Rally traffic busier than it seemed

Downtown Sundance may have seemed quieter than it has in past years on Wyoming Wednesday, but were there really fewer visitors at this year’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally?

Yes and no. According to the official numbers from the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT), traffic across the official ten days of rally was up 1.1% from the five-year average, but was down 5.3% from last year.

A total of 497,835 vehicles were counted by SDDOT during this year’s rally, a process that’s done by placing portable road tube counters at all nine locations through which traffic can enter Sturgis. These counters record a vehicle for every two axles that hit the road tube.

Last year’s rally was the busiest in a while, with 525,768 vehicles entering Sturgis. The total had not risen higher since 2015, which was the 75th anniversary of the event and brought 747,032 visitors to the area.

Comparing this year’s figures to the five-year average shows that rallygoers were arriving a little earlier this year than they have been. Over the first five days of rally, arrival numbers were up, ranging from an increase of 1.6% on August 9 to 11.4% on August 5, the first day.

After those first five days, though, arrival numbers dropped below average, ranging from 1.3% on August 12 to 11.7% on August 11.

On Rally Wednesday – the day of the event when bikers are most visible here in Crook County – the arrival numbers were recorded as 54,599, a decrease of 1.9%.