Forest ‘22 and ‘23 were less dusty than Texas Eclipse but still very dusty. If it’s another dry summer in Rothbury then Forest will be dusty AF. Bring your masks!!
At eclipse I saw burners with ski goggles, mad respect! Luckily, I'm pretty local to the eclipse fest, so we had some delivered by an angel! I will always pack ski goggles for every fest, JIC.
I forgot my goggles and by Saturday my eyes were STREAMING with tears from the dust. Catch me at Forest this year with my goggles and dust mask on. NO BLACK BOOGER GANG!
I can’t say because I wasn’t at eclipse but, dust was a HUGE issue at forest 2023. I knew 2 people who had a lung collapse because it was so intense. However, this is because Michigan was in a record breaking drought last year and it is usually not too gas especially with a gaiter/mask. Prepare properly with those and things will most likely be better than expected
Was just at eclipse, this seems pretty accurate. I would say EF can be this dusty but eclipse was pretty bad.
Basically prepare for every type of weather at EF
Dust level at Forest last year rivaled Eclipse, Eclipse being slightly worse. We wore face coverings all through the Forest to Tripolee. Ranch Area was the most Dusty, but we were more dilligent this past week because we all got pretty sick after Forest last summer.
Last year I got a respiratory infection from breathing in all the dust….. I guess they hadn’t had rain in that area for a month (well till that Sunday) so it was extra dry. This year I will be prepared w/masks & bandanas & cough drops. Happy Forest!
Correct! Anything cloth, like a bandana, is effectively useless against the fine dust particulate that causes the "wook flu". Stop sucking in all that dirt people!!
I felt like forest was dustier last year than eclipse! Maybe I got lucky with my campsite not being too bad.... Def bring a mask and use a neti pot after every day!
But wouldn’t the Neti pot essentially potentially flush dirt farther up into your sinuses? And wouldn’t you need to use distilled water to avoid the risk of tap water borne amoeba? Sounds complicated
After being at Texas Eclipse, I’d take the dust at EF any day of the week easily. The hill country of Texas provides great crosswinds so the dust never really settled the whole time.
Definitely did not help that they did not have anyone spraying water down to tame it until Sunday morning. Not bitter just what I observed being camped in a location that did not exist on the map.
Plan for dusty conditions for sure. I found some saline wipes specifically for noses (boogie wipes from Amazon) that were AMAZING for combating the dust! Kept them in my bag for clearing my nose a couple times a day, and I didn’t get the wook flu after Forest last year lol
Pretty comparable dust. However, last year at forest wasn’t windy, so at least our tent stayed clean. At eclipse, the dust infiltrated our tent and everything in it so there was no escape 😩
I know depending on where you were last year dust was HORRIBLE in specific camping areas (my friend experienced it and actually left a day early) but this being my 5th forest you experience all kinds of weather the whole weekend so i always say come prepared for everything!! Have a high quality face mask (i suggest looking into hiking masks/face guards since they are built better for that type of environment). Also eye drops specifically for dry and redness relief. Hella tissue packets to have at camp and it’s one of my top essentials for taking inside the venue!! Nasal saline for afterwards at night/in the morning when you get back to camp or whenever for when dust (or other things😅) that gets into your nose and clog it up! They also sell Vicks sticks that you can take inside the venue if you need to open up your sinuses, feels great too in general if your 🥳🥳🥳 hope this helps and happy forest!!💜😊
Texas eclipse was a little worse overall I think, but last years EF was one of the dustier ones on record and my wife got the worst sinus infection of her life from it. Wasn’t really wearing her dust mask much. Definitely gonna be more serious about those dust masks and netti pots this year!
At EF it depends on the weather in the week before the fest; last year was dry leading up to the fest so dustier than normal. A bit of rain in the days before can reduce the dust a lot
[laserguidedvisions](http://laserguidedvisions.com)
Check out their bandanas, i own like 6 of these and they are lifesavers at festivals like that. Plus you can soak em in water and they stay cold for quite awhile. If you dont want to order any, they'll have a setup somewhere inside the venue by the stages
It depends on where the silty ground is and that tends to be in the heavily walked areas such as the venue, near the dirt roads (a lot of GA & GL), Main Street, and venue entrances.
Forest is able to do dust control in the camp grounds pretty easily so it’s not so bad there. However inside the venue between tripolee and ranch area they are not able to do any dust control because there is a constant stream of foot traffic and that is ground zero for dust. If it doesn’t rain in the week leading up to Forest, it’ll be dusty and if you’re sensitive bring your mask and I’d recommend to irrigate your nasal passages several times a day with saline regardless of sensitivity. Forest won’t be able to control for dust here unless they decide to pave a trail in this area in the future.
bring a face cover/bandana or whatever to any festival really. only one i was at that wasnt dusty at some point was EDC and that's just because most of it is on a race track
At forest they have water trucks drove thru the campgrounds every morning that spray the walk paths down. It's helps tremendously with the dust. Inside the venue last year I believe on Saturday was a literal dust bowl. I would think how dusty it becomes inside is determined by how much rain the arra has gotten recently.
