Overland Expo: The Complete Guide
Overlanding is an awesome way to indulge in adventure travel with your family. But unlike other travel expos, very few expos cater to the overlanding industry because it is so unique and offbeat.
The Overland Expo is among the handful of shows tailored to the interests of do-it-yourself adventure travel enthusiasts.
This professional-level trade show is one of the world’s premier event series that brings together overland, adventure travel, and outdoor lifestyle companies and buyers.
Want to know more about this event series and how to attend or exhibit at it?
This handy guide will delve into this expo in detail, including its history, significance, and more. We will also cover accommodation options for your stay during the event.
What Is the Overland Expo?
The Overland Expo is a top world event series for adventure travel buffs. This large expo features several hundred vendors that sell adventure travel equipment, camping gear, vehicles, bikes, and services.
It includes hundreds of session hours of specialized classes for adventure motorcyclists and four-wheel-drive aficionados.
Attendees and exhibitors can also participate in roundtable discussions, inspirational programs, slideshows, and demonstrations.
Apart from learning and interacting with speakers and trainers from around the world, you can also enjoy a variety of sumptuous food and live music.
More than 200 exhibitors and thousands of overlanders from all over the world gather under one roof to enjoy fun activities like happy hour, parties, and charity raffles at every Overland Expo.
The Overland Film Festival is another key aspect of this trade event that showcases original films from the overlanding community. In addition, one of the highlights of the three-day expo continues to be on-site rustic camping in grassy fields.
History Of Overland Expo
The Overland Expo was launched by Roseann and Jonathan Hanson around 13 years ago in 2009.
The idea of the expo was germinated by these two along with a group of like-minded friends who wanted to promote conservation and responsible overland travel.
They worked hard to provide a unique platform where adventure travel enthusiasts could come together, buy and sell gear, swap stories, and plan their upcoming adventures.
Lo and behold, the Overland Expo was born.
The first Overland Expo West was held in Prescott, Arizona, and was attended by nearly 1,000 people. It featured visitors and adventure travel equipment and gear businesses from the local overlanding industry. It also offered training and educational sessions from leading experts.
Since its inception, the expo has grown exponentially over the years into one of the biggest and most unique niche event series in the United States.
What’s more, some of the exhibitors at the first edition of the Overland Expo continue exhibiting at the expo even today!
One of the reasons for the tremendous growth of the Overland Expo has been the rise in popularity of overland travel across North America.
Today, the event series includes four main events:
- Overland Expo West (held in May in Arizona)
- Overland Expo East (held in July in Oregon)
- Overland Expo Pacific Northwest (held in August in Colorado)
- and Overland Expo Mountain West (held in October in Virginia)
Who Is the Overland Expo For?
The Overland Expo is for anyone who has an interest in a self-sustained outdoor lifestyle, specifically overland and adventure travel. Whether you’re a buyer or seller, there is something for everyone.
If you want to explore camping gear, bikes, vehicles, services, and more, you can check out the wares of several hundred vendors at the event.
Similarly, vendors serving the overlanding community can grow their businesses at the Overland Expo event by selling their goods and services.
Why Should I Attend the Overland Expo?
Overland Expo, one of the world’s premier event series for adventure motorcyclists and overlanders, has something to offer to everyone attending it.
Attendees can expect the trade show to be packed with interesting activities and excellent shopping gear.
You can also check out a plethora of vendors selling gear, bikes, trucks, jeeps, SUVs, four-wheel drives, overland rigs, and other overlanding vehicles.
Here are the other major benefits of attending the expo:
Connecting With the Overlanding Community
The Overland Expo is more than just a trade show for buying vehicles and gear for your next overlanding adventure. It offers an excellent platform to commune with friends and family, explorers, adventure motorcyclists, and beginner and expert overlanders.
Join thousands of other overlanders from across the globe during the three days of the expo. Take part in fun activities together like happy hour, in-booth parties, charity raffles, live music, and more.
The large expo featuring show stalls also has an outdoor food pavilion that hosts local vendors. You can try out some of the interesting food options from them.
However, the best part of the expo is that you can enjoy a rustic on-site camping experience in grassy fields in a festival-style ambiance. You will have other camping families for company.
Educational Sessions
The Overland Expo offers a vast selection of classes taught by the world’s top overlanding experts, including vehicle and motorcycle driving instructors.
Get access to hundreds of session hours of specialized classes, demonstrations, off-road courses, educational seminars, workshops, and slideshows.
The large expo featuring hands-on educational sessions also hosts relevant roundtable discussions, inspirational programs, presentations, and more.
You can master new skills like using a map to navigate trails, winching a truck sideways on an ascent, back-country safety, eating healthy on the trail, and much more.
You can also attend short sessions and learn how to ride a bike or get behind the wheel to test out new off-road vehicles on custom-built test courses.
Head to the expo’s website for more learning material. The website comprises handy videos you can watch alongside other useful learning resources for you to explore.
Get Funding for Travel Projects
If you wish to start a travel project and need capital for it, the Overland Expo offers a wonderful source of funding.
ConserVentures Charitable Organization, a non-profit partner organization that is run by the expo’s founders, works to promote the conservation and exploration of the natural world.
The organization sponsors the Change Your World Fund grant that is awarded at the expo every year. This grant funds travel projects that pioneer positive change in the world.
Overland Film Festival
The expo showcases original films from the overlanding community at the Overland Film Festival. Discover inspirational travel stories while you enjoy the company of other overlanders.
Why Should I Exhibit at the Overland Expo?
