunteers with a radio.

Medical has a tall pole with a lit red medical cross symbol at night.
Or you can find any staff member or volunteer with a radio/walkie-talkie and have them call medical or security for you.

We also have EMERGENCY STATIONS placed around the event that have instructions as well as a radio for calling for help. Look for the blue light high up on a pole if you need one of these stations. (They’ll also be marked on the event map for the year with a blue star)

The direct link for reporting serious incidents to our security team (when NOT at the event) HERE.

WHAT TO DO:

Wasteland has a TON of activities going on both day and night, including both official and user-generated entertainment (including amazing spaces, performances, and activities created by the tribes of Wasteland City.

Find out more HERE

IS THERE MORE TO KNOW?

Absolutely! A hell of a lot more. But we want to keep this short and as a place for you to come back to if you’ve forgotten where to find something. So for now, get started prepping for the party at the end of the world, and explore our website and browse our social media when you have more time.

Don’t forget to stop by the Wasteland Merch Booth, the ONLY place to get official merchandise.
Check back for this year’s list of new and returning items.

Lastly, there are plenty of VIDEOS to get you in the mood.

The Wasteland awaits…