A community-built overland weekend lands at Sisters Excessive Faculty August 1-2 with 50+ manufacturers, a Wrench Yard DIY showcase, on-site tenting, and a Monday path journey by the Deschutes Nationwide Forest with Backland Adventures. Free admission with code SISTERSFREE.
A community-driven out of doors weekend lands at Sisters Excessive Faculty August 1-2 with 50+ manufacturers, a Wrench Yard DIY showcase, on-site tenting, and a post-show path journey by the Deschutes Nationwide Forest with Backland Adventures. Free admission with code SISTERSFREE.
Backcountry Offroad Expo Involves Sisters Oregon — August 1-2, 2026
In case you’ve been on the lookout for a motive to get to Central Oregon in early August, that is it. The Sisters cease of the Backcountry Offroad Expo, offered by Johnson RV, is a community-driven out of doors weekend that is been quietly constructing momentum throughout the West. It lands at Sisters Excessive Faculty August 1–2, 2026. If you cannot make this one, the present additionally stops in Reno, NV (August 8-9), and SoCal (TBD) for this 12 months. However Sisters is the PNW cease, and it is the one most W7BR readers are going to wish to plan round.
On this put up we’ll cowl what the Backcountry Offroad Expo truly is, what’s completely different in regards to the Sisters cease, the total occasion schedule and ticket construction, what to anticipate on the venue, the place to remain, and the way the non-obligatory path journey with Backland Adventures by the Deschutes Nationwide Forest works. In case you solely have time to plan one factor — seize tickets early, use the code SISTERSFREE without cost admission, and use CAMPING20 for 20% off tenting if you happen to’re staying on-site.
What the Backcountry Offroad Expo is
The Backcountry Offroad Expo is a multi-stop offroad and journey journey present run by founder Merrisa Petersen and her group at Dust Highway Society. The 2026 tour consists of stops in Utah, Colorado, Oregon, Nevada, and a Southern California occasion that’s presently being finalized:
Hurricane, UT — Might 22-23 (accomplished)
Fortress Rock, CO — June 13-14 (accomplished; tenting offered out)
Sisters, OR — August 1-2 ← this put up
Reno, NV — August 8-9
SoCal — TBD
In contrast to the larger OEM-heavy reveals (extra on that comparability beneath), the Backcountry Offroad Expo is positioned round neighborhood — small-batch builders, owner-built rigs, a Wrench Yard DIY showcase, and academic programming that prioritizes the folks behind the builds over the manufacturers sponsoring the present flooring. The official Sisters Oregon occasion web page calls out the main focus plainly: “a welcoming place the place folks can meet others, swap tales, be taught one thing new, and get impressed for his or her subsequent journey — whether or not they drive a built-out van, a truck, an SUV, or one thing else solely.”
In Merrisa’s phrases from the announcement: “Oregon has one of many strongest out of doors communities within the nation, and Sisters felt like a pure match for Backcountry Offroad Expo. We’re excited to deliver collectively individuals who love exploring, studying, and spending time exterior whereas creating a spot the place everybody feels welcome, it doesn’t matter what they drive or how they journey.”
Why Sisters Oregon
Sisters sits on the western fringe of Deschutes County, about 22 miles west of Bend on US-20 / OR-126. Inhabitants is round 3,000, elevation is roughly 3,200 ft, and the city sits on the assembly level of the Japanese Cascades and the excessive desert — Whychus Creek (previously Squaw Creek, renamed in 2006) flows previous the southeast aspect of city and runs straight into the Three Sisters Wilderness. The Sisters Space Chamber of Commerce describes the world as “an expanse of majestic and galvanizing pure magnificence reaching from the city of Sisters, Oregon, to the panoramic Pacific Crest Path.”
Three issues make Sisters a pure match for a tenting and journey journey present:
1. It is already a gateway city. Sisters is the final actual providers cease earlier than Freeway 20 climbs over Santiam Move towards the coast, and it is the western anchor of the Bend-Redmond-Sisters overland triangle. PNW overlanders who camp, hunt, fish, or run trails within the Cascades already know Sisters.
