Located in northern California in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Rubicon Trail consists of 22 miles of some of the toughest off-road terrain on the planet. The yearly Rubicon Trail Jeep Jamboree covers 17.5 miles of that, where participants traverse rocky terrain with elevation changes of 5,400 feet to upwards of 7,000 feet.
The Rubicon Trail is the ultimate test for Jeep products and used to be the benchmark test for a Jeep to get the “Trail Rated” badge. That standard may have changed, but the Trail itself is still the ultimate test for Jeep owners and has been used by rivals to prove themselves fit to compete against the Wrangler.
“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 4×4 customer’s bucket list,” said Jim Morrison, head of Jeep brand North America. “Conquering the Rubicon Trail is tangible proof that these Jeep vehicles can literally go anywhere and do anything.”
Throughout the video of the celebrations, you can see images of smiling faces, thick forests, and Jeeps as far as the eye can see. While Jeep Jamboree USA holds Jamborees throughout the country, this is the premier event and the most difficult. On the company’s website, it says that any 4×4 Jeep with a 4-LO transfer case is allowed at a jamboree, but the Rubicon Trail event only allows Wranglers with skid plates and rock rails. The vehicle can be as modded as you like, but if it’s too big, it will be turned away at the company’s discretion.
We know these rules are for the protection of the participants as much as the protection of the history of the event, but we can’t help but smile imagining a lifted Jeep Renegade Trailhawk trying its best to keep up. It’d be a sight to see.
