Guide to Upcoming Overlanding Events
Got the travel bug? Plan your summer adventure around rallies and expos designed to up your adventure game and get you ready for off-grid exploration. We compiled a list of overlanding events around the country and Canada during 2023. Check out what they have to offer — including all the newest gear and products from your favorite exhibitors.
Overland Expo Events
On-site rustic camping is how you’ll kick off an Overland Expo weekend. Happy hours, evening film festivals, charity raffles, and parties are how you’ll add a little extra fun to the already awesome lineup of exhibitors and education available to attendees.
Learn something new, thanks to more than 175 specialized classes, slideshows, demos, and activities from more than 100 instructors and presenters from around the world. Then, deck out your off-road vehicle by visiting one of the 400+ exhibitors of overland, adventure travel, outdoor, camping, motorcycle gear and equipment at the event.
For more information, visit https://www.overlandexpo.com/.
2023 Overland Expo Events
- Overland Expo West
Ft. Tuthill County Park – Flagstaff, Arizona | May 19-21, 2023 | Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- Overland Expo PNW
Deschutes County Expo Center – Redmond, Oregon | July 7-9, 2023 | Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- Overland Expo Mountain West
The Ranch – Loveland, Colorado | August 25-27, 2023 | Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- Overland Expo East
Oak Ridge Estates – Arrington, Virginia, | October 6-8, 2023 | Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
The Pacific Northwest event is the newest addition to Overland Expo family, following on the heels of the new Mountain West show’s success in 2021. Last year, Overland Expo events welcomed more than 77,000 attendees and more than 1,300 exhibitors!
The Overland Adventure Rallies
There’s fun and learning for the whole family at the Overland Adventure Rallies. Attendees can enjoy a nightly campfire and raffle, 4WD trail drives and instruction, advanced classes, special ladies’ classes, and trail repairs. Also on the docket are “family spotting” classes. Proving that the family that adventures together, stays together, these classes teach mom, dad, and kids how to spot and guide a vehicle over technical obstacles and through tight spots. (Truly, everyone is prepared after attending this class.)
You can also learn about solar power, travel photography and cinematography, and preparing for medical emergencies. They even have morning yoga classes, so you can start incorporating a little more chill into your off-grid routine. Just because it’s family-friendly doesn’t mean there aren’t some adult events, too, like wine tasting.
Stop by exhibitor booths like ARB, Tepui Tents, Factor 55, and Hellwig for the latest and greatest overlanding and off-roading gear. And since the best way to stay at the Overland Adventure Rallies is by camping on-site, swing by the Tepui Tents expo for a roof-top tent for your rig. They sleep anywhere from two to four people and many come with sky panels for stargazing.
For more information, visit https://overlandadventurerallies.com/.
2023 Overland Adventure Rallies
- Northwest Overland Rally
Plain, Washington | June 15-18, 2023
- BC Overland Rally
Merritt, British Columbia | July 20-23, 2023
Mid-Atlantic Overland Festival
This overland event is held on a 220-acre working farm located in the Mountain Ridge and Valley section of Pennsylvania just south of State College, in the heart of the Mid-Atlantic region. It’s an annual celebration of overland travel and a gathering for adventurers to hit the trails, learn about overlanding, and share stories around the campfire.
The best part about the Mid-Atlantic Overland Festival is that it’s timed every year for the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower during the 2nd week of August, meaning long summer days and beautiful starry night skies. For more information, visit http://www.overlandfestival.com/.
- Huntingdon, Pennsylvania | August 10-13, 2023
Alberta Outdoor Adventure Expo
The Alberta Outdoor Adventure Expo is a great opportunity for our friends up north to attend an overlanding event close to home. The event brings together people who share a passion for wild places in the outdoors. There will be two days of vendors, educational events, and more for attendees.
Activities include catch-and-release fishing, paddle boarding, vehicle recovery courses, evening movies, food trucks, live music, giveaways and more. Choose from three areas to camp: forest, lake, or open area. For more information, visit https://www.aoaexpo.com/.
