Since its inception, the robust education and training available for attendees to Overland Expo has been at the heart of the event. That tradition continues at Overland Expo Mountain West this year, which is just a few short weeks away. Join us in Loveland, Colorado from August 21 – 23 where you can learn from a vast group of industry experts and community members on just about every overlanding subject under the sun. We have ten different areas set up for overlanding education. Here’s what we have planned and where to find it, along with a preview of some of the classes being offered:
Overland Essentials Area Sponsored by GME
Whether you are new to overlanding or need to brush up or expand on your knowledge of the fundamentals, the Overland Essentials Area sponsored by GME is your ticket. All weekend long, instructors like Graham Jackson, Walt Middleton, Scott Jensen, and Sean Michael will be teaching classes covering topics like Pre-Drive Vehicle Checks; Overlanding Fundamentals: Winch Recovery; Overlanding Radio 101: GMRS and Convoy Communication, Made Simple; Back it on Up! Overland Travel with a Trailer; How to Select Your Recovery Equipment; and a host of other overlanding essentials topics.
The Learning Lab Sponsored by Peak Performance Campers
The Learning Lab, sponsored by Peak Performance Campers, offers our widest range of educational topics across all classroom areas. There you will find a mix of perennial favorite classes by longtime instructors, classes being offered for the first time, and a host of cutting-edge topics. Among the classes being offered, check out Of Sheep, Wolves & Sheepdogs – Travel Safety and Personal Security by JP Prins, Breaking Barriers: Adaptive Overlanding for All Abilities taught by Channing Cash, Life on the Road: Insights & Advice for Full-Time Travel by Michele DeVries and Mark Sprague, as well as Business from Anywhere: What it Actually Takes offered by Mine Kriss, among over a dozen unique classes being taught that weekend at the Learning Lab. The full list of classes is available at the schedule link below.
Backcountry and Culinary Pavilion Sponsored by EarthRoamer
As the name implies, the Backcountry and Culinary Pavilion sponsored by EarthRoamer is the hub of all education related to skills in the backcountry and leveling up your cooking skills while out there. Top Chef Finalist Chad White will be continuing his popular cooking demonstrations, long-time instructor Connie Rodman will be teaching a class on food provisioning, preparation, and storage, Lee “Natty” Trebotich will continue his series of Wild Chef cooking classes, and Lee Vernon will be teaching both improvised wilderness first aid as well as a wilderness survival class. Join us for these and a host of other popular backcountry and culinary-oriented classes all weekend long.
Storytelling Pavilion Sponsored by Storyteller Overland
The Storytelling Pavilion, sponsored by Storyteller Overland, is the place to hear firsthand about some epic overland adventures and to hear how many overlanders went about exploring their passions through the medium of travel. There you’ll be able to attend sessions such as The Greatest Road Trip on Earth – The Pan American Highway with Famagogo taught by Peter and Kathy Holcombe, Photographing the Milky Way and Western Landscapes: Tips from a Pro Photographer with Christine Kenyon, and the immensely popular (and moving) The Voyage of the Sand Ship Discovery with Guinness Book of World Record holder Patty Upton.
Roundtable Pavilion Sponsored by Air Down Gear Up
The Roundtable Pavilion sponsored by Air Down Gear Up, offers a place where we’ll have a group of experts on a wide variety of topics sharing their experiences overlanding and taking questions from the audience. We’ll cover a very broad range of topics over the course of the weekend, covering such things as the art of Overlanding as a Family, Top Travel Tips, Regional Q&A: The Continental U.S. West, Real-Life Tips for Security on the Road, Top Chefs Tell All, and so many more.
Women Who Wander Pavilion
The fastest-growing demographic in the overland community is female. The Women Who Wander Pavilion is the place to find women-oriented programming all weekend long. Open to all, you can attend classes such as Change It for Fix It? Tire Repair on the Fly (for women) by Connie Rodman, Where Do I Park Tonight? by Amy Wong, No Sink, No Problem. How to Maintain Your Self-Care with Little Water, taught by Cyndee Scheidau. Additionally, join us for the Women Who Wander Community Conversations and Networking Event at the Oasis on Saturday from 10:00 am to noon.
Showcase & DIY Vehicle Area
This area showcases a diverse set of overlanding vehicles from a 1990 Stewart & Stevenson 1078 to a 2007 Freightliner and from a 1997 Chevrolet K3500 to a 2006 Nomad Euphoria XLQ with a 2023 Aprilia Tuareg 660, and just about everything you can imagine in between. You can wander around the many display vehicles all weekend, and their owners will be hosting vehicle tours for those who want a deeper dive and would like to talk to their owner/builders. Check the schedule for these unique vehicle tours.
Bivvy in Showcase & DIY Vehicle Area
The Bivvy in the Showcase & DIY Area offers a comfortable place to get out of the sun, recharge your electronics, and attend some great, more informal class sessions. Start your morning right with Chair Yoga for Overlanders: Mobility for Long Drives and Camp Life by Raquel Hernandez. From there, try slacklining with Slacklining Made Simple: 10 Minutes to Better Balance by Sam and Raquel The YogaSlackers. Practice a critical skill in What Knot to Know led by Aaron Bridgman or “You Have Arrived” Mindfulness Practice in Nature taught by Nicholas Whitaker. There’s a full weekend of fun and interesting educational programming going on at the Bivvy.
ADV Skills Area
For all things moto, come to the ADV Skills Area, where there will be moto-oriented education all weekend long. Come see instructors like JP Prins, Ian Starr, and Lee Vernon cover classes such as Sit When You Can Stand When You Have To, Built to Ride: Strength for Adventure Motorcyclists, and Motorcycle Trauma 101: Treating Injuries Specific to Motorcycle Crashes, among a wide variety of classes designed to support you along your two-wheeled journey.
READ MORE: Get Behind the Wheel at the Winnebago x Transwest Ride & Drive at Overland Expo Mountain West
Kids Adventure Area
The Overland Expo Foundation will be a Kids Adventure Area all weekend long, where kids and their parents can attend classes and activities aimed at the young and the young at heart. Please note that you need to attend the Kids Adventure Area with your children, so please plan accordingly. The Kids Adventure Area will host the enormously popular Kids’ RC Driving Course, which has been redesigned with new obstacles that will make it more challenging than ever. Sunday afternoon will see the return of Leave it Better Than You Found It: A Clean-Up Scavenger Hunt that teaches Tread Lightly! principles through a fun scavenger hunt.
Exhibitor Area Demos
In addition to all the classes programmed across our twelve educational areas, there will also be in-booth vendor demonstrations going on throughout the weekend. With far too many exhibitor demos to list here (there were more than forty two by last count), be sure to check out the event schedule for a full list of the many offerings throughout the vendor area.
With so many educational options, you are sure to find a long list of classes to keep you occupied all weekend long. Check out the full schedule at the link below.
Join us in Loveland, Colorado, at the Ranch, August 21 – 23.
