Jeep Jamboree 2023 Celebrated the 70th Anniversary of the Rubicon Trail [Updated With Video]

[JAY]

Seven Decades Together on the Rubicon Trail: Jeep® Brand and Jeep Jamboree Celebrate History, Legendary 4x4 Capability and Enthusiast Community With 70th Anniversary Trail Ride

• Jeep® brand and Jeep Jamboree celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Rubicon Trail
• New video celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Rubicon Trail takes enthusiasts along for the ultimate trail ride
• In the 70 years since Jeep 4x4s first started crossing the Rubicon Trail, off-road adventuring has become a lifestyle for passionate Jeep SUV owners across the globe
• The Rubicon Trail is located in northern California, near Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This world-renowned four-wheel drive covers a total distance of approximately 22 miles with elevations that run from approximately 5,400 feet to more than 7,000 feet (approximately 1,646 meters to more than 2,134 meters)
• This summer, 450 Jeep enthusiasts and their families and friends, driving a total of 125 Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators, celebrated the Rubicon Trail’s seven-decade anniversary
• Jeep Jamboree operates more than 40 Jeep Jamborees annually and continues to expand, this year launching two trips to Iceland that are taking place this month

August 24, 2023 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - The Jeep® brand and Jeep Jamboree are celebrating 70 years of extreme off-roading adventure this summer. Since 1953, the Rubicon Trail, known as one of the most difficult off-road trails in the world, has been a lifestyle symbol of Jeep 4x4 off-road adventuring for the Jeep community.

This summer, 450 Jeep enthusiasts and their families and friends, driving a total of 125 Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators, celebrated with a special event on the Rubicon Trail’s seven-decade anniversary by living the off-road adventure of dreams and, in the process, proving that their stock Jeep vehicles can tackle the impossible, drive off the trail and get them back home. A new video posted on the Jeep brand’s YouTube channel gives a taste of the adventure.





“For more than 80 years, the Jeep brand community has defined the Jeep brand and, for 70 of those years, the Rubicon Trail has been heralded by the community as one of the toughest off-road trails in the world, which combined with its beauty has put the Rubicon Trail on every Jeep 4x4 customer’s bucket list,” said Jim Morrison, senior vice president and head of Jeep brand North America. “Conquering the Rubicon Trail is tangible proof that these Jeep vehicles can literally go anywhere and do anything. As you can see in the video, Jeep 4xe vehicles demonstrate how we continue to push the envelope as we develop our next generation of electrified Jeep 4xe vehicles that can take 4x4 capability to the next level and conquer the seemingly impossible.”

The mighty Rubicon Trail is located in northern California, near Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This world-renowned 4x4 playground spans approximately 22 miles of the toughest off-road terrain on the planet – terrain that Jeep Trail Rated 4x4 vehicles are designed and built to overcome. Jeep Jamboree covers 17.5 miles of the toughest terrain on its trail rides. Elevations on the trail range from approximately 5,400 feet to more than 7,000 feet (approximately 1,646 meters to more than 2,134 meters). Today, the Rubicon is widely recognized as the premiere off-road vehicle route in the United States.

“In 1953, when Mark Smith organized the first Jeep Jamboree with 55 Willys and voyaged across the Sierra Nevada Mountains by way of the Rubicon Trail, off-road recreation was born,” said Pearse Umlauf, president and CEO of Jeep Jamboree. “The following year, Willys Motors — then manufacturer of Jeep vehicles — became involved with the adventure, and Jeep Jamborees have been an off-road tradition ever since and continue to grow. Most recently, we’ve seen a huge surge of interest, especially after the COVID pandemic, with a tremendous demand from people who want to experience their Jeep vehicles in open-air freedom.”

Jeep brand engineers have long used the Rubicon Trail to develop and test its most capable SUVs, including the Jeep Wrangler. Adorned with the legendary Rubicon Trail name, the Wrangler Rubicon took the industry by storm in the summer of 2002. The iconic Rubicon model, inspired by the enthusiasts who dreamt about it and often tried to build one of their own, became available to order straight from the factory, not to mention with a warranty. It was equipped with options unheard of at the time and not available on any production Jeep SUV, including Dana 44 axles, front and rear lockers, disconnecting sway bar, rock rails, oversized 31-inch mud-terrain tires and wheel flares, to truly take off-roading to the next level.

The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon continues to be a “proof of concept” for the Jeep brand, where lessons learned from iconic off-road locations like Rubicon Trail and where feedback gleaned from enthusiasts and Jeep brand loyalists continue to push the brand and the entire Jeep lineup forward. Earlier this year, the Jeep brand celebrated with a special 20th Anniversary Edition, revealed at the 2023 Chicago Auto Show.

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[C.Sco]

Lots of 4xe's in those pictures!

Rubicon Trail is epic, was just there yesterday in my own 4xe. It was very quiet this week, over two days I only passed 1 side by side, 2 CJ's, and a small group of JK's. Pretty much had Buck Island Lake camping area all to myself.

 

[INCRHULK]

Wait. Jeep is setting up Jamborees in Iceland? Where I can only imagine the number of wranglers sold is double digits each year?

Yet they still haven’t set up events in Canada?

 

[rcadden]

1) A Jeep Jamboree in Iceland would be so epic. If you've not been to Iceland, you should go. It's an insane place.

2) The Rubicon Trail is a bucket list item for me - would love to take my rig out there and see how it does. Mostly stock Sahara but with 33" KO2s and a 1.5" puck lift.

 

[INCRHULK]

1) A Jeep Jamboree in Iceland would be so epic. If you've not been to Iceland, you should go. It's an insane place.