**Deschutes Nationwide Forest Sisters Ranger District** — the native USFS workplace for journey planning, fireplace restrictions, and present street situations
**Three Sisters Wilderness** — the 286,708-acre designated wilderness space instantly west of Sisters, with trailheads accessible from city
**Whychus Creek** — the creek that runs previous Sisters and into the Three Sisters Wilderness; the creek’s 2006 title change from Squaw Creek is a part of the broader Oregon geographic title reconciliation work
**Black Butte** — the cinder cone on the sting of Sisters that anchors the Black Butte Ranch resort neighborhood
**Sisters Eagle Air Airport (6K5)** — common aviation strip simply north of city, helpful if you happen to’re flying your personal plane
PNW overlanders who’ve pushed Freeway 20 over Santiam Move or camped alongside the Metolius River already know this nation. The Deschutes NF Sisters Ranger District is probably the most concentrated offroad-trail community in Central Oregon — it is the identical common space W7BR covers in our PNW overlanding guides and the identical backroad community that connects Sisters to the broader Oregon OHV path system maintained by Oregon State Parks.
3. It already hosts main out of doors occasions. The Sisters Rodeo (second weekend in June) and the Sisters Outside Quilt Present (mid-July) ebook out the city’s lodging yearly. By early August, the calendar is lighter, however the city’s outdoor-event infrastructure — parking, tenting, vendor area, meals — is already confirmed.
For extra on the broader PNW overland context, W7BR’s protection of Overland Expo PNW (held in Redmond, about half-hour east of Sisters) and the broader Central Oregon backroad scene is the appropriate start line. For trail-specific planning, the Central Oregon Path Alliance (COTA) maintains an energetic volunteer community on the Sisters-area forest roads.
The total ticket construction from the official BOE tickets web page:
PassPriceWhat’s includedAttendee Move$3General admission for the weekend. Stroll the present, meet distributors, see the builds.Attendee + Raffle Bundle$13$3 admission + 3 raffle entries ($10 worth). Greatest entry-level possibility.Raffle Entry Solely$103 raffle entries for visitors who have already got an attendee ticketCamping Move$95Per automobile, each Friday and Saturday nights. Consists of entry for everybody within the automobile.Path Journey with Backland Adventures$250/per vehicleBOE Encore — two nights tenting + full-day path journey by Deschutes NF
Free admission with promo code SISTERSFREE at checkout. 20% off tenting with promo code CAMPING20. In case you’re planning to drive in for the day, the $3 attendee cross is already low cost, however the free code makes it free. In case you’re tenting, the 20% off tenting code brings the $95 cross to about $76 per automobile — nicely price it for the community-camping environment.
The raffle advantages the Humane Society of Central Oregon — gadgets are contributed by present distributors and drawn stay on the occasion. Extra entries means higher odds, which is why the bundle ticket ($13 for admission + 3 entries) is the advisable play.
If you wish to scope the venue and surrounding space earlier than you arrive, the Sisters Space Chamber of Commerce customer information has maps, enterprise listings, and present occasion data for the broader Sisters Nation area. The Bureau of Land Administration Prineville District manages a lot of the public lands east of Sisters (together with the open OHV areas within the excessive desert), and the Oregon Division of Transportation posts present street situations for US-20 and OR-126 throughout summer time fire-season closures.
The place the present truly occurs
The Sisters cease of the Backcountry Offroad Expo is held at Sisters Excessive Faculty at McKinney Butte Highway, Sisters, OR 97759 — a few mile north of downtown Sisters, straightforward strolling or biking distance from a lot of the city’s lodging. The varsity grounds work nicely for a present of this dimension, with a big paved parking space for the Wrench Yard and For Sale part, expansive grass fields for vendor cubicles, and loads of area for tenting, stay music, meals vans, and neighborhood actions.
Sisters Excessive Faculty sits on the foot of Black Butte, a cinder cone that is some of the photographed landmarks in Central Oregon and the positioning of the Black Butte Ranch resort neighborhood. In case you’re tenting on the present or driving in early on Friday, the Black Butte Ranch space has paved bike paths that join again into Sisters city and make an excellent morning warm-up earlier than the present flooring opens.