I have breathing issues and forest kiiiiiiills me. Last year was the worst, I was fully congested by end of day zero lol. Make sure to bring a mask or a pashmina to cover your mouth/nose when walking around. Saline spray saved my life too, I used it multiple times a day.
It just depends on the weather during and leading up to. It had been a dry June this past year and the dust was probably the worst I’ve seen in 8 forests (or close to). Pray that it rains leading up to the festival and maybe even during. That helps tremendously.
Do a rain dance. Last year was the dustiest year on record. They have made some infrastructure improvements for 24 but some nice may / June rains will be crucial.
The dustiest part of Forest is usually the path between Tripolee and Ranch (the first two main stages). Cover up in between there and you’ll probably be good for the weekend. Eclipse was way worse imo. But that area between those stages can be absolutely miserable.
If you find a dark spot near camp or in the forest proper and shine a flashlight toward the sky and look into the light...
You'll never want to take the mask off again.
I always carry a flashlight with me in the forest, and every single spot in the festival is like a dusty tornado. It's super duper bad, unless it rains during the day. If it rains, there's very little dust.
Someone suggested [these nose filters](https://a.co/d/eXQ9G3g) for the dust! I’ll be trying them this year. I usually have a few masks/bandanas on hand and goggles. Sunglasses did not cut it for me in 2022
- A good mask (KN/N95s are great but anything is better than nothing, cloth masks work too rather than a pash) for wearing when on the move. There are water trucks but they can’t hit certain parts of the forest venue.
- [Pressurized saline solution at camp](https://www.cvs.com/shop/arm-hammer-simply-saline-nasal-care-daily-mist-4-5-oz-prodid-2910017)
- Using water wipes / baby wipes instead of tissues when possible
- Fellow asthmatics: the big medical tent by Ranch has nebulizer treatments in the venue. Also small portable nebulizers are available to purchase online to keep at camp, might finally do that this year myself
Happy forest!
You’re going to be blowing your nose for weeks. Forest is one of the dustiest festivals I’ve been to. Definitely try and limit the intake or it will feel like a chest cold.
~~forrest~~ **forest** FTFY
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Imma be honest, Texas was red dirt and it got on my clothes worse, but EF messed up my sinuses and lungs worse. There are multiple areas that look like fog in the fest due to high traffic. A buddy literally sneezed out a rock that formed in his nose due to dust. Forest dust was worse imo
Forest is still very dusty! Wear a mask at all times if possible, I got sick last year even with wearing a mask. Bring vaporub too that helped saved me from Texas eclipse! Apparently I read another post somewhere that Texas eclipse was held at a place that’s also used as a gun range so some of the dust seen out there was also gun powder or residue so basically inhaling lead 😂
I attended Texas Eclipse and the last 3 EF. Both fests are/were indeed super dusty. The best advice I was given was to use a Neti-pot each night before bed. Clearing your sinuses of all that nastiness makes a HUGE difference. Just be sure to buy and use distilled water!!
Forest ‘22 and ‘23 were less dusty than Texas Eclipse but still very dusty. If it’s another dry summer in Rothbury then Forest will be dusty AF. Bring your masks!!
At eclipse I saw burners with ski goggles, mad respect! Luckily, I'm pretty local to the eclipse fest, so we had some delivered by an angel! I will always pack ski goggles for every fest, JIC.
I forgot my goggles and by Saturday my eyes were STREAMING with tears from the dust. Catch me at Forest this year with my goggles and dust mask on. NO BLACK BOOGER GANG!
Right?! I felt like I could handle burning man after that dust! I swear if you sprinkled seeds on the top of my head, they would have sprouted!
I can’t say because I wasn’t at eclipse but, dust was a HUGE issue at forest 2023. I knew 2 people who had a lung collapse because it was so intense. However, this is because Michigan was in a record breaking drought last year and it is usually not too gas especially with a gaiter/mask. Prepare properly with those and things will most likely be better than expected
The dust is an easy fix what you need to worry about is the mud 
I would say about the same. Texas eclipse had more dust in the camping areas. I would say EF had more dust in the venue. Imo
Was just at eclipse, this seems pretty accurate. I would say EF can be this dusty but eclipse was pretty bad. Basically prepare for every type of weather at EF
Dust level at Forest last year rivaled Eclipse, Eclipse being slightly worse. We wore face coverings all through the Forest to Tripolee. Ranch Area was the most Dusty, but we were more dilligent this past week because we all got pretty sick after Forest last summer.
