Overland the Red 2024 Trip Report — Red River Gorge, Kentucky

When: October 2024

Where: Red River Gorge, Kentucky

Who: Two-up (myself and an employee)

Rigs: 1986 Jeep Comanche, custom fire truck camper

Duration: 3 days

The Event

Overland the Red is put on by Northology and held at Kellie's on the Gorge Campground in the Red River Gorge area of Kentucky. Similar format to other overland events—group trail runs, classes, vendors, and camping. Great turnout this year with a solid vendor village to walk through between runs.

The Rigs

We brought two vehicles down: the '86 Comanche and our fire truck camper—a custom build we put together ourselves. The fire truck served as base camp and the Comanche handled trail duty.

The Trails

Red River Gorge delivered a good mix of terrain. Trails were rocky and muddy—typical Kentucky stuff. We ran a variety of routes over the three days, nothing too technical but enough to keep it interesting and test the equipment.

Off the Trails

We got out and hiked to some scenic overlooks in the gorge. October timing meant fall colors were on—hard to beat that part of Kentucky in autumn.

Camp Life

We stayed at the campground, which made logistics easy. One night we ate at the campground's BBQ setup—good food, no complaints. The social scene around camp was solid, good opportunity to talk with other attendees and vendors.

Final Thoughts

Overland the Red is a well-run event in a great location. The Red River Gorge area has plenty to offer—trails, scenery, hiking—and the Northology crew puts together a good experience. Worth the drive down from Minnesota.