What’s truly on the present
The Sisters cease has the identical core programming as the remainder of the 2026 BOE tour:
**50+ out of doors manufacturers, builders, creators, and native companies** — Greater than 50 out of doors manufacturers, builders, creators and native companies are anticipated in Sisters
**Wrench Yard / DIY Construct Showcase & Competitors** — the community-judged DIY showcase that units BOE other than larger company reveals. Winners are picked by attendees
**Yard Sale / For Sale Part** — privately owned and builder automobiles listed on the market, offered by Vanlife Dealer
**Instructional talks, panels, and roundtable discussions** — programming runs all through Saturday and Sunday afternoons, with night fireplace periods Saturday evening
**Meals vans and native distributors** — Sisters-based and Central Oregon meals vans
**Reside music** — introduced nearer to the occasion
**Group actions** — designed to be family-friendly and inclusive of latest overlanders, not simply the deep-end gear crowd
**On-site tenting** — the social coronary heart of the present. The Friday and Saturday evening tenting is the place a lot of the precise community-building occurs
**Raffle benefiting the Humane Society of Central Oregon** — drawn stay on the occasion
How BOE differs from Overland Expo PNW
Whiskey7backroads readers will already be accustomed to Overland Expo PNW — the larger, OEM-heavy overland present held on the Deschutes County Expo Heart in Redmond, Oregon, June 26-28, 2026. Overland Expo PNW attracts 300+ exhibitors, 11 title sponsors (Toyota, Ford, Jeep, Ram, and the main overland gear manufacturers), and eight,000+ attendees over three days. It is the production-scale occasion on the Central Oregon calendar.
The Backcountry Offroad Expo Sisters cease is a special present:
Overland Expo PNWBackcountry Offroad Expo SistersDatesJune 26-28, 2026August 1-2, 2026VenueDeschutes County Expo Heart, RedmondSisters Excessive Faculty, SistersAttendance~8,000+Smaller, community-focusedExhibitors300+ brands50-150 manufacturers (varies by cease)Title sponsors11 OEM and kit majorsSmaller-scale, builder-friendlyTicket$26-39 day cross / $85-99 weekend$3 day cross (free with SISTERSFREE)CampingOn-site primitive + lodges$95/automobile on-site neighborhood campingProgramming focusOEM demos, big-brand lessons, 220+ classesOwner-built DIY, Wrench Yard, neighborhood talksVibeProduction-scale business eventCommunity weekend
Each reveals are price attending if you happen to can swing it. Overland Expo PNW is the place you go to see the newest from the main manufacturers and take a manufacturing unit coaching class. BOE Sisters is the place you go to speak to builders, see owner-built rigs within the Wrench Yard, purchase a used automobile within the Yard Sale and truly meet the people who find themselves doing the identical sort of journeys you are doing. They’re complementary, not aggressive.
Attending to Sisters
Sisters sits in the midst of Oregon, so relying on the place you are driving from, the journey is both quick or lengthy. Sensible drive instances from the main feeder cities:
From Bend, OR — about half-hour east on US-20
From Redmond, OR — about 40 minutes west on US-20 (Redmond can be dwelling to Redmond Municipal Airport / Roberts Area (RDM), the primary industrial airport for Central Oregon with nonstop service to Denver (DEN), San Francisco (SFO), Los Angeles (LAX), Salt Lake Metropolis (SLC), Seattle (SEA), and Phoenix (PHX) by way of Alaska Airways, United Categorical, Delta Connection, and American Eagle)
From Portland, OR — about 3.5 hours south on US-26 by way of the Mount Hood Nationwide Forest hall
From Seattle, WA — about 5.5 hours south on I-5 + US-12 or I-5 + US-20
In case you’re flying in, RDM is the apparent selection — it is a few 40-minute drive west to Sisters, and rental vehicles can be found on the airport. The smaller Sisters Eagle Air Airport (6K5) is a non-public/common aviation strip simply north of city, helpful if you happen to’re flying your personal plane. For reference, NOAA’s NWS forecast workplace in Pendleton points the general public forecasts for the Sisters space — bookmark their Sisters forecast web page earlier than you head out.
