Interested in #vanlife? Idaho festival will celebrate, educate on the nomadic lifestyle
A Boise woman is bringing her nomadic lifestyle back home and welcoming hundreds of others who either live the Instagram-famous “van life” or hope to embrace it.
Kristen Bor, the founder of outdoor blog Bearfoot Theory and a part-time van dweller, planned the Open Roads Festival happening at Jug Mountain Ranch near McCall this weekend. The multi-day gathering begins Friday and wraps up Monday and will feature yoga, live music, entertainment and workshops for camper van enthusiasts.
Van life is exactly what it sounds like: People live in their vehicles, typically traveling from place to place and often document their travels on social media. The itinerant lifestyle has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, amassing more than 13 million #vanlife hashtags on Instagram. Bor told the Statesman in a phone interview that she has been part of the community since 2014, now splitting her time between her home in Salt Lake City and a Mercedes Sprinter 4x4, one of the more popular vehicle models for van living.
Bor said van life allows people to be flexible, travel and easily access the outdoors. For some, it can also be a cheaper alternative to renting or buying a home.
In 2019, after traveling and blogging about her experience for five years, Bor planned the first Open Roads Festival.
“I wanted to bring together my blog community in-person for a weekend of inspiration and learning and fun,” Bor told the Statesman.
The festival took a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Bor said the time was right to revive the gathering. She said some van living events have an “expo” feel or bring people together without many activities, so she wanted to ensure Open Roads had plenty of options to keep people busy.
The festival will be part entertainment and part informational. Bor said attendees can take advantage of Jug Mountain Ranch’s miles of hiking and mountain biking trails, as well as its private lake. The event features yoga classes and live music from performers including Josh Danielson, the Pour and Leah Woods.
Workshops scheduled through the weekend will give van dwellers and hopefuls advice on DIY projects, earning income on the road, and information on van build basics, like converting or insulating a vehicle. Bor said that kind of advice would have been critical when she got her first van.
“I didn’t really know (what to look for) when I was making decisions,” she said. “The best thing people can do when it comes to living out of a van is just get educated on what you want and what you can use it for.”
And if you don’t have a van yet, don’t fret. The event has openings for tent campers who are exploring the lifestyle or planning to build out a vehicle. Bor said she’s expecting about 40 to 50 tent campers and has already sold roughly 450 tickets to the festival.
Tickets are required for drivers and each passenger, though kids ages 11-17 qualify for youth tickets and kids 10 and younger are free. Tickets for van drivers cost $184, while drivers of tent camping vehicles will pay $169. Passenger tickets cost $139, and youth tickets are $39. Day passes aren’t available, so plan to stay the whole weekend.
