Guest Post by Michelle Aspelin
Experience the Overland Expo Mountain West in CO
One thing we haven’t really covered on this blog yet is overlanding from Grand Junction. And what’s a better way to introduce the subject than to talk about our experience attending the Overland Expo Mountain West in Loveland, CO for the first time in August 2026. We aren’t overlanders, but now that we have a Toyota 4Runner, we’ve become much more interested in the vehicles, gear, and adventures that make up the overlanding community. We think living in Grand Junction is the perfect place for an overlanding lifestyle.
Tickets for Overland Expo Mtn West
We chose to attend the expo in Loveland, CO because that location and the dates fit our schedule. We went on a Friday because we thought it would be less busy than the weekend. It was easy to move around, not too crowded.
We bought our tickets online ahead of time. The fee in 2026 was $32/person for a day pass. You can camp or get weekend passes as well. There are happy hours and evening activities. Since we were staying in a hotel, the day pass worked for us. But if you have a camper, I would consider staying at the venue location for access to more fun and activities.
Overland Expo 2027 Schedule
Overland Expo SoCal Dates: March 13–14, 2027
Location: OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, California (11 hours/778 miles from GJ)
Overland Expo West Dates: May 14–16, 2027
Location: Fort Tuthill County Park in Flagstaff, Arizona (7 hours/440 miles from GJ)
Overland Expo Pacific Northwest (PNW) Dates: June 25–27, 2027
Location: Deschutes County Expo Center in Redmond, Oregon (15 hours/940 miles from GJ)
Overland Expo Mountain West Dates: August 20–22, 2027
Location: Riverdale Regional Park in Brighton, Colorado (4.5 hours/258 miles from GJ)
Driving to Loveland via Rocky Mountain National Park
One of the best things about living in Colorado is that no matter where you drive to, it’s guaranteed to be scenic, and an adventure in and of itself. We planned our route from Grand Junction to Loveland, CO through Rocky Mountain National Park. We have been wanting to drive Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuous road in the US, and go to the Alpine Visitor Center, the highest in the US. On our way back, we took the amazing Old Fall River Road from East to West (it’s a one-way gravel road). It was the original road to get over the Continental Divide in that rocky region. Read our post about that experience!
Stats about the Overland Expo Mtn West 2026
Here’s the recap of the event as written by Rick Stowe of Overland Expo. Full article link.
“The overlanding community brought the HEAT this weekend, and we’re not talking about the weather. Overland Expo Mountain West just wrapped up in Loveland, Colorado, and it was one to remember. 335 exhibitors filled The Ranch with everything from full-size expedition builds and adventure motorcycles to camping equipment and the latest overland accessories, while nearly 300 classes, demonstrations, and activities gave attendees plenty of opportunities to sharpen their skills. Add in two unique Ride & Drive experiences, evening gatherings, live entertainment, and the Overland Expo Foundation Charity Raffle, and Mountain West delivered another packed weekend for the overland and outdoor community. By the time the gates closed Sunday afternoon, 18,500 attendees from all 50 states and 14 countries had made their way to Colorado for another excellent Overland Expo. It was a great mix of attendees, including those who have never missed an Overland Expo Mountain West and over 9,000 first-time attendees who were welcomed to the community this weekend.”
Our Experience
Paul sitting inside the Outpost 8.0 truck camper
Yeah, we were two of those 9,000 newbies! Overland Expo Mountain West brings a larger number of new products, rigs, and vehicle platforms debuting at an event. Lots of NEW at the Expo. In fact, we made a beeline to see the brand-new Outpost 8.0 truck camper when the gates opened at 9am. We saw the original Outpost 6.5 at the Adventure Van Expo in Winter Park in July. Outpost Campers is based in Bayfield, CO, down near Durango.
With 282 session hours presented by 79 instructors, there were tons of options about dozens of topics, from foraging wild ingredients for camp cocktails to traveling as a couple, and working full time while living on the road. We attended 2 overlanding educational sessions about content creation and working from your vehicle/camper. They were both very informative and we got quite a few ideas on how we can best help our readers understand, and take advantage of, the Live Your Vacation lifestyle in Grand Junction.
We stopped at a few product booths to learn more about air compressors for airing up and down our tires (when we drive on rocky 4×4 roads), overlanding gear, organizers, and tools.
We stopped at the Subaru booth to pet the puppies up for adoption, so cute! Lots of dogs were in attendance with their owners (they reported seeing 700!).
We made our way to the Toyota booth, one of the title sponsors of the Expo, and got 2 free dry bags! We use them to keep our stuff dry when kayaking down the Colorado River. That was a bonus.
There were a variety of food trucks for lunch and snacks, even a full bar! It was hot so we stuck to lemonade. Chewed a few electrolyte tablets too since it was hot and we were at about 5,000’ elevation. Drank lots of water, they had refill stations.
We spent most of the time going into truck campers, campervans, and the huge, and often luxurious, expedition vehicles. Another favorite was the new Paragon built by Supertramp. They are based in Golden, CO. It was cool to watch people test drive trucks, Jeeps, and campers on two different outdoor tracks.
It was very entertaining. We saw starter vehicles, mini campers, and options up to very expensive, long term, off-grid machines! We went through some of the DYI campers for sale. We spent some time at the Timberleaf Trailers booth. They are based right here in Grand Junction. They make teardrop-style towable campers for overlanding and camping.
What Surprised Us
These huge expedition rigs were fun to walk through
What surprised us was that we fit right in. Many attendees appeared to be in our age demographic. It wasn’t all about the younger crowd. We saw many retirees living the overland lifestyle.
Some manufacturers are so creative and innovative in their designs, and a few are really stuck in the past.
It was a very large event, much larger than the 2 Adventure Van Expos we have attended here in Colorado.
Grand Junction as Your Basecamp
People want to live in Grand Junction because it’s a wonderful basecamp for overlanding experiences. We live the outdoor lifestyle every day, every week. We are close to trails, Moab, mountains, lakes and rivers, tons of camping in campgrounds or disbursed camping (boondocking), 4×4 adventures, extensive public lands, and all the outdoor recreation you could ever want within a relatively short drive. We do lots of day trips and we love to stay overnight in some cool places to let the adventure continue! Overlanding from Grand Junction is a pretty cool lifestyle.
Read about our day trip to drive the Red Mountain Mining Area 4-wheel only trail between the quaint mountain towns of Ouray and Silverton.
We are so excited to continue to share all the Western Slope has to offer with our readers!
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Guest Post by Michelle Aspelin
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