2) The Rubicon Trail is a bucket list item for me - would love to take my rig out there and see how it does. Mostly stock Sahara but with 33" KO2s and a 1.5" puck lift.

Iceland is actually one of my bucket list destinations. I just don’t know why they’re setting up a jamboree there when they still don’t run them in Canada.

 

[acomputernerd]

What a great memorable trip. Not only did I drive it off that trail I also drove it home. Amazing trail amazing people!

 

[JAY]

Here is the video and rest of the press release:






“For more than 80 years, the Jeep brand community has defined the Jeep brand and, for 70 of those years, the Rubicon Trail has been heralded by the community as one of the toughest off-road trails in the world, which combined with its beauty has put the Rubicon Trail on every Jeep 4x4 customer’s bucket list,” said Jim Morrison, senior vice president and head of Jeep brand North America. “Conquering the Rubicon Trail is tangible proof that these Jeep vehicles can literally go anywhere and do anything. As you can see in the video, Jeep 4xe vehicles demonstrate how we continue to push the envelope as we develop our next generation of electrified Jeep 4xe vehicles that can take 4x4 capability to the next level and conquer the seemingly impossible.”

The mighty Rubicon Trail is located in northern California, near Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This world-renowned 4x4 playground spans approximately 22 miles of the toughest off-road terrain on the planet – terrain that Jeep Trail Rated 4x4 vehicles are designed and built to overcome. Jeep Jamboree covers 17.5 miles of the toughest terrain on its trail rides. Elevations on the trail range from approximately 5,400 feet to more than 7,000 feet (approximately 1,646 meters to more than 2,134 meters). Today, the Rubicon is widely recognized as the premiere off-road vehicle route in the United States.

“In 1953, when Mark Smith organized the first Jeep Jamboree with 55 Willys and voyaged across the Sierra Nevada Mountains by way of the Rubicon Trail, off-road recreation was born,” said Pearse Umlauf, president and CEO of Jeep Jamboree. “The following year, Willys Motors — then manufacturer of Jeep vehicles — became involved with the adventure, and Jeep Jamborees have been an off-road tradition ever since and continue to grow. Most recently, we’ve seen a huge surge of interest, especially after the COVID pandemic, with a tremendous demand from people who want to experience their Jeep vehicles in open-air freedom.”

Jeep brand engineers have long used the Rubicon Trail to develop and test its most capable SUVs, including the Jeep Wrangler. Adorned with the legendary Rubicon Trail name, the Wrangler Rubicon took the industry by storm in the summer of 2002. The iconic Rubicon model, inspired by the enthusiasts who dreamt about it and often tried to build one of their own, became available to order straight from the factory, not to mention with a warranty. It was equipped with options unheard of at the time and not available on any production Jeep SUV, including Dana 44 axles, front and rear lockers, disconnecting sway bar, rock rails, oversized 31-inch mud-terrain tires and wheel flares, to truly take off-roading to the next level.

The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon continues to be a “proof of concept” for the Jeep brand, where lessons learned from iconic off-road locations like Rubicon Trail and where feedback gleaned from enthusiasts and Jeep brand loyalists continue to push the brand and the entire Jeep lineup forward. Earlier this year, the Jeep brand celebrated with a special 20th Anniversary Edition, revealed at the 2023 Chicago Auto Show.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Lots of 4xe's in those pictures!

Rubicon Trail is epic, was just there yesterday in my own 4xe. It was very quiet this week, over two days I only passed 1 side by side, 2 CJ's, and a small group of JK's. Pretty much had Buck Island Lake camping area all to myself.

I should be on the trail Tuesday. Hoping to have a similar experience.

 

[Ratbert]

I should be on the trail Tuesday. Hoping to have a similar experience.

We'll be there in two weeks. The planning / cancellations / planning / cancellations / planning has been going on since the start of 2022. Gotta love wildfires and too much snow!

 

[Opus]

The scenery is spectacular, but there's no way I would want to wheel with that many people. The mall at Christmas is my nightmare. Or, like Jean-Paul Sartre said in No Exit ... "Hell is other people."

 

[rohdawg]

We'll be there in two weeks. The planning / cancellations / planning / cancellations / planning has been going on since the start of 2022. Gotta love wildfires and too much snow!

You better be taking some pictures brother

 

[Retired Jeeper]

Drove my JLUR to the RT in 2017 for the Jeep Jamboree trip from southern Illinois. First day on the trail my PS pump decided to end its life. Got to Rubicon Springs where JJUSA had a mechanic's shop set up. The guy thought he had a replacement pump on site, but found that he did not. They flew one in by helicopter and my Jeep was repaired by noon the next day. I had to pay $100 for the pump (no charge for the helo flight) and the mechanic just had a tip jar. He got a very large tip! Drove the rest of the trail, down through CA, across Death Valley, to several of the UT NPs and back home. Great trip with great memories. It sold me on JJUSA.

 

[jcompton]

Iceland is actually one of my bucket list destinations. I just don’t know why they’re setting up a jamboree there when they still don’t run them in Canada.

When the Jamborees ended events such as Trailfest were organized. Trailfest takes place near Bobcaygeon, Ontario. It ran again this summer and was a great success.

https://www.londonjeepclub.org/trailfest/

 

[INCRHULK]

When the Jamborees ended events such as Trailfest were organized. Trailfest takes place near Bobcaygeon, Ontario. It ran again this summer and was a great success.

https://www.londonjeepclub.org/trailfest/

Yup. I’ve been to that one a few times. I’d still love to have Jeep running the Jamborees in Canada.

 

[wanderer]

Ran it in 2003 in the first year rubicon production with mark smith let my 13 year old drive some of the very easy stretches

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