Overland Expo offers an excellent opportunity for exhibitors to meet, network, and sell to adventure travel enthusiasts. Check out the other advantages of exhibiting at this show:
Sell Anything Under the Sun
Businesses can launch and showcase different kinds of products at the Overland Expo. Some top product categories include camping gear, bikes, jeeps, SUVs, four-wheel drives, trucks, overland rigs, and other overlanding vehicles.
Network With Customers
The Overland Expo offers a wonderful platform for companies to connect with old and new customers. You can meet different kinds of people from the overlanding industry including adventure motorcyclists, travelers, explorers, and overlanding buffs.
If you sell overlanding gear, you can also attract more booth traffic using great trade show displays. Not to mention that you can build a network, generate more leads, sell more, and increase your revenue and viability in the long run.
Attract Funding for Travel Projects
If you’re a business that requires funding for your travel projects, you can potentially get it from the Overland Expo.
The Change Your World Fund grant is awarded at the trade show each year. It financially backs travel projects that bring about positive change across the globe.
So, present your ideas and projects here and you may possibly get the capital you need to bring them to fruition.
Educational Sessions
The Overland Expo offers different kinds of relevant classes that are led by well-known overlanding experts and driving instructors.
Exhibitors can attend high-value classes, educational seminars, workshops, demonstrations, off-road courses, and slideshows and increase their knowledge and skills.
You can also take part in inspirational programs, roundtable discussions, and presentations, and keep yourselves updated with everything that’s happening in the industry.
Overland Film Festival
Filmmakers from the Overlanding community can present original films at the Overland Film Festival. You can spin and showcase inspirational travel stories to a vast audience of overlanders.
When and Where Is the Overland Expo?
The Overland Expo has four different editions that are held every year:
- The Overland Expo West 2023 edition will be hosted from May 19 to 21, 2023. The location for this event is Tuthill County Park, Flagstaff, Arizona.
- Overland Expo Pacific Northwest 2023 will go on from July 7 to 9, 2023. The event location is Deschutes County Expo Center, Redmond, Oregon.
- Overland Expo Mountain West 2023 will be held from August 25 to 27, 2023. The location is The Ranch, Loveland, Colorado.
- The Overland Expo East 2023 event will be held from October 6 to 8, 2023, at Oak Ridge Estates Arrington, Virginia. The 2022 edition of Overland Expo East recently concluded and was held from October 7 to 9, 2022 at the same location.
You can visit the website of Overland Expo for more details about all four events and for booking tickets.
Accommodation Guide
Are you planning to visit or exhibit at the next Overland Expo West event in May in Flagstaff, Arizona, and need accommodation? You can book tickets early and camp on-site at the event.
You can choose from different ticket options, including weekend moto-camping, weekend vehicle, and daily general admission tickets.
Set up your tent under pine trees in Fort Tuthill, Coconino County’s fairgrounds. Join other moto-camper families and enjoy an exclusive sojourn by a warm campfire, with dinner and cocktails.
The venue offers easy paved access and is located just off Interstate 17. There are also buildings, ramadas, and an organized campground that houses 1,000 units.
You do have the option of dry backcountry camping along most Forest Roads in the Coconino National Forest.
The location boasts miles of mountain bike trails and an adventure ropes course, which will make your camping experience even more delightful.
You can also take advantage of the free shuttle service to and from the parking area and hotels in southern Flagstaff.
RV Parks
Note that motorhomes and RVs cannot camp on-site. You will have to book an RV park near Flagstaff. Some of the top RV parks in and around Flagstaff include:
- Woody Mountain Campground and RV Park
- Kit Carson RV Park
- Happy Jack Lodge & RV Park (Mormon Lake area)
- Lake Mary Country Store, Trailer Park, & Boat Rentals (Mormon Lake area)
Hotels
If you wish to avoid the sweltering heat of May and prefer staying in a hotel during your trip to the expo, here are our top options around Flagstaff:
- Hotel Monte Vista
- Weatherford Hotel
- Little America Hotel
- Arizona Mountain Inn and Cabins
- Hampton Inn & Suites Flagstaff
- Hilton Garden Inn Flagstaff
- SpringHill Suites by Marriott Flagstaff
- Comfort Inn I-17 & I-40 Flagstaff
- Sleep Inn Flagstaff
- GreenTree Inn Flagstaff
- Ramada by Wyndham Flagstaff East
- Super 8 by Wyndham NAU Downtown Conference Center
- Days Inn by Wyndham Flagstaff I-40
- Hotel Aspen Flagstaff/ Grand Canyon InnSuites
- Econo Lodge Flagstaff Route 66
You can also search hotel options on leading hotel booking websites like Booking.com, Kayak.com, and Airbnb.
Explore Overland Expo
The Overland Expo is one of the world’s most important trade events for the Overlanding and adventure travel community. So, exhibitors and attendees can benefit greatly from it.
From discovering industry trends, technologies, and new launches to selling and buying new camping gear or vehicles, the possibilities are endless. The event is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to network with businesses and customers under one roof.
The Overland Expo also offers a wide variety of engaging activities for everyone at the show. So, whatever your level of interest, skill, knowledge, or budget, you can easily find something that catches your eye here.
Make American Image Your Overland Expo Partner
If you’re planning to visit or exhibit at this trade show and are looking for show materials and supplies, you’ve come to the right place.
We, at American Image, offer a vast array of affordable trade show booths, attractive graphics, directional and booth signs, assistance for trade show logistics, and other supplies for show exhibitors.
Check out our extensive catalog of offerings on our website or contact us for more details.
