SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — From Friday through Sunday, a total of 158,488 vehicles entered at nine locations for the 84th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, according to the South Dakota Department of Transportation.
The SDDOT counts vehicles entering the rally at those nine locations. So far, the counts are trending behind five-year averages. The five year average for the first three days is 168,139 entering vehicles.
The count for Friday was 51,179 which is a 1.5% decrease from the five-year averge.
The count for Saturday was 55,127, down 2.5% from the five-year average. The decrease droppd to double digits on Sunday with 52,182 vehicles entering. That is a decrease of 12.7% from the five-year average.
The counts are lower than the five-year averages but are better or not far off 2023 counts so far.
More vehicles entered the rally on the first Sunday in 2023. The SDDOT recorded 60,586 vehicle last year. But, 38,126 vehicles were counted on the first Saturday last year and 45,652 were recorded on the first Friday.
The total entering vehicle count in 2023 was 458,161 which was 8% lower than the five-year average. The rally has been a 10-day event since 2017. Before that, it was a seven-day event.
The entering vehicle count has been above 500,000 twice since 2018. Once in 2018 and then in 2021 with 525,768. It was close in 2018 with 499,654.
If the entering traffic count trend continues the total count will be lower than the five-year average. Most traffic enters the rally on the first Saturday or first Sunday.
SDDOT entering traffic counts are an indication of rally attendance. The city of Sturgis also uses cell phone data information which can indicate visitor numbers. Tons of garbage is also used. The city has used grid photo analysis in the past.
The rally started on Aug. 2 and ends on Aug. 11.
