Since its inception in 2009, Overland Expo has grown exponentially, expanded to five events across the United States, each featuring hundreds of vendors, over 100 presenters, trainers, and VIPs, and nearly 500 session hours of education. With so much to do during the event, it can be both exhilarating and a bit overwhelming for the first-time attendee to an Overland Expo.
Here’s a brief introduction to what we have going on, along with some tips to get you going, whether you’re an Overland Expo veteran or a newcomer experiencing all the excitement for the first time.
Things to Do Before You Arrive
First things first. If you haven’t bought your tickets yet, head over here and do that. With your tickets in hand, be sure to download the Overland Expo app from your phone’s app store (links below). The official app gives you access to the event map, event schedule, and an easy way to find the vendors or classes you are looking for. Once you have the app, be sure to select “Overland Expo Mountain West 2025” as the event and let it download the event-specific data.
Once you arrive, the overland world is your oyster. Here are the highlights to get you on your way:
Educational Opportunities
A huge part of our event revolves around education. Classes are open to everyone and run all day long in our education pavilion, and the DIY area. There are a ton of classes ranging from cooking classes to electrical and solar systems, first aid on the road, border crossings, overland marketing, and nearly two hundred other classes.
We have a number of education areas dedicated to overland instruction. Each of these locations have an broad focus or educational theme tying the classes offered there together.
For people newer to the overlanding world or people looking to refresh their skills, be sure to check out the classes in the Overland Essentials Area. There you can get a thorough education on foundational skills like trip planning, map reading and navigation, communications, and what to do if something goes wrong, among many other topics. Highlights include Graham Jackson’s How to Plan Your Overland Trip, a perennial favorite, and Jason Specht’s Route Building 101, along with a host of other great classes from new and returning instructors.
For those looking to deepen their backcountry skills or up their camp cooking game, there will be classes just for you all weekend long at the Backcountry & Culinary Pavilion sponsored by Rugged Luxury Motors. Among the laundry list of great classes offered, check out “Ceviche in the Wild” with Top Chef Alum Chad White and Zach Elseman’s Splint Happens: Improvised First Aid for Overland Travel.
Looking to expand your technical skills up close and personal? Come by the Hands-on Pavilion. We have great classes and demonstrations throughout the event. Here you’ll find classes on trail tire repair, the Overland Radio Hands-On Lab taught by Scott Jensen, several first aid classes by Lee Vernon, as well as some great map and compass classes. That’s just the start of what you can find there all weekend long. Check out the full offerings on the app.
For those seeking adventure inspiration, the Storytelling Pavilion will be the hub of great adventure storytelling all weekend. We have a stunning lineup of people who have traveled the globe and will be sharing the inside stories behind their travels, including the good, the bad, and the ugly of extended travel. You can’t go wrong with any of the presentations planned for the weekend, but you don’t want to miss Patty Upton’s The Epic Voyager of the Sand Ship Discovery. She and her late husband Loren circumnavigated the globe in a 1966 Jeep CJ–5, spanning over 5 years and 56,000 miles, including a Guinness Book of World Records entry for the “First All-Land Crossing of the Darien Gap. You can hear all about their adventures on Saturday at 11:00.
The Women Who Wander programming has been an increasingly popular part of Overland Expo since its start just a few years ago. Come to the Women Who Wander Pavilion sponsored by Chrysler, where a wide variety of women-oriented classes, roundtables, and get togethers will offered throughout the event. Classes range from tips on offroad driving to mastering your offroad vehicle components, to safety and security as a solo female adventurer. Come help kick off the weekend’s adventures on Friday at 9:00 am for the Welcome and Community Conversation for Women Who Wander (or Who Think They Might Like to).
The Learning Lab sponsored by Wanderbox will make its debut at Overland Expo MW this year. The educational space is intended to provide more intensive education for those looking to do a deeper or more advanced dive into a given topic or area. The instructor / attendee ratio is smaller in this teaching area, allowing for open dialogue and complex learning. Topics range from budgeting to solo travel to mounting a conservation-oriented expedition among so many more topics.
For those wanting to go deeper into a topic, the Round Table Pavilion hosts roundtable panels and Q&A sessions with our experts. Topics vary across a broad range from budgeting to travel medicine to bringing your pet along for the adventure. Additionally, there are a number of regional Q&A’s happening all weekend long. If there’s a destination, domestic or abroad you’ve been dreaming about, there’s probably a roundtable for you. Here’s your chance to interact with the people who have done what you want to do.
