Overland Expo East runs October 23 to 25, 2026, at Oak Ridge Estate in Arrington, Virginia. It is the biggest overland gathering on this side of the country; it is held on a grass field in the Blue Ridge foothills in late October, and that second detail matters more than most first-timers expect.
Here is the practical version: what it costs, what the camping actually is, what the venue will not let you bring, and what to throw in the rig before you leave. I checked everything below against the event's own pages in September 2026. Prices move as the date gets closer, so confirm before you buy.
Dates, hours, and where it is
Friday, October 23 through Sunday, October 25, 2026. Gates run 9:00 to 5:00 on Friday and Saturday, and 9:00 to 3:00 on Sunday. Sunday closes early, so if you are driving in for a single day, it is the weakest value of the three.
The venue is Oak Ridge Estate, 1265 Oak Ridge Road, Arrington, Virginia, a 4,800-acre property roughly halfway between Charlottesville and Lynchburg. All parking is on-site at $10 per vehicle per day, paid at the gate, and a weekend pass does not include it. Budget for three days of parking if you are staying the weekend and not camping.
What it costs
Day passes are $32 on Friday, $42 on Saturday, and $27 on Sunday, with a weekend pass at $90. Checkout adds a $3 fee per ticket, so you actually pay $35, $45, $30, and $93. A weekend pass includes the exhibitor midway and, in the organizers' own words, 120 or more general activities: demos, roundtables, slideshows, and the evening films.
Camping is a separate, pricier ticket. A Vehicle General weekend pass with camping is $205, and the motorcycle version is $170. The Premium and Forest camping packages were already sold out when we checked, which is the useful signal here: camping sells out first, and it sells out early. If you want to sleep on site, that decision has a deadline that the ticket page does not print.
The camping is real camping
This is not a campground with a bathhouse. It is an open grass field, and the rules are specific enough to plan around.
- No hookups. No electric, no water at the site. Potable water is available to fill your own containers, and the toilets are portable.
- No RVs. Ground tents, vehicle camping, rooftop tents, pop-ups, Class B vans, small overland vehicles, and motorcycles only. Travel trailers, Class A, and Class C motorhomes are not allowed in the field.
- No open fire. No personal campfires, wood burning, digging pits, or charcoal. Propane is allowed as long as the appliance has an on/off switch.
- Generators off at 10:00 p.m. Quiet generators are permitted until then. Quiet hours run 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
- No firearms. That is a venue rule, not an event preference, and it applies regardless of what your permit allows.
Pack like you are going overlanding, because functionally you are. Water containers, a stove, leveling blocks, and a way to wash. Our guide to packing and gear storage covers how to load without burying what you need first, and if the whole category is new to you, overlanding versus car camping is the honest primer.
About the mud
Every regular at this event has a mud story, and they don't exaggerate. The camping field and the parking areas are grass, the show happens in late October in the Virginia foothills, and the expo runs whatever the sky does.
DrivingLine's coverage of the 2018 event, written by Mercedes Lilienthal, is the one people still bring up. A forecast calling for a quarter inch of rain turned into a cold downpour; the field went to sludge and stayed there even after the skies cleared, and Four Wheel Drive rigs on mud-terrain tires got stuck anyway. Traction boards and recovery straps came out, a bulldozer pulled the worst cases, vendors laid straw in front of their booths, and a nearby store sold out of boots.
Three things follow from that, and none of them are dramatic:
- Bring waterproof boots. Not water resistant sneakers. This is the item people regret most.
- Carry your own recovery gear and know how to use it. A rated strap, rated shackles, and traction boards will get you out of a soft field without waiting on anyone. Our budget recovery packout is exactly that, and it starts around $236.
- Air down if the field is soft. Lower pressure floats a heavy rig on grass far better than power does, and it is free. Our guide to airing down has the pressures and the reasons.
A dry year is a pleasant weekend on a lawn. A wet one is the story you tell for the next five years. Pack for the second one and enjoy the first.
What is actually there
More than 200 exhibitors on the midway, which is the real reason to come: you can put your hands on a rooftop tent, a drawer system, or a fridge before you spend a month's pay on it. Around that, the schedule runs demos, roundtables, and slideshows all three days.
The evenings are the part people underrate. The Film Festival runs Friday and Saturday from 7:00 to 9:00, Happy Hour is 5:00 to 7:00 both nights, the Charity Raffle is Saturday 7:00 to 9:00, and the Women Who Wander networking event is Saturday morning from 10:00 to noon. If you buy a day pass and leave at 5:00, you miss most of what makes it a gathering rather than a trade show.