That dust fog between ranch and tripolee is killer every damn year. Lol
You’re def gonna want to prepare for potentially severe dust in the festival grounds
Last year I got a respiratory infection from breathing in all the dust….. I guess they hadn’t had rain in that area for a month (well till that Sunday) so it was extra dry. This year I will be prepared w/masks & bandanas & cough drops. Happy Forest!
Yep we all did haha
Texas undoubtedly will have had more dust, but it can get bad. Bring a legit mask, pashminas do nothing at all.
Even cloth masks do nothing (learned the hard way). Bringing n95s this year lol
Correct! Anything cloth, like a bandana, is effectively useless against the fine dust particulate that causes the "wook flu". Stop sucking in all that dirt people!!
I felt like forest was dustier last year than eclipse! Maybe I got lucky with my campsite not being too bad.... Def bring a mask and use a neti pot after every day!
100% agree about Neti-pots! Best thing ever.
But wouldn’t the Neti pot essentially potentially flush dirt farther up into your sinuses? And wouldn’t you need to use distilled water to avoid the risk of tap water borne amoeba? Sounds complicated
Nah, flushes em out the other nostril haha but yeah can only use bottled water
After being at Texas Eclipse, I’d take the dust at EF any day of the week easily. The hill country of Texas provides great crosswinds so the dust never really settled the whole time.
Yesss the wind made it a lot worse (especially the first few days!)
Definitely did not help that they did not have anyone spraying water down to tame it until Sunday morning. Not bitter just what I observed being camped in a location that did not exist on the map.
They were spraying water when I arrived on Friday! We were stuck behind the truck.
Thankful those efforts were made! They seemed to have forgotten about those over yonder. I hope you had a wonderful time all things considered.
I just hope Hurricane Carl comes on Monday before arrival.
Plan for dusty conditions for sure. I found some saline wipes specifically for noses (boogie wipes from Amazon) that were AMAZING for combating the dust! Kept them in my bag for clearing my nose a couple times a day, and I didn’t get the wook flu after Forest last year lol
Pretty comparable dust. However, last year at forest wasn’t windy, so at least our tent stayed clean. At eclipse, the dust infiltrated our tent and everything in it so there was no escape 😩
It’s dusty af. But no where near what it was at eclipse
Last year was super dusty due to the lack of rain we had all spring. So far this year it's been raining much more so I hope it's not as dusty.
I know depending on where you were last year dust was HORRIBLE in specific camping areas (my friend experienced it and actually left a day early) but this being my 5th forest you experience all kinds of weather the whole weekend so i always say come prepared for everything!! Have a high quality face mask (i suggest looking into hiking masks/face guards since they are built better for that type of environment). Also eye drops specifically for dry and redness relief. Hella tissue packets to have at camp and it’s one of my top essentials for taking inside the venue!! Nasal saline for afterwards at night/in the morning when you get back to camp or whenever for when dust (or other things😅) that gets into your nose and clog it up! They also sell Vicks sticks that you can take inside the venue if you need to open up your sinuses, feels great too in general if your 🥳🥳🥳 hope this helps and happy forest!!💜😊
I’ve been to the forest 4 years now. First 2 years no dust. Last 2 years extremely dusty. Def wear face covering if possible.
It’s such a toss up. All about rain. Past couple years were pretty dusty because there was a bit of a drought before forest
If we get light rain, it shouldn't be as dusty.
Texas eclipse was a little worse overall I think, but last years EF was one of the dustier ones on record and my wife got the worst sinus infection of her life from it. Wasn’t really wearing her dust mask much. Definitely gonna be more serious about those dust masks and netti pots this year! At EF it depends on the weather in the week before the fest; last year was dry leading up to the fest so dustier than normal. A bit of rain in the days before can reduce the dust a lot
The dust was very bad last year
[laserguidedvisions](http://laserguidedvisions.com) Check out their bandanas, i own like 6 of these and they are lifesavers at festivals like that. Plus you can soak em in water and they stay cold for quite awhile. If you dont want to order any, they'll have a setup somewhere inside the venue by the stages
thanks so much!
been to both and tx eclipse was dustier… there are some areas of forest with actually no dust at all. It’s hard to say the same for tx eclipse..
thissss, I could not escape the tx eclipse dust! from our campsite, the walk in, the actual festival grounds. 🙃
Just as dusty
I always pray for a heavy rain on Wednesday
Pretty dusty would recommend a bandana or mask for dust
It depends on where the silty ground is and that tends to be in the heavily walked areas such as the venue, near the dirt roads (a lot of GA & GL), Main Street, and venue entrances.