If you have kids with you, be sure to check out the Kids Adventure Area, where we have kid-centric classes and adventure activities running all weekend long. The Kids’ RC Driving course is a particularly popular option. While the education is oriented toward kids, there is still a lot of great content for parents looking to bone up on their backcountry skills alongside the next generation of overlanders. One important note – parents need to stay with their kids at these classes.
Check out the Overland Expo app for a full schedule of classes.
Vendors
No doubt, the vendor area is one of the most popular parts of Overland Expo. This year, our Mountain West event will have more than 350 vendors there, with those numbers growing every day. Just about anything overland-related you can imagine can be found for sale, but the most enjoyable thing may be just wandering around and discovering new and interesting kit. You’ll find some in-booth demos, giveaways, and demonstrations going on in the vendor area – a further reward for wandering about a bit. The complete list of vendors can be found here.
You’ll find exclusive deals aplenty throughout the area, with some vendors offering their best prices of the year. If there is something particular you are looking for, check out our evolving show specials list to see some of the best deals to be had.
READ MORE: Don’t Miss These 9 Fun Events at Overland Expo Mountain West
Relax at the Bivvys
Our first bivvy, sponsored by Hankook Tire is the perfect place to take a seat, recharge your phone, and plan your next move. We also have a number of informal, small group classes taking place at the bivvy in the Showcase and DIY Area throughout the weekend.
Get Behind the Wheel at the RAM Ride and Drive
RAM is bringing 1500 and 2500 series pickups to Overland Expo Mountain West, where you can get behind the wheel of a variety of trim packages on a custom off road track designed to showcase these vehicles’ offroad prowess. You’ll have one of RAM’s expert ambassadors along the way giving you tips and tricks to get the most out of these vehicles. Alternately, you can elect to see what these machines can do from the passenger seat as RAM’s experts pilot their pickups through the course demonstrating their features.
Evening Festivities
While you will spend your days attending classes, visiting our amazing vendors, and dreaming about your next overland adventure, we’ve got plenty in store for you in the evening with the hub of activities occurring at the Oasis Bar & Food Court.
Friday night, start off at 5:00 pm with the Happy Hour sponsored by Bowen Customs. Enjoy refreshments, live music, and a chance to get to know thousands of your fellow overlanders at the Oasis Bar & Food Court. Dress up in your best Red, White & Blue; Friday’s Happy Hour theme is Made in the USA!
Following Happy Hour, the world famous Moto Party sponsored by Rider Justice will take place from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. The party requires a separate add-on ticket to your admission, but brings a catered dinner, open bar, a raffle with a huge breadth of prizes, and live music by the Pat & O Show. Read more about the party here.
Also taking place from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm is the Toyota Game Night taking place in their booth at C42. Join the folks at Toyota for an evening of fun and games alongside light appetizers and mocktails and raffle prizes.
Saturday evening’s activities start early at Camp Subarau LIVE! where there will be snacks, beer, and wine along with live music at their booth at C13 from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
The festivities continue with Saturday’s Happy Hour sponsored by Kaymar back at the Oasis Bar and Food Court at 5:00 pm and going until 7:00 pm. Break out your best outback style; Saturday’s Happy Hour theme is Aussie Night!
Be sure to stick around after it for the Overland Expo Foundation Raffle which kicks off at 7:00 pm. The mountain of raffle prizes grows bigger and bigger every event with some truly impressive gear that just might be going home with you.
Alternately, head over to the Women Who Wander Community Conversations & Networking Event from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at locaton 14 on the map. Grab your complimentary welcome drink, make a plate, and find a seat around the fire with some new friends. There will be a Q&A with Chloe Kuo a.k.a. @chloekuotaco, followed by a Q&A with Kaitlin Pennell, Senior Analyst – Sponsorship Strategy & Production at Toyota. Bring your questions for these special guests. After chatting with Chloe and Kaitlin, we’ll pass around the mic to hear from attendees about various resources and groups that cater to and support women in the overland community and then break out into smaller group discussions. This is definitely a can’t miss part of the evening.
Ready to Join Us?
Now that you know what to expect and what can’t be missed, click the link below to make sure you join in on the fun later this month in Loveland, Colorado.
