Detroit 4Fest Draws 5,000 to Holly Oaks ORV ParkOff-Road.comAlta MLWed, September 23, 2026 at 9:30 AM UTCAdd us on Googlejeep climb rocksOff-roaders packed the 235 acres of Holly Oaks ORV Park over the weekend for Detroit 4Fest, with an estimated 5,000 attendees turning out for two days of trail running, rock racing, and night wheeling. The festival ran Friday, Sept. 18 through Saturday, Sept. 19.What went downThe lineup blended wheeling with a party atmosphere: trail runs across the property, rock racers going head to head, bands playing, food trucks parked on site and a row of vendors. Friday night added NightFest, an after-dark wheeling session for anyone willing to run the trails in the black. Jeep, the Stellantis brand, served as title sponsor. Five concepts and five production rigs were parked out for the crowd to look over this year.Getting newcomers on the trailFor wheelers looking to bring someone new into the sport, the festival built its programming around exactly that. No-cost off-road basics ran across both days, and one clinic was set aside for women only. Founder and president Tom Zielinski framed the push to bring more women into off-roading directly. "It can be intimidating because, in general, it kind of always was the old boys' club. We let (women) join us, jump in the mix and learn how to do this," Zielinski said. A beginner ride-and-learn program paired experienced off-road instructors with newcomers to walk them through basic principles from the passenger seat. Jeep drivers who came out could also pick up the Badge of Honor tied to Holly Oaks ORV Park. Students from Detroit's Jalen Rose Leadership Academy attended as well. Friday morning, the teens got time with Jeep CEO Branden Coté and hit the trails riding shotgun with him. Other Jeep executives, the brand's president and vice president among them, stopped by the park that same morning. "We bring them out alongside Jeep leadership every year, so that these kids can come out and experience something that most kids that live in a major city would never, ever experience," Zielinski said.From test run to fixtureDetroit 4Fest launched in 2019 as what Zielinski described as a test event. He hoped for a hundred people and a couple of vendors; 2,000 showed up the first year. Zielinski said the festival was the lone public gathering to run in Southeast Michigan through 2020 once COVID-19 arrived, and it carried on with sign-off from Oakland County. Zielinski has been a Jeep guy since 1979, when he picked up his first one, and he's kept them in his driveway ever since. "The main purpose is to bring people who are interested in the adventure lifestyle together in a super safe and fun environment," he said.