This May, Defender hosted Destination Defender New York 2026 at Cedar Lakes Estate in Port Jervis, New York, bringing the brand’s off-road identity into a weekend that also made room for hospitality, food, wellness, music, and time outside.
Across more than 500 acres in the Hudson Valley, the event combined glamping, culinary programming, vehicle showcases, lake activities, wellness sessions, live performances, and outdoor adventure.
The vehicles remained the reason everyone was there, but Cedar Lakes gave the event a setting that offered more than mud and machinery. Golf carts moved guests between programming. Trails moved into the woods. The property looked like an adult summer camp with amazing activities and delicious food accompanied with iconic Defenders.
We stayed in glamping tents close to the heart of the event, near enough to the off-road course and programming that the weekend felt contained without feeling crowded. The tents came with full-sized beds, outlets, heaters, plush linens, and nearby showers and bathrooms. It was camping in the loosest possible sense, which is not a criticism. It meant the weekend could keep its outdoor setting without making sleep feel like an endurance test.
The best part was the sound and sleeping under the stars. Instead of waking up to horns, trucks, sirens, or whatever New York decides to do at 7 a.m., the morning came through birds and trees. The tent walls softened the sunlight that poured in as Hudson Valley slowly woke up. Basecamp gave guests a casual place to gather near the water, with hammocks, drinks, and open views that made it easy to pause between activities. At an event built around vehicles, there was something child-like and nostalgic about spending part of the day on a canoe moving across the water with a paddle.
Photo by Knockturnal
The event also made room for families and younger fans. Near the glamping area, kids drove miniature Defenders around the Junior Defender Drive course with real concentration, steering through a small setup that turned the brand’s off-road language into something playful and accessible. Outside the barn, the Traxxas RC course gave families another way to engage with the vehicles at a smaller scale. The Mountaintop gave guests a place to listen to music, have a drink, and look out over the estate from above.
Yoga and breathwork brought guests into the morning with calm and tranquility. HyperIce recovery sessions in the glasshouse gave guests the chance to try recovery boots while looking out toward the lake. There was also a sauna at the mountaintop, which made the recovery side of the weekend feel like a must. Between hiking, the off-road course, the Trophy area, and the activity stations, Destination Defender kept guests moving and exploring.
Photo by Knockturnal
The Glasshouse became one of the most popular spaces on the property. During the day, it hosted wellness and recovery programming. Later, it became a dining and social space. People moved through in activewear, event gear, dinner attire, and whatever counted as appropriate for a weekend that could go from hiking to cocktails without much warning.
Food and drink were a major part of the weekend’s celebration. On Friday, a Big Green Egg live cooking demonstration and bourbon tasting brought guests into one of the more relaxed parts of the weekend. The ceramic grill, shaped exactly as its name promises, turned out tomahawk steak, and we were lucky enough to get the bone. The Saturday dinner at the Defender Dining Experience was one of the weekend’s highlights, from roasted carrot with black truffle and feta and burrata with asparagus and prosciutto to braised beef short ribs over whipped celery root purée, ending with olive oil cake and whipped mascarpone frosting. Drink pairings moved between cocktails, wine, espresso martinis, and non-alcoholic options like carrot-ginger and pomegranate fizz.
Music also made the event feel like a small festival, especially around the stage areas where guests could move in and out between activities. At different points, the weekend felt less like one central event and more like a spread of small experiences: someone heading toward the Defender Drive Experience, families watching kids at Junior Defender Drive, guests sitting near the lake, others enjoying matcha at the Barn.
Photo by Knockturnal
That spread out quality was part of the appeal of Destination Defender. The lake handled the slower moments. The woods held the driving and hiking. The glasshouse brought polish. The barn carried the brand history. The event used the property to feel like an escape rather than just a schedule of activities. By Sunday’s Defender Brunch Experience, we knew the weekend was coming to a close but no one wanted to leave. Guests moved between final programming, morning yoga, brunch, the Defender Store, the museum, and last looks at the vehicles before leaving. Destination Defender created a full weekend around the vehicle without making the vehicle carry every moment alone.
