jeep jamboree

continued from page 11 to all other types of ORVs such as ATVs and dirt bikes. The ORV Route sections were established in 2007 by a coalition made up of Michigan DNR, Drummond Island Offroad Club, Great Lakes Four Wheel Drive Association, United Four Wheel Association, and (of course!) Jeep Jamboree USA. This is the only closed loop trail system for full size ORVs in the State of Michigan.

Each group breaks for lunch around noon, and groups doing the Marble Head trails pack out a box lunch provided by the Jamboree and picked up before the morning drivers meeting. Groups doing the non-Marble Head trails are treated to a hot lunch at the Turtle Ridge Off Road Park.

The Jamboree includes trails at the Turtle Ridge Off Road park to add variety and challenge to the Jamboree. Some of the participants will do a whole day at Turtle Ridge, other groups will do a half day with the other half on ORV Route trails.

The highlight of the trail system is Marble Head on the east side of Island. This short trail off the main loop culminates at a short series of challenging downhill rock steps, and participants navigate the steps at their own discretion. Trail guides are always present, however, to ‘spot’ drivers down and up the steps. We park in a large area at the bottom and take about a 100 yard hike out to the Marble Head at the bottom.

And here is the prize on this trail: A breathtaking view of Lake Huron from rock bluffs soaring 90’ above the rocky beach below, looking down at the tree tops in the thin strip of forest between the bottom of the bluff and the rocky beach. Every Jeep in the event makes the trip to Marble Head, but to be fair, some participants pass on the ride down and up the ‘steps’, park at the top and opt to start their hike out to the edge of the bluff from the top of the steps instead.

After a Jamboree-provided lunch, groups hit the trails again for an afternoon of Jeepin’. More trails and lifetime memories for everyone! By supper time of the Friday trail ride everyone is (besides being hungry!) getting to know their Jeep-mates and looking forward to a fine meal back at the Drummond Island Resort’s Brooder House.

And then we do it all again the next day, the only difference being the flip-flop of trails mentioned earlier! The group you rode with on Friday, however, is the same group you ride with on Saturday! The main reason we do that on Drummond is the connections and camaraderie that develops as a results of a close shared experience. We find that on Friday morning it’s “uh, hi, how ya doing?”, Friday afternoon it’s “That was pretty cool stuff!”, Saturday morning it’s “I’m ready to go again with these folks”, and Saturday night it’s a few new friends for life!!

Jeep Jamboree wraps the whole thing up after dinner on Saturday with a short program. Key people and organizations are recognized and thanked. Door prizes – from tow straps & gloves to winches & tires are given away to lucky participants. ‘Special’ awards are handed out to participants for things like the oldest Jeep, oldest driver, furthest traveled, newest Jeep, etc.! And when that’s all done everyone heads out to the nearby beach for a Drummond Island campfire!

The Drummond Island Jeep Jamboree is only 1 of 39 other Jeep Jamborees throughout the country, from Maine to California, and from Texas to Wisconsin! They are all managed pretty much the same, i.e., Thursday on-site checkin, trail riding Friday & Saturday, and a great dinner Friday and Saturday evening when the trail riding is over. Some of the Jamborees also provide breakfast and lunch like the Drummond Island Jamboree. .

SO, if you’re thinking of going on the Drummond Island Jeep Jamboree, or any other Jeep Jamboree, you can register in December when online registration opens for the forthcoming year’s Jamborees, at www.jeepjamboreeUSA.com. Note: These events sell out fast (the 2023 Drummond Island Jamboree sold out in six minutes this past December!!), so check the website in November to see when registration opens for the event you may be interested in attending.

Finally, a quick word about Drummond Island itself. As noted earlier, Drummond holds a number of top-shelf outdoor opportunities. Lying at the very eastern tip of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, it’s not a place you get to by ‘accident’ or are just ‘passing through’! Everyone you run into on the Island are there ‘on purpose’! I can testify from firsthand experience that they are a friendly, helpful, and pleasant bunch of folk!

Whether you head up to Drummond for the next Jeep Jamboree, or to ride the trail system on your own, or just to take advantage of the myriad of other outdoor opportunities, it’s worth the trip! •