Wild Driftless
Adventure Race

RACE DAY:

October 3, 2026

Elkader, IOWA

Registration is open!

Days

Hours

Minutes

Seconds

RACE DAY is HERE!

CHOOSE YOUR ADVENTURE in Northeast Iowa:

WILD DRIFTLESS
(9 Hour AR)

Trekking (on foot) 5-13 miles (8-22 km)
Biking (gravel roads, paved roads, and trails) 20-34 miles (32-55 km)
Paddling (canoes in flat-water and/or rivers/streams) 2-8 miles (3-13 km)
Special tasks

REGISTRATION COSTS:

$115 by July 31

$130 by August 31
$140 by September 26

USARA membership required (single race for $8 or yearly for $35), available at link.

WILD DRIFTLESS LITE
(5 Hour AR)

Trekking (on foot) 2-6 miles (3-10 km)
Biking (gravel roads, paved roads, and trails) 10-15 miles (16-25 km)
Special tasks
No paddling

REGISTRATION COSTS:

$80 by July 31

$95 by August 31
$105 by September 26

USARA membership required (single race for $8 or yearly for $35), available at link.

Costs are per participant. Add $20 to all costs for soloists.

For 2026, each race is open to only 350 participants between the two races.
Don't miss out!

REGISTRATION is open now!

2026 Host:

The 2026 Wild Driftless Adventure Race will be hosted in Elkader, Iowa at the Elkader City Park

Elkader City Park

707 S High St

Elkader, IA 52043

Race Information

Soaring limestone bluffs, crystal-clear trout streams and fast-moving rivers, old-growth forests, single-track mountain biking, and some of the most scenic gravel roads you’ll find anywhere in the world.

This isn’t just the Iowa cornfields you expect—this is the Driftless Region!

The Wild Driftless Adventure Race will take you into some of the most scenic areas of NE Iowa, featuring trekking, biking, and paddling for teams of 2-4 or soloists. The course is designed for all ability levels with an eye toward serving as a fantastic entry-level event for first-timers AND challenging the most seasoned adventure racers.

RACE INFORMATION PAGE

MANDATORY GEAR (PDF)

RULES & REGULATIONS (PDF)

Follow along on Facebook

Look for more information on upcoming navigation and AR skills clinics, side events, and more.

Presented by CrawDaddy Outdoors

Adventure Race &
Orienteering Clinic

Saturday, May 16 - 10 AM to Noon
At Camp Ewalu's Barred Owl Lodge
37776 Alpha Ave., Strawberry Point, IA

Learn everything you need to know for a fun and successful first adventure race experience. From orienteering skills to route planning and strategy, this class and training session will provide hands-on, practical skills that will prepare you for the unknowns that come with adventure racing.

The first hour will be in the classroom, focused on how to plan a route and how to develop an overall race strategy. Particular emphasis will be made on navigation with instruction on how to use a compass and a map effectively.

The second hour will consist of hands-on training on the Camp Ewalu orienteering course.

The class and training session will be led by Frank Johnson, Race Director of the Wild Driftless Adventure Race, who has a decade of adventure racing experience as a racer, navigator, and race director.

Cost: $10
Preregistration required at link below:

Details & Registration

Wild Driftless AR featured on "The Dark Zone" podcast

Click here to hear Episode 128 featuring Frank Johnson, race director for Wild Driftless. A longtime racer turned first-time race director, Frank is stepping up to give something back to the sport he loves. On this episode of "The Dark Zone," host Brian Gatens talks with Frank about what it means to start something new, why smaller races matter, and how community fuels everything.

LISTEN NOW!