Rip and Dip Ranch Is Totally The Off-Road Summer Camp Of Your Grown-Up Dreams

Bring sunscreen, bring a hat, stay hydrated, and you're about to have the adrenaline-fueled time of your life.

MOHAVE VALLEY, ARIZONA – Too often, when you make the mistake of growing up, you're told that you're supposed to leave the toys behind. Tell that to me and the LEGO set I got for my birthday that I still need to put together. I digress.

As powersports enthusiasts, it's clear that most of us didn't really listen to that particular societal edict.

But hear me out: What if you could do summer camp a little differently than you may have done when you were a kid? Listen, I have absolutely nothing against making friendship bracelets, but what if you could do something a little more action-packed on your summer vacation than just going to the local swimming pool, or maybe heading to the beach?

Something where, at the end of it all, you'll still probably end up chilling in the water anyway; only, you'll get a mad adrenaline rush before it's time to kick back and cool off? Oh, and also a place where the homestyle cooking is so delicious, I'm pretty sure it beats most summer camps you ever went to as a kid (and maybe some hotels you've been to)?

Friends, I told you a bit about my first experience at the Rip and Dip Ranch in 2025. What may not have been clear is that when I went for my first time, that event was also their first time, and it was also a sort of soft launch of the project. Like any passion project, that naturally means there have been some tweaks since then, as they've hosted a few additional events in between that time and now.

What would change? What would stay the same? I didn't know, but as I set my mental compass for adventure, I was keen to find out.

Sometimes it's all about the journey AND the destination.Photo by: Monster Energy

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Your Day In The Desert

This time around, I was coming into this experience a bit more prepared (I thought) than I was last time. In some ways, that was true; I've driven more off-road over the past year than I ever have, which is cool. My fitness level is also significantly better, which is certainly a plus just in terms of everyday life, let alone the pursuit of all the fun stuff.

And yet, there were still surprises to be had. Believe it or not, I'd never visited the Grand Canyon before. Yes, even though I'm a grown person who's lived in the US for my entire life. (See, it really IS summer camp!)

Just as grand as they say.Photo by: Monster Energy

Also, it probably won't surprise you to learn that there's a significant difference between piloting a Can-Am Defender across the desert and piloting a Land Rover Defender across the desert. No really; it's true! They're most definitely not the same thing. Both tons of fun, but in very different ways. I will say, having working air conditioning on a hot day in the desert does make a significant difference; I'm sure other motorcyclists can agree.

As an endlessly curious person, getting the Defender's undercarriage camera views to show us the terrain we were navigating as we went was kind of mind-blowing. Also, speaking of navigating ... this time around, we had a printed, rally raid-style road book to show us the way to get from the Grand Canyon to the Rip and Dip Ranch.

Ricky addresses the class.Photo by: Monster Energy

After getting a short course in the finer points of road book reading from Dakar legend Ricky Brabec himself, the participants in this excursion all buckled up and set off in pairs. To keep the balance firmly on the side of fun rather than stress, we also tackled this road book exercise convoy-style, making it far less likely that any of us would get too lost.

Now, I'm not sure if you know this, but the Arizona desert gets hot . We're talking triple digits here on the days that we were there.

Staying hydrated is of the utmost importance, and you need to keep drinking water and electrolytes the whole time, even if you're lucky enough to have air conditioning on your side as you traverse the truly astonishing landscape, full of Joshua trees, cattle, snakes, roadrunners, and more.

Thus, it was with a cooler fully stocked with ice-cold water and a wide assortment of Monster energy drinks that each of our vehicles set off. We'd had the good fortune to witness a truly stunning sunrise on the west side of the Grand Canyon, on the land of the Hualapai people; now, it was time to make our way to the ranch.

