Easter Jeep Safari 2027 runs March 20 through March 28 in Moab, Utah. It is the sixty-first running of an event that started as a single-day trip in 1967, which makes next spring its sixtieth anniversary.
Those two numbers are not the same, and most of the coverage you will read between now and March will use them interchangeably. Red Rock 4-Wheelers took it over from the Moab Chamber of Commerce in 1982 and runs it under land-agency permits, and it now fills the town for nine days.
If you have never been, here is what it actually takes to go.
The 2027 dates, and why they move
March 20 to 28, 2027, confirmed on Red Rock 4-Wheelers' own FAQ.
The dates move every year because the event is pinned to Easter rather than the calendar. It starts the Saturday one week before Easter and runs through Easter Sunday. That is why you cannot just assume late March and book flights a year out.
You will see other dates floating around. Some tourism listings show different dates. The organizer's dates are the ones that govern, and when a county listing and the club that runs the event disagree, go with the club.
The Vendor Expo runs March 25 and 26, which is the part most people who are not registered for trails still show up for.
Registration, and the part that trips people up
Registration opens in January 2027 and stays open until trails fill. Popular trails go first, so January matters.
Cost is $75 per vehicle per trail day. Not per event, per day. Run four days, and you are at $300 before fuel, lodging, or anything else.
Three mechanics worth knowing before you sit down at the keyboard:
- Everyone needs their own profile. You cannot register a group of friends on one account. Each person needs their own profile and vehicle profile, which is a bad thing to discover on registration day.
- One vehicle per profile per day. Once an order processes, that day is locked for that profile.
- Check that your order actually went through. The club warns that an order showing FAILED or INITIATED with no transaction number did not process and has to be re-entered. People lose trail spots this way.
Check-in is at the Spanish Trail Arena, 7 to 10 am each morning, plus all day Thursday and Friday. Registration is closed the Saturday before Easter and on Easter Sunday. The official raffle runs there on Friday.
The trail rating scale, which is the real decision
This is the part worth studying, because picking a trail above your rig is how a trip gets expensive. Red Rock 4-Wheelers rates every trail 1 to 10, and the scale is specific about hardware rather than vague about difficulty.
| Level | Terrain | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maintained county dirt road | High-clearance 2WD or 4WD |
| 2 | County road, light maintenance | High-clearance light-duty 4WD |
| 3 | Loose rock, dirt, sand, some slickrock. Steps to 12 inches | 4WD required, 33s a plus |
| 4 | Erosion, washes, rock steps to 18 inches | 4WD, 33s, 35s a plus |
| 5 | Rutted and rocky, steps to 24 inches, water to 12 inches | 4WD, 33s, working traction aids, winch a plus |
| 6 | Steps to 36 inches, water over 12 inches with mud | 35s or bigger, two traction aids, strong driving |
| 7 | Steps over 48 inches, steep in and out. Rollovers possible | Front and rear lockers, 35s, max clearance, tow hooks |
| 8 | Same as 7, more extreme. Damage likely | Everything in 7 plus 37s |
| 9 | Steps over 60 inches, off-camber. Rollovers very common | Lockers front and rear, 37s (40s a plus), winch, 100-inch minimum wheelbase |
| 10 | Buggy territory | Do not bring a street-driven 4x4 |
Read that honestly against your own rig. A stock Rubicon on 33s is a genuine level 3 to 4 vehicle, with some 5s, and Moab has a lot of excellent trails in that range. The club says as much: stock four-wheel drives handle many of the lower-rated trails.
Note the wheelbase line on level 9. A two-door Wrangler is under 100 inches, so some of the hardest trails are closed to it regardless of how it is built. If you are weighing tire size against what you actually need, our tire size calculator and the gear ratio chart will tell you what a jump to 35s or 37s really costs.
You do not need a Jeep
Worth saying plainly, because the name misleads people. The club allows full-size street-legal four-wheel-drive vehicles of all kinds, and street-legal rock buggies under their own rules.
What is not allowed: UTVs, side-by-sides, sand buggies, crawlers, and ATVs. If your plan involved a Razor, it is not an EJS plan.
One more rule people trip over: no drones on a trail ride. The club bans them during events to protect registrants' privacy at rest stops.