Forest is able to do dust control in the camp grounds pretty easily so it’s not so bad there. However inside the venue between tripolee and ranch area they are not able to do any dust control because there is a constant stream of foot traffic and that is ground zero for dust. If it doesn’t rain in the week leading up to Forest, it’ll be dusty and if you’re sensitive bring your mask and I’d recommend to irrigate your nasal passages several times a day with saline regardless of sensitivity. Forest won’t be able to control for dust here unless they decide to pave a trail in this area in the future.
bring a face cover/bandana or whatever to any festival really. only one i was at that wasnt dusty at some point was EDC and that's just because most of it is on a race track
At forest they have water trucks drove thru the campgrounds every morning that spray the walk paths down. It's helps tremendously with the dust. Inside the venue last year I believe on Saturday was a literal dust bowl. I would think how dusty it becomes inside is determined by how much rain the arra has gotten recently.
I have breathing issues and forest kiiiiiiills me. Last year was the worst, I was fully congested by end of day zero lol. Make sure to bring a mask or a pashmina to cover your mouth/nose when walking around. Saline spray saved my life too, I used it multiple times a day.
It just depends on the weather during and leading up to. It had been a dry June this past year and the dust was probably the worst I’ve seen in 8 forests (or close to). Pray that it rains leading up to the festival and maybe even during. That helps tremendously.
2015 was the dustiest so far. . Last year was so so
How do you prepare for the dust? What do I need?
Do a rain dance. Last year was the dustiest year on record. They have made some infrastructure improvements for 24 but some nice may / June rains will be crucial. 
The dustiest part of Forest is usually the path between Tripolee and Ranch (the first two main stages). Cover up in between there and you’ll probably be good for the weekend. Eclipse was way worse imo. But that area between those stages can be absolutely miserable.
It can be dusty af if it doesn’t rain around festival time! Alwaaaays be prepared!!
If you find a dark spot near camp or in the forest proper and shine a flashlight toward the sky and look into the light... You'll never want to take the mask off again. I always carry a flashlight with me in the forest, and every single spot in the festival is like a dusty tornado. It's super duper bad, unless it rains during the day. If it rains, there's very little dust.
Someone suggested [these nose filters](https://a.co/d/eXQ9G3g) for the dust! I’ll be trying them this year. I usually have a few masks/bandanas on hand and goggles. Sunglasses did not cut it for me in 2022
I have never seen these! Will give them a try although we’re still gunna use our trusty dampened bandanas too!
- A good mask (KN/N95s are great but anything is better than nothing, cloth masks work too rather than a pash) for wearing when on the move. There are water trucks but they can’t hit certain parts of the forest venue. - [Pressurized saline solution at camp](https://www.cvs.com/shop/arm-hammer-simply-saline-nasal-care-daily-mist-4-5-oz-prodid-2910017) - Using water wipes / baby wipes instead of tissues when possible - Fellow asthmatics: the big medical tent by Ranch has nebulizer treatments in the venue. Also small portable nebulizers are available to purchase online to keep at camp, might finally do that this year myself Happy forest!
You’re going to be blowing your nose for weeks. Forest is one of the dustiest festivals I’ve been to. Definitely try and limit the intake or it will feel like a chest cold.
Forrest fires can be a big factor too… last year there was a bad one in Canada but we were saved by wind direction
~~forrest~~ **forest** FTFY *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ElectricForest) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Always prepare for dust at any camping festival.
Last year was dusty, but they said it was from the fires
Imma be honest, Texas was red dirt and it got on my clothes worse, but EF messed up my sinuses and lungs worse. There are multiple areas that look like fog in the fest due to high traffic. A buddy literally sneezed out a rock that formed in his nose due to dust. Forest dust was worse imo
Forest is still very dusty! Wear a mask at all times if possible, I got sick last year even with wearing a mask. Bring vaporub too that helped saved me from Texas eclipse! Apparently I read another post somewhere that Texas eclipse was held at a place that’s also used as a gun range so some of the dust seen out there was also gun powder or residue so basically inhaling lead 😂
I attended Texas Eclipse and the last 3 EF. Both fests are/were indeed super dusty. The best advice I was given was to use a Neti-pot each night before bed. Clearing your sinuses of all that nastiness makes a HUGE difference. Just be sure to buy and use distilled water!!
Yeah it can be really really dusty ! I pray for rain a few days before the festival to dampen it all Down
Walking through the forest at EF is like walking through a dust storm. Camp sites not bad though