Road book notes are something else!Photo by: Monster Energy

For those who've never been in a Land Rover Defender before (which, until this event, would also be a number that included me), the way the seats and the steering column adjust to your individual height and reach requirements makes getting in the driver's seat incredibly easy. My co-driver for this event was also the event's medic, and like most reasonably-sized people, he was a bit taller than me. Even so, switching around between the two of us took almost no time to adjust.

As a lucky bonus for me, he was local to the area, so he was able to tell me more about all the beautiful trees we were seeing as we traversed this part of the desert. Since the route was mostly on Hualapai land, it's not a place that a lot of people necessarily get to see. While my co-driver was familiar with the tree species we were seeing, for example, even he was in awe of the sheer size of some of them because he'd never, ever seen trees this old before.

Photos by: Monster Energy

The beginning of the route was where the most technical portion was, and most of the other drivers had very little (or no) off-road experience. Understandably, there was both some nerves and excitement as we all prepared to tackle the day's adventure. I'd felt it myself the previous year, as those were the shoes I'd been wearing at that time, too. This time, though, I was calmly excited, only wondering how well this particular type of Defender would take to the tasks set out for it.

I stayed steady on the throttle, keeping up my end of the conversation as we picked our way through some trails, including a particularly steep and rocky incline. With the help of JLR driving coach Chris (who was exactly the kind of instructor you want coaching you through something like this) talking us through how to adjust the suspension settings on the fly, as well as how to get that undercarriage camera showing us what we wanted to see, it was almost too easy.

Photos by: Monster Energy

What could have been an incredibly nerve-wracking experience of going over large, potentially pointy (and tire-shredding) rocks, was instead made an absolute snap. Who knew that when you can see the terrain, you can more easily choose your lines to maximize traction and avoid any potentially damaging obstacles on the terrain? I mean, going over rough stuff is what off-roading is for, but you don't want a giant boulder ripping things up, you know?

In the words of my co-driver, I "walked it up that hill," steady on the throttle and remarkably more relaxed than I would've been the year before. Up until that point, I hadn't known what to expect; I was excited, and I felt like I should be better equipped to handle this drive. To my great relief, reality seemed to agree!

As we stopped for lunch in the mountains around Oatman, Arizona, I marveled again at the insane views. The sheer variety of what you'll see if you travel to this part of the country is something that's admittedly difficult to put into words. Photos, while amazing, don't even quite do it justice. If you've never been here, I hope you get to experience it one day on some type of vehicle, no matter what that might be.

All this beauty, all around us.Photo by: Monster Energy

Meet You Back At The Ranch

After a quick stop on a nearby beach alongside the mighty Colorado River, we pulled in at the Rip & Dip Ranch and parked. As with last year, each of us was assigned a tent for our Dakar bivouac-style accommodation. Inside each tent was a sleeping bag and pillow on a cot, along with a towel, a light (with a fan), an electrical strip to keep our devices charged, and the option to retrieve a big box fan if we needed it.

The hand-welded outdoor showers are still there, along with a new option: The single fanciest porta toilet/shower setup I've experienced. This is gonna sound weird, but if you spent your youth going to concerts (and later to racing events), then you know how gross porta potties can get.

These? Were not that. Now, I know this was the first time anyone was using these units because Sara Price told us that herself, but I cannot stress enough that they actually smelled nice . The point of an experience like this wasn't to be a fancy hotel, and yet, these bathrooms did kind of smell like one. They also had some nicely thought-out exhaust fans to keep the environment inside nice, even though the water in the showers had strong water pressure and was plenty steamy if you like your water hot.

The Ranch itself, while being home to Sara Price and Ricky Brabec and their wonderful rescue dogs, is also home to a few adorable rescue donkeys. Basically, if you're the type of person who loves powersports and rescue animals, you're going to feel right at home here.

One moment, you can be out on PWCs or boats out on the water; the next, you can be driving side-by-sides or Land Rovers in the desert. Blink again, and you can either be trying your hand at wake surfing on the river or watching the action from the next boat over. The fun you have is all up to you.

Surprise!Photo by: Monster Energy