Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally the the Black Hills of South Dakota is one of the largest motorcycle rallies in the world. Located in the small town of Sturgis, South Dakota, having a population of only about 6,600
residents, during the first full week of August every year, the population sky rockets to nearly a million people!

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has been held every year since 1938 except during WWII, and is why you will see so many motorcycles throughout the Black Hills area during late July thru mid-August.

And of course the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is not intended for children, and is therefore not a "must see" by the typical South Dakota vacationer, but we felt we needed to mention it because it's definitely for everyone who loves to ride motorcycles or dreams of riding a motorcycle!!!

Brief History

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in the Black Hills of South Dakota was founded on August 14, 1938 by a motorcycle club by the "Jackpine Gypsies". This now famous motorcycle club, who still owns the land and runs many of the motorcycle events during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, were owners of the now legendary Indian Motorcycles.  Their founder is Clarence "Pappy" Hoel, who purchased an Indian Motorcycle Franchise in 1936 and that same year started the "Jackpine Gyspies" motorcycle club.

The very first "Sturgis Motorcycle Rally" was launched on August 14, 1938 with the first event being a motorcycle race with nine participants called the "Black Hills Classic".  There was a very small audience in attendance. Little did they know what this would lead to... which is one of the largest motorcycle rallies in the world!  The fabled Jackpine Gypsies were inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1997, and the group's founder Clarence Hoel was inducted a year later.

Today, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally sees unofficially well over a million people a year, and many of these motorcycle enthusiasts bring their children and drive campers and trailers to the rally.. and actually ride their motorcycles for just the last several miles. For those who arrive by airline, there are actually shipping companies who wills ship their bikes to Sturgis Motorcycle Rally!  But it doesn't really matter how anyone gets to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, this world renowned motorcycle rally is a wonderful celebration of the "Freedom of the Open Road", and everyone's welcome!