Southern Illinois Fat Tire Fest 2026
About
Southern Illinois Fat Tire Festival (FTF) is celebrating 22 years as a Midwest mountain-bike weekend. The 2026 edition is October 16–18, 2026 in Ozark, Illinois, in the Shawnee National Forest. Camp Ondessonk hosts the event, with treehouses, tent and RV camping (no hookups; no pets), meals, and on-site trails.
What’s included
Each registrant receives treehouse lodging for Friday and Saturday nights or a campsite; exclusive access to the Fat Tire Fest trail network (about 35 miles on CampO property, including 10+ miles of MTB-specific flow trails across 800+ acres); exclusive weekend access to about 15 more miles at Lake Glendale; all meals and drinks from lunch Friday through lunch Sunday (Excel Bottling soft drinks; New Belgium beer); custom FTF apparel; swag at registration; and Sunday lunch giveaways.
Program highlights
- Friday night Fat Tire Challenge (huffy toss, kids-on-little-bikes, log pull, tug of war).
- Guided family MTB rides Friday and Saturday; additional guided rides from tame to extreme.
- Saturday kids race at the expo area; Off-Road Crit; all-weekend “The Hunt” scavenger challenge; Tunnel Hill Rail Trail ride Saturday mid-morning.
- On-site bike demos (Santa Cruz, Cannondale and others) Friday and Saturday.
- Sunday O-Face Challenge race with options for riders and non-riders.
Tickets and organizer
Tickets are sold on the official event page: adult $250, kids 6–17 $185, little kids 0–5 free. Organizer Bike Surgeon — [email protected] / (618) 622-1693. Venue address listed by the organizer: 3760 Ondessonk Rd, Ozark, IL 62972.
Register for entry or booths
Venue Map and Hotels Around
Ozark - Camp Ondessonk, Illinois, United States