The place to remain
Sisters is small, and the lodging fills up quick throughout peak summer time weekends. For the August 1-2 BOE weekend, you will wish to ebook early. Choices, roughly from closest-to-venue to furthest:
On-site tenting on the present
The $95 BOE Tenting Move (with code CAMPING20 for 20% off) is probably the most social possibility and the best logistics. You are on the venue, you do not have to drive wherever after-hours, and the hearth hangouts and DIY construct conversations occur naturally when everybody’s tenting collectively. Beneficial for first-timers and anybody who needs the total community-camping vibe.
Sisters in-town lodging
Inside a mile of Sisters Excessive Faculty:
**FivePine Lodge** — Sisters’ best-known boutique lodge, on the west fringe of city. Spa, restaurant, strolling distance to the venue
**Greatest Western Ponderosa Lodge** — dependable mid-scale possibility, central Sisters location
**GrandStay Resort & Suites Sisters** — newer, suites-style, good for households
**Sisters Inn & Suites** — regionally owned, walkable to downtown
Sisters-area tenting (off-site)
If the on-site tenting sells out, these are the closest choices:
**Sisters Creekside Campground** — metropolis campground on Whychus Creek, walkable to downtown Sisters
**Camp Sherman** — small neighborhood 14 miles west of Sisters on the Metolius River. Quiet, scenic, first-come-first-served for many websites
Deschutes Nationwide Forest dispersed tenting — free, primitive, accessible all through the Sisters Ranger District. Examine the present USFS fireplace restrictions earlier than you go
August in Sisters runs heat and dry — typical daytime highs within the mid-80s°F, in a single day lows within the mid-40s°F, and little or no rain. Pack for heat afternoons and funky evenings, and produce an excellent shade construction if you happen to’re tenting on the present.
BOE Encore: Guided Path Journey with Backland Adventures
In case you can keep an additional day, the BOE Encore Submit-Present path journey with Backland Adventures is the add-on most attendees do not find out about till they’re on the present. It is a small-group, guided journey that picks up the place the expo leaves off:
Two nights of tenting, starting Sunday night instantly after the expo and wrapping up Tuesday morning.
**Full day exploring the scenic backroads of the Deschutes Nationwide Forest** on Monday, August 3
Geological landmarks together with volcanic landscapes distinctive to Central Oregon
Monday evening steak dinner included for the trail-day dinner
$250 per van (registration straight helps the Backland Adventures group that organizes and leads the expertise.)
Spots are restricted to maintain teams small and the expertise relaxed. In case you’re a PNW overlander who already is aware of the Sisters space, that is the way in which to see elements of the Deschutes NF you would not discover by yourself. In case you’re a first-timer to Central Oregon, that is the very best introduction.
Is BOE Sisters definitely worth the journey?
Sure. Here is the quick model:
In case you go to at least one overland present this 12 months and you reside within the PNW, the August 1-2 Sisters cease is the best, most cost-effective, and most community-focused possibility on the calendar. The free admission code, the on-site tenting, and the family-friendly programming make it probably the most accessible entry level for newer overlanders.
**In case you attended the Overland Expo PNW in June**, BOE Sisters is a special present with a special vibe — price attending individually slightly than instead.
In case you’re a builder or DIY offroader, the Wrench Yard competitors (the owner-built automobile showcase) is the elements of the present you’d construct the remainder of the journey round.
When you’ve got an additional day, the Backland Adventures path journey is the appropriate solution to shut out the weekend.
Tickets, tenting, and the path journey are all on the official Backcountry Offroad Expo tickets web page. Free admission code is SISTERSFREE, tenting low cost code is CAMPING20. The present runs Saturday August 1 and Sunday August 2, 2026 at Sisters Excessive Faculty in Sisters, Oregon.
For extra on the broader Central Oregon overland scene, Steven’s protection of Overland Expo PNW, the Meet the New Workhorse of Whiskey 7 Ranch story on our personal PNW overland rig, and the Overlanding’s $68 Billion Downside put up on the broader overlanding market all connect with the identical neighborhood. Have enjoyable in Sisters.
—Brent
In regards to the Writer
Brent Conklin
Proprietor of Whiskey7backroads and avid explorer. I’m a Ham Radio additional class operator and frequent the Outdated Miss Web. I’ve been married for 37 years to Cheryl and we have now 2 boys and a pair of canine.
