The 20th Penn’s Woods Jeep Jamboree will take place in Bradford Thursday through Saturday.
The event is a full two-day, family oriented experience. The trails are made to cater to every level of expertise, in order to be fun for everyone.
Any Jeep vehicle with a 4-LO transfer case is able to participate — that includes showroom and modified vehicles.
Guides are around the trails in order to help navigate the courses.
Each trail at the Jeep Jamboree is rated based on difficulty, with 1 being the easiest and 10 being the most difficult. Weather at the time can also alter the difficulty rating.
Every Jeep 4×4 is subject to inspection prior to trail departure.
The Jeep Jamboree has been around since 1953, where it started in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, located in California.
This mountain range is now the famous Rubicon Trail, a 22-mile-long route, west of Lake Tahoe. Mark A. Smith, the company’s founder, had the idea to start a Jeep trip over this abandoned road.
The move was a plan to start boosting income to Georgetown, a small mountain town in California.
According to Shawn Gulling, adventure consultant, this vision still works. An average of over 80 percent of revenue generated by the jamborees, stays within the hosting local community of the event.
The Jeep Jamboree has proven to be a source of income for many small towns across the country over many years.
Throughout time, the Jeep Jamboree has grown to more than 30 events throughout 24 states.
“Many of our guides started as participants themselves, then after years of participation have been invited to join one our incredible guide teams,” stated Gulling.
There are around 700 trail guides helping participants of the event to tackle all of the different terrain they encounter along the journey.
The jamboree is family oriented, so kids of all ages are able to attend.
The event is Jeep-specific due to Smith’s passion for the brand, according to Gulling.
Gulling said, “It all started with a $500 military surplus Jeep in 1953, then grew where we are today when he (Smith) approached Jeep corporation in the early 80s about taking the Jamboree format nationwide.”
This year, Penn’s Woods is celebrating its 20th year, and with that, has become the second largest jamboree in the system, according to Gulling.
Around 375 people will be participating from 19 different states, and even Canada — Ontario and Quebec. There are also 190 Jeeps participating in the jamboree.
It is important to note that Jeeps with tires over 37″ will not be allowed to enter the jamboree, and will be turned away at the vehicle evaluation without a refund.
Participants stay at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, and registration as well as trail sign-ups will take place in the Frame-Westerberg Commons University Room on the campus.
Although the event is sold out, a wait list is available at jeepjamboreeusa.com