- Ol’ MacDonald’s Resort – Alberta, Canada | May 13-14, 2023
MOORE Expo
There’s a little bit of everything at the MOORE Expo. Find seminars to help prepare you for overlanding trips, including how to pack a first aid kit, what equipment is essential, and how to use a navigation app and more. Plus, visit hundreds of exhibitors during the day and enjoy live entertainment in the Recovery Room Lounge while playing a yard game.
Up for a challenge? Join in on the SMOOR 2 Moore (S2M) Overland Rally – a driving event/competition that follows a printed list of route instructions. The car that sticks to the charted course precisely and maintains the speeds most accurately will be closest to the calculated perfect times and be crowned the winner.
For more information, visit https://mooreexpo.com/.
- Ozark Empire Fairgrounds – Springfield, Missouri | April 21-22, 2023 | Friday 10 a.m. – 7 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Specialty Events
Looking for something a little less traditional? Don’t worry, there’s plenty of off-beat overlanding events on the 2023 calendar as well. Consider making some room in your schedule for the unique examples listed below.
Descend Events
The Descend events are outdoor events for those living their best #vanlife, although all vehicles/rigs are welcome. The events have live music, a daily maker’s market, camp workshops, morning yoga, and coffee and affogato offerings by Autobahn Coffee. (Ooh, talk about specialty.) The events are offered on private land and are leave-no-trace events. While the details are few, it sounds like a hipster’s dream! For more information, visit https://www.descendon.com/.
- Descend on the Bend
Oregon Outback | September 1-4, 2023
- Descend on Lost Sierra
Lost Sierra, California | May 26-29, 2023
Copperstate Overland
This event is unique in that it’s only open to vintage off-road vehicles. Modeled after the renowned Copperstate 1000 vintage car road rally, vehicles are eligible to participate if their model year is 1979 or older. The driving adventure features a new route each year that covers miles of beautiful desert terrain, verdant river valley, and alpine landscape throughout Arizona and beyond.
And the best part? It’s a fully catered event! Those of you seeking a little more first class refinery in your off-road driving experiences will certainly find it here.
For more information, visit https://mensartscouncil.com/copperstate-overland/.
- Southern Arizona | October 7 – 11, 2023
The Overland Challenge
This three-day competition includes 20 teams that battle one another, Mother Nature, and themselves to become the ultimate champion of the Overland Challenge. Utilizing the Uwharrie National Forest OHV Trail System, as well as several of Overland Experts Off Road Training Facilities, you’ll experience some of the best wheeling on the East Coast. Once again, details are sparse, but the Overland Challenge promises to be a blast!
For more information, visit https://www.southernxpeditions.com/overland-challenge.
- Uwharrie, North Carolina | TBD, but usually the last weekend in April
Pilgrimage
Vermont might not be the first place that comes to mind when you think “overlanding,” but its miles of Revolutionary War-era trails and stunning green hills would beg to differ. The aptly-named “Pilgrimage” is one of the largest off-road/overland gatherings in the Northeast, and offers three full days of adventure. From rustic camping along the White River to curated excursions along ancient roads, you’re guaranteed an unforgettable experience no matter what you drive.
For more information, visit https://the-pilgrimage.com/.
- Henderson’s Hideaway Basecamp – South Royalton, Vermont | October 5-8, 2023
Red Clay Rally
The Red Clay Rally (RCR) is for the true off-roader with a well-built vehicle and the skills necessary to self-navigate through rugged terrain. The event is a three-day time, speed, and distance off-road rally founded in 2017. It treks more than 250 miles of some of the most technical ground in the Appalachians.
The event site warns, “This isn’t for the timid or the novice and you’ll receive no assistance along the Journey. RCR values freedom, grit, and self-reliance, and we feel adversity creates better humans. This ain’t for everybody – but any former finishing competitor will tell you RCR is who we are. And if you finish, it’ll become who you are too.”
Bear that in mind if you dare to enter the competition. For more information, visit https://www.redclayrally.com/.
- The Appalachians | TBD, but usually in October
