Jeep owners from across the country and even Canada descended upon Daytona Beach, Florida, recently for the 14th annual Jeep Beach. Nestled between iconic Jeep events such as the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab and the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival, Jeep Beach is definitely a great place for Jeepers to bring their families, show off their rigs and hang out with thousands of their closest friends.

Hosted by the Mid Florida Jeep Club and sponsored by BFGoodrich and Rugged Ridge, Jeep Beach is a five-day event offering plenty of fun for participants and spectators alike. With the 2016 Jeep Beach just wrapping up, the dates for 2017 have yet to be announced, but if you own a Jeep, you’ll definitely want to stay tuned to mark this amazing event on your calendar. Beyond the obvious of getting to go Daytona Beach in early spring, here are eight reasons why you should attend Jeep Beach.

Open to all Jeeps
The Jeep Wrangler – specifically the JK – is, by far, the most visible vehicle at Jeep Beach, but you are sure to see every Jeep imaginable at some point. Some of the more unique Jeeps found on the obstacle course included a classic Willys pickup, some cherry Jeep Comanches, a few heavily modified Cherokees (XJ) and Grand Cherokees (ZJ) and even a 2016 Jeep Renegade, which had no problem navigating the “Stock” course. For spectators, there was a lot of Jeep eye candy on display, including Jeep’s full lineup of 2016 Easter Jeep Safari concept vehicles as well as a variety of customized Jeeps among the vendors.

Open to all Jeepers
Regardless of whether you’re a first-time off-roader or a seasoned vet, Jeep Beach welcomes you with open arms. This year’s courses seemed far less technical – especially the rock crawling portion – than before, but this just means that it is easier for the average Jeeper to have more fun and less stage fright. For those who needed help, Jeep Beach volunteers (most of whom are members of the Mid Florida Jeep Club) acted as spotters and, if necessary, gave even more assistance by getting people unstuck. The whole point of the obstacle courses, after all, is for drivers to have fun, and that was definitely accomplished. While the variety of Jeeps was all over the place, one thing almost all of the drivers and riders had in common was a massive smile on their face when they completed the course.

Obstacle Courses
Technically, Jeep Beach is a five-day event, but the highlight is the obstacle courses that have been created on the grass between the Daytona’s famous infield road course and Lake Lloyd. There are three different courses for drivers to choose ranging from one intended for inexperienced drivers or stock Jeeps on the Stock and Modified courses up to the Extreme course designed for vehicles with extensive modifications. The “rock garden” had the biggest crowd around it as spectators watched Jeepers push their rigs to the limit, and a bone stock Wrangler Sport (wearing its factory all-terrain tires, no less) garnered cheers for the driver and spotter after it tackled the rocks without getting stuck... or damaged. BFGoodrich, a Jeep Beach title sponsor, also had its own obstacle course set up with two modified JK Wranglers giving spectators a chance to experience this aspect of Jeep Beach firsthand.

Trail Rides
As an appetizer of what Jeep drivers have to look forward to at the Daytona obstacle courses, this year’s Jeep Beach kicked off with some off-site trail rides held at the nearby Florida Cracker Ranch. Even though the Extreme portion of the obstacle course was challenging, those looking for a bigger thrill should definitely consider doing the trail rides (if offered in 2017). For an added cost, a limited number of Jeepers were able to push their Jeeps to the limit and get even dirtier at this private off-road adventure club. 

Cruising the Beach
Driving on the hard-packed sands of Daytona Beach is nothing exclusive to Jeep Beach, but getting to do so among a sea of Jeeps that stretch as far as the eye can see is a joyful sight for any Jeep enthusiast. A new aspect of Jeep Beach that was evident this year is the number of companies that focused their attention to the beach. Sadly, the Guinness World Record attempt has replaced the beach cruise on the official event schedule, but with the host hotel (and many other Daytona Beach hotels) located at the beach, there are still plenty of Jeeps to be found on the celebrated sand. 

Guinness World Record Attempt
Starting last year, Jeep Beach has taken advantage of its location by using Daytona International Speedway’s 2.5-mile tri-oval track to attempt to set a Guinness World Record for most Jeeps in a parade. The 2015 Jeep Beach threw down the gauntlet by setting the record at 1,846, but just months later, the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival showed them up by raising the bar to 2,420. Unfortunately, this year’s run was unsuccessful at setting a new record as only 2,008 Jeeps made it on the track – entering the back stretch just after Turn 2, doing a full lap of the superspeedway and then exiting just before Turn 3 near the Bus Stop chicane. It was very impressive seeing a steady stream of Jeeps circle for more than two hours, but the long lines and waits may have discouraged some Jeepers from participating. Those who did not participate definitely missed out, though, as circling Daytona’s famed asphalt – even at just 10 miles per hour – is a unique experience.

Awesome Vendors on Hand
Some say Jeep stands for “Just Empty Every Pocket,” so those looking to spend had dozens of vendors from around the world on hand to help separate Jeepers from their hard-earned cash. Everything from major companies to small, local businesses made up vendor row, and many offer attractive specials to Jeep Beach attendees on anything from lift kits and tires to decals and apparel.

Benefit to Local Charities
The most important part of Jeep Beach is that while Jeeps are the common thread, the charitable nature of the event shows the true giving nature of the Jeep community as a whole. This year’s list of charities was 18 strong supporting an array of causes through the registration fees to the various activities and raffles, and while the final amount raised at the 2016 Jeep Beach hasn’t been announced, it is expected to exceed the $250,000 raised last year for Daytona-area charities. For this, Mid Florida Jeep Club deserves a big tip of the hat and, of course, a Jeep wave.

MORE: 2016 Jeep Beach Gallery