Oakley rodeo returns, boosting tradition, tourism and town projects
The 91st Oakley Rodeo is expected to draw 31,000 fans and drive sales for local shops, rooms and restaurants. It also helps pay for Oakley projects, from parks to water plants.
The 91st Oakley Rodeo will bring an expected 31,000 fans to the Oakley City Recreational Complex July 1-4 in a town of roughly 1,600 people. Tickets sold out quickly after going on sale online Feb. 3 at 10 a.m., which is why the July 6 Oakley Xtreme Bulls Tour is drawing attention from fans who still want an arena seat after the main rodeo fills up.
Slack is set for June 30 and is free to watch, while the main rodeo is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. July 1-4. Drone shows and fireworks are planned every night, and the week also includes the parade, junior rodeo, and the Kids Fun Run & 5K.
Mayor Steve Wilmoth said the rodeo is not just entertainment. It helps fund recreation-complex upgrades and public works needs, including improvements to the town’s water plants, and Oakley would not have its arena or parks without the rodeo’s support. The arena itself was built with the 2005 opening of a $3 million, 6,000-seat recreation complex.
Jenny Watts, co-owner of Bolt Ranch Store, said Oakley’s five rodeo days account for about a month’s worth of business for her store. The 2025 rodeo paid out $350,199 in prize money, and Wilmoth expects this year’s purse total to top that figure as some payouts rise.
Oakley’s rodeo roots go back to 1930, when the event began as part of the town’s Fourth of July celebration. Early rodeos were held at Stevens Grove, a five-acre property where organizers used snow fencing and parked cars to manage the crowd. The rodeo turned professional in 1983 when it signed with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, and Oakley had been celebrating July 4 for more than a century before the rodeo proper began.
Kamas Valley History Group puts the event at more than 5,000 visitors and competitors per day from around the world, and the rodeo’s official site ranks it one of the top three Fourth of July rodeos and No. 35 among all rodeos.
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