What your fee actually buys
The $75 is not profit. It covers trail-use permits for the land you are driving, which is BLM, National Park Service, and State of Utah ground, and it funds bathrooms, parking, trail marking, signs, maintenance, and camping facilities. Elephant Hill is the exception and needs its own permit.
The refund terms are strict and worth reading before you book flights. Written cancellation before the deadline on your confirmation gets your money back minus $15. After that deadline, fees are forfeited. Once the event starts, everything is forfeited, and the club is explicit that no fees are refunded for a broken vehicle or bad weather unless the club cancels the trail itself.
Translation: your rig breaking is your problem. Go through it before you leave, not in a motel parking lot on Highway 191. Our pre-trip inspection checklist is printable for exactly this.
The other reason people go
Jeep has used Moab as its concept stage for decades, and the Safari week reveal has become its own event. It is not marketing fluff either, because those concepts keep turning into things you can buy.
The Switchback name first appeared on a 2017 JK concept and returns on the 2027 Wrangler Switchback, the final Twelve 4 Twelve edition. The 2025 Rewind concept became a production Rewind edition. The 2019 Gladiator-based JT Scrambler never sold, so owners build the look themselves.
For the sixtieth anniversary, expect the reveal to be a bigger deal than usual. Nothing has been announced yet.
Worth knowing: Jeep being named the official 4x4 of Moab does not mean Jeep runs this event. Red Rock 4-Wheelers does, and the distinction matters more than it sounds. We covered that in what the official 4x4 designation actually means.
If 2027 is your first one
Book lodging before you book trails. Moab fills for Safari week and has for years. Rooms go long before January registration opens.
Pick one level below what you think you can do. You will have more fun, and you will not be the vehicle holding up twenty others while someone winches you.
Go for the Vendor Expo even without a trail spot. March 25 and 26, and it is the easiest way to see whether the week is for you before committing $75 a day next year.
Know that this is a permitted event on public land. The permit requirement exists because this kind of volume needs managing, and the event's future depends on managing it well. That is the same argument running through every access fight we cover.
Planning more trips? Our Jeep and overlanding events calendar lists the major shows, rallies, and expos by month, with upcoming dates checked against each organizer's own site.
Frequently asked questions
When is Easter Jeep Safari 2027?
March 20 through March 28, 2027, in Moab, Utah, per Red Rock 4-Wheelers. The event starts the Saturday one week before Easter and runs through Easter Sunday, which is why the dates move each year. The Vendor Expo is March 25 and 26.
How much does Easter Jeep Safari cost?
Registration is $75 per vehicle per trail day, so a four-day week costs $300 before fuel and lodging. The fee covers trail-use permits for BLM, National Park Service, and Utah state land, and funds bathrooms, parking, trail marking, and maintenance. Elephant Hill requires its own separate permit.
When does Easter Jeep Safari 2027 registration open?
January 2027, online, and it stays open until trails fill. Popular trails sell out, so registering early matters. Each person needs their own profile and vehicle profile, and only one vehicle can be registered per profile per day.
Do you need a Jeep for Easter Jeep Safari?
No. Red Rock 4-Wheelers allows full-size street-legal four-wheel-drive vehicles of all kinds, plus street-legal rock buggies under their rules. UTVs, side-by-sides, sand buggies, crawlers, and ATVs are not permitted.
Can a stock Jeep do Easter Jeep Safari trails?
Yes, on the lower-rated trails. Red Rock 4-Wheelers rates trails 1 to 10, and says stock four-wheel drives can handle many of the lower levels. A stock Rubicon on 33-inch tires fits levels 3 to 5. Level 7 and above want front and rear lockers and 35s or 37s, with a winch desirable, and level 9 requires a minimum 100-inch wheelbase, which rules out two-door Wranglers.
Is 2027 the 60th Easter Jeep Safari?
It is the 60th anniversary but the 61st edition. The first Safari ran in 1967 as a single-day trip organized by the Moab Chamber of Commerce, which makes 2017 the 51st edition and 2027 the 61st. The two numbers get used interchangeably in most coverage.
Before you point it at Moab
Nine days of slickrock is hard on a rig and harder on a spare that has been hanging off the back untouched since you bought it. Check it before you go, and if the sun has had it, our spare tire covers run 27 to 37 inches with or without a camera opening.
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