If you are towing your rig there
Plenty of people bring a Wrangler behind a motorhome, park the big rig off-site, and wheel the Jeep in. If that is your plan, get the flat-tow setup right before you leave, not in a rest area on I-81. Our step-by-step guide to flat-towing a Wrangler walks through the transfer case and transmission sequence, and you can print a version to leave in the glove box for the trip.
Showing up looking like you belong there
Nobody needs a decal to enjoy an expo. But a field of two thousand rigs is also the one weekend a year where the back of your spare is a conversation starter, and the camper and topographic designs are the two that get asked about most in a crowd like this one.
Both are printed covers at $69.99, made to order, so order well ahead of a trip rather than the week of. Covers take 10 to 14 business days to manufacture before they ship.
Where to stay, and three things nobody tells you
Camping sells out, and the two best packages were already gone when we checked, so plan for the possibility that you are commuting in. The organizers put it plainly: there are no hotels on site, but there are options nearby at every price level. Oak Ridge Estate sits roughly halfway between Charlottesville and Lynchburg, and those two are where the rooms are. Book early. A few thousand people descend on a rural stretch of Nelson County for one weekend in October, and the nearby inventory is not large.
Bring cash. The event tells attendees to carry it for the food trucks and the bar. Assume you are not tapping a card for lunch.
Do not count on your phone. The venue has cell and internet coverage, and the organizers say outright that it struggles with the crowd on peak days. There is no public wifi. Download your maps and your tickets before you drive in, and agree on a meeting spot with whoever you came with rather than assuming you can text.
Dogs are welcome, with a caveat. The venue is listed as pet friendly and points to its own pet policy for the specifics, which we are not going to paraphrase. If you are bringing a dog, read that policy first, and remember the ground may be mud.
Other events worth putting on the calendar
If you are building a season rather than a weekend, our Myrtle Beach Jeep Jam preview and trip guide covers the other big fall gathering on the East Coast, and it is a very different animal: beach crawls and a boardwalk instead of a grass field and a classroom tent.
The short version
October 23 to 25 at Oak Ridge Estate in Arrington, Virginia. Weekend pass $90 plus fee, parking $10 a day on top, camping separate and selling out. No hookups, no RVs, no open fire, no firearms, generators off at 10:00. Bring layers, bring water, bring recovery gear, and bring boots you do not mind ruining.
Checked September 2026 against the event's own pages. Dates, prices, and venue rules change, so confirm with the organizers before you buy anything.
Frequently asked questions
When is Overland Expo East 2026?
Overland Expo East 2026 runs Friday, October 23 through Sunday, October 25 at Oak Ridge Estate in Arrington, Virginia. Gates are open 9:00 to 5:00 on Friday and Saturday, and 9:00 to 3:00 on Sunday.
Where is Overland Expo East held?
Oak Ridge Estate, 1265 Oak Ridge Road, Arrington, Virginia. It is a 4,800-acre property in the Blue Ridge foothills, roughly halfway between Charlottesville and Lynchburg. All parking is on-site and costs $10 per vehicle per day, paid at the gate.
How much are Overland Expo East tickets?
Single-day passes are listed at $32 for Friday, $42 for Saturday, and $27 for Sunday, and a weekend pass is $90. Checkout adds a $3 fee per ticket, so you will see $35, $45, $30, and $93. Camping is separate: a Vehicle General weekend pass with camping is $205, and the motorcycle version is $170. Prices were checked in September 2026, and the organizers raise them as the event gets closer.
Can you camp at Overland Expo East?
Yes, in an open grassy field, and it sells out. There are no electric or water hookups. Potable water is available to fill your own containers, and the toilets are portable. Quiet generators are allowed but have to be off by 10:00 p.m., and quiet hours run from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
Are RVs allowed at Overland Expo East?
No. The venue allows ground tents, vehicle camping, rooftop tents, pop-ups, Class B vans, small overland vehicles, and motorcycles. Travel trailers, Class A motorhomes, and Class C motorhomes are not permitted in the camping field.
Can you have a campfire at Overland Expo East?
No personal campfires, no wood burning, no digging fire pits, and no charcoal grills. Propane is allowed as long as the appliance has an on/off switch, so a propane stove or fire pit is the way to cook and stay warm.
What should you pack for Overland Expo East?
October in central Virginia averages a 70-degree high and a 45-degree low, so pack layers and a rain shell. Bring your own water containers, cooking gear, and leveling blocks, and treat the trip like an overland trip rather than a hotel weekend. Waterproof boots are the single item veterans of this event will tell you not to skip.
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