Rally numbers see sharp drop

Numbers were down across the board for this year’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, as anecdotal stories and hard numbers tell the story of a rally that saw a dip in visitation from last year’s 85th rally.
The South Dakota Department of Transportation said overall traffic count at the nine locations enterering Sturgis was down 10 percent overall, with a total of 448,166 vehicles entering over the course of the official 10 days of the rally. That number is off the previous five-year average for 10 days, which is 498,042 vehicles.
Talha Tahir of Memphis, Tenn., was set up on south 5th Street with Evil Bull Knives, his first year in Custer after spending last year as a vendor in Sturgis. He said this year’s sales stand traffic was very slow.
“Last year was very good. I’m very disaapointed with this year,” he said. “My uncle has a location in Sturgis. They were saying they are losing money.”
In fact, Tahir said he would have to reassess whether or not he would return next year. He said the fact the rally was later in August this year, combined with some poor weather, might have contributed to the down numbers.
Julie Harpe, owner of Bucksin to Buffalo out of right here in Custer, was also set up on south 5th Street, and said she anticipated this being a slower year because it is the year immediately following an anniversary rally (rallies that ‘end in five or zero,’ ie., 70th, 75th tend to do better).
“Sales are a little down, but that’s normal and expected,” Harpe said, calling this year’s rally “average.” “I’m doing OK.”
In Custer State Park, Lydia Austin, visitor services superivsor, said things in the park were probably much the same as the surrounding area.
“We are down from last year, and as always Sylvan, Needles  and Iron Mountain Roads remain hotspots in the park,” she said. “Overall, it was still a good year, and we look forward to next Sturgis.”
The rally officially started Aug. 7, with 54,515 vehicles entering Sturgis, which was actually up 2.9 percentage from the previous five-year average. That was followed by an increase of 2.5 percent Saturday, Aug. 8, giving credence to the belief that many bikers come early to beat the crowds.
Sunday started the downward trend, as the vehicles dropped to 55,448, down 7.5 percent from the five-year average. That was followed by a decrease of 8.4 percent Monday, Aug. 10, and an 11.8 percent decrease Aug. 11.
Things bottomed out in terms of percentage Wednesday, Aug. 12, when only 42,964 vehicles entered Sturgis, a 23.6 percent dip from the five-year average. Thursday, Aug. 13 saw only 41,702 vehicles, an 18.1 percent dip. Friday dipped just below 40,000 vehicles, a 14 percent drop, while Satuday was all the way down to 28,679, a 17 percent drop, before Sunday saw only 19,655 vehicles, down 5.7 percent. All told, 448,166 were in town for the week, well below the five-year average of 498,042 vehicles—a 10 percent decrease overall.
Things weren’t all bad, however, as Leah Scott of the Custer BID Board and COO of Custer Hospitality said the week prior to rally was just as strong, if not stronger in occupancy.
“This seems to be an annual  trend across the board as far as rally goers coming to the area early,” she said. “We anticipated it would be a slower rally after last year’s 85th but still remain confident in this season’s more than fair share of the market for our area.”
Cherish Baker of Baker’s Bakery said the week before the rally officially began was busy like last year, but the week of was slower.
“It usually is after a banner year,” she said. “We are usually very busy as the bikers know this place. One of them said we are recommended on some biker YouTube channel—I thought that was cool.”
Custer County Sheriff Derrick Reifenrath said this rally was slower this year for the sheriff’s office, while lamenting that there was one fatality accident in Custer State Park.  
Overall crash numbers were down, Reifenrath said, with just 21 crashes compared to 27 last year. Total calls for service were also down from 650 in 2025 to 426 this year. 
“I don’t know how this translates into overall numbers for the rally in Custer County, but it was a welcome reduction in workload for all of the emergency services in the county,” he said.
Mike Bielmaier, director of the Custer Ambulance Service, said ambulance responses during rally were nearly half of what they were last year.
“As always the Wildlife Loop is a busy area for responses,” he said. “The week before rally was actually more busy for us. The best thing was our crew assisted in delivering and transferring a mom and baby from the (emergency department) in the middle of the week.”