Right on the edge of Holly Oaks ORV Park in Holly, Michigan, the Detroit 4Fest featured plenty of off-road action, vendors and even several Jeep concept vehicles to enjoy.
by Matt Konkle
Managing Editor
HOLLY, Mich. — With plenty of room for off-roading and overlanding, all kinds of industry vendors, as well Jeep itself in attendance, the latest Detroit 4Fest event at Holly Oaks Off-Road Park in Holly, Michigan, pretty much had something for everyone.
The 4Fest event, now in its fifth season, recently set up in the park September 8-10 and saw record attendance for each of its show days, plus highly-attended off-road seminars and Ultra 4 racing demonstrations.
”It was another amazing Detroit 4Fest weekend,” said 4Fest CEO Tom Zielinski. “Vendors being able to connect with OEM reps, consumers connecting with vendors and everyone out on the trails making memories.
”The entire 4Fest team is grateful for all the support and fun we had with everyone this year.”
Holly Oaks is located just under an hour west of Detroit and consists of around 235 acres of reclaimed sand and gravel mine sites. Rather than just beefing up the existing dirt ORV routes, site organizers instead created ‘Adventure Areas’ throughout the park, allowing riders to tailor their experience to their respective skill levels.
One of the most popular spots is Mt. Magna, which is a rocky hill climb that creatively mimics Moab, Utah’s iconic slickrock surface thanks to about 25,000 square feet of shotcrete.
However, off-roading in the park wasn’t the only thing at the event. Plenty of the industry’s top vendors — including Rock Slide Engineering, Steer Smarts, Dana, Magnuson, Bilstein, AEV, Fox, Rancho, AccuAir, Armorlite, JKS and Quake Lighting — were available for questions and product demonstrations, while organizers also had plenty of off-road 101 skills and winch recovery training classes for those looking to improve their technique.
Additionally, the Jeep brand itself was title sponsor for 4Fest and brought along all kinds of vehicles to display and ride for the weekend. It even rolled out three of its 2023 Easter Jeep Safari concept vehicles — the 392 Scrambler, JT Sideburn and SJ Cherokee for attendees to poke around and inspect.
Those who didn’t want to take their own vehicle into the park were able to ride with professional drivers in one of many Rubicon Wrangler 4xe, Rubicon Gladiator truck or Rubicon 392 vehicles.
Finally, one of the new features of this year’s event was a 4Fest ‘Passport’ which allowed event attendees to capture a stamp at each vendor display, and then turn in for a daily raffle. This year’s grand prize was a VIP experience during the January 2024 King of the Hammers in Johnson Valley, California.
The 2024 Detroit 4Fest will be announced in a few months, and is expected to again be in early September.
