Anyone been to Sturgis, SD? Or the near vicinity?

[Antonia]

My DH and his friend Dave are thinking of riding their Harleys to Sturgis SD in August to the gathering of the Harleys. Must be a man thing. They would be meeting up with some other guys and staying in a motor home in a campground.
Anyway, I was thinking of flying out and meeting him so the two of us could go see Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, etc. I would fly because there is no way I would ride a Harley fron SC to SD! They have named their tentative trip "RawHide".
However, hotel rates are sky high - must be due to the gathering of the Harleys. A regular old Holiday Inn is over $250 per night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have never been to SD so even looking at a map it is hard for me to tell a good place to look for a room from a town you wouldn't want to stay in. I also don't really know what airport I would fly into. Rapid City?
I definitely do not want to stay in a campground full of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. If I don't find a decent place to stay, I will probably just stay home and let him enjoy the trip with Dave. Any suggestions or ideas?

 

[Jon99]

Seems like it could be a problem, outside of that area there is NOTHING from what I remember..

 

[DisneyDotty]

I say GO FOR IT! Personally, South Dakota is one of my most favorite states to drive through (east to west). There's tons to see/do: Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Badlands, Custer St. Park/Needles Highway (Would LOVE to do that on a Harley!), Wall Drug, 1800 Wild West Town...The scenery just gets better and better the further west you drive.
We went through last summer and stayed at the Hampton Inn in Rapid City--lovely place. I'm sure the rates skyrocket during Sturgis/Harley time, so I can only suggest using any code/coupon you can find, as well as checking all the online travel sites. You would fly into Rapid City.
We used to encounter bikers travelling West as we were returning East from camping. Nicest/friendliest group of people we've ever met at gas stations!
Have a great time!
(I hope to go to the rally sometime in my life--and I don't even ride a motorcycle!)

 

[Pam]

I would look into finding a room in Rapid City.

If you belong to AAA I would get one of their South Dakota Tour Books, it's an excellent source for hotels/motels, dining, and entertainment listings.

 

[tc]

Everything is very crowded at this time of year. You may want to look into hotels in Wyoming, perhaps Gillette, Sundance or Newcastle. All are pretty small towns, but not in the middle of the craziness of Sturgis. It's a beautiful area, but trust me, overrun at this time of year. Rapid City is the closest large city. You could always fly into Denver and rent a car to drive up. But, you'd still have trouble with a room. Good luck.

 

[golfgal]

Sturgis Motorcycle rally is more then some Harley guys in a campground, the WHOLE area is full of biker dudes and dudettes (as dd would say). There is something like 50,000 bikers on any given day of the rally. It would be the equivalent of going to Disney Easter week, wall to wall people. Are there even any hotels left for that week? I wouldn't go if it were me.

 

[tmt martins]

It's like Disney for Bikers they block off the entire area with no realitiy of the outside world.
The price goes up in the hotels due to damage not malicous just a fact of big people and bikes tend to tear things up.Plus they know they will fill up at whatever cost.

I have not been but almost took the trip before I got married and was racing bikes at the time and things just didn't pan out .But the pics they brought back were great.

 

[golfgal]

http://www.sturgismotorcyclerally.com/newsletter.html

Ok, I stand corrected it isn't 50,000 it is 500,000 bikers.

 

[TinkerBess_SnowTori]

SD gal checking in -- and pretty much what everyone has said so far has been right on -- you might be able to find something in Rapid - but the rates are going to be high -- you might find something a little farther west - but again - you pay for it...

I have heard of people renting out their houses, garages, and front yards for this event... and it is wonderful, fasinating, exciting, a little scary sometimes -- but really something that should be experienced --

Maybe let hubbie go now and you meet him out there after the rally for a few days and check out what the rest of the area has to offer - and try the rally another year. Prices drop again after it is all over...

We have our family reunion out at the Hart RAnch outside of Rapid and they wouldn't let us book one during the rally because of what they can charge for non-members during that time.

I really wasn't much help -- but what everyone else had already said had it covered.

Good luck with your decsion

 

[Antonia]

Thanks for all your replies. Now a friend of mine and I are thinking about driving out to the vicinity together and after DH and his friend have had their fill of the Sturgis rally, we will tour some sites together. We will stay hoopefully in a hotel in Wyoming just over the state line and meet up with DH and his friend there. It will definitely be a vacation like none we have had before. We are still considering if it is doable.

 

[SleepyMom]

If you wanted to be there during the rally your best bet would be to find a home to rent, Rapid City and the surrounding area are known for the price hikes in the summer and especially during the week up to/during and after Sturgis. Contact the Sturgis Chamber of Commerce to see if they have a list. People have been doing it for years, sometimes to the same group year after year and great friendships have been formed.

Another place to fly into would be Sioux Falls, it is about a 5 1/2 hour drive to the Rapid/Sturgis area... all interstate at 75 mph. The prices would be cheaper to SF than RC.

Staying in a campground would probably not be as bad as in years past, you might want to re-think that option.

Seeing the Black Hills from the back of a motorcycle is pretty cool, it is very beautiful there. I will say though that it gets very crowded, very very crowded!!!

 

[SamIAm21]

Check out some of the resorts in in Keystone, SD. We stayed there a couple summers ago and it's a great little touristy town. Also, you may want to check out Hill City, SD and Deadwood, which is loaded to the gills with hotel rooms and slot machines... (hee hee hee).

I love that area of the country. It is so beautiful and I'm always proud to be an American when I leave the Mt. Rushmore Monument.

 

[malibuconlee]

I lived in South Dakota for a year and a half and went to Sturgis twice.

It's a good time. We've always camped at the Chip. I think their website is www.buffalochip.com

It's a wild and crazy place. If you want quiet, not sure what to tell you other than either take or rent a motorhome, or get as far back into the field as you can.

Hotels fill up fast and go for a premium that time of year. Yes, you would fly into Rapid City and it's about a half hour maybe a little more from the airport to Sturgis. Getting thru Sturgis is another story. It's a tiny little town, but it will take you the better part of an hour to drive thru once things are in ful swing.

Any idea what campground they're staying at?

I know lots of people that go every year, or at least I did when I lived there. Some of them don't even stay in Sturgis, they stay at a campground in the mountains.

The riding is phenomenal. If you do go, you MUST do the 16A ride. Go down to Custer (the town) then come back up toward Keystone. That's where Mt. Rushmore is. You'll go on the pigtail bridges as well as drive thru the cut-outs that frame Rushmore in the distance.

Be prepared for the bikes to stop coming into camp around 3 or 4 AM and to start up again at about 6.

I love the hills and would go again in a heartbeat. It's a beautiful place.

I'm sure I'll be going to Deadwood in July again this year for the girls weekend. Just a couple of weeks before the rally. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

I do know that the suite we stay in has a standing reservation for the two weeks around the rally.

 

[Claire L]

We were on a Canyons and National Parks coach tour in August 1995 when we came across all the bikers heading for Sturgis. The whole of Deadwood was full, must say it was a great experience seeing all these bikes I am sure there was a small town called Lead nearby as well??

Claire

 

[malibuconlee]

http://travel.travelocity.com/hotel...231246861152006&pathIndicator=HOTEL_FRONTDOOR

I did a search on travelocity and came up with some decent prices on some of the places in Deadwood. Havent' stayed at Mineral Palace, or Deadwood Gulch, but I've gambled at both and they seemed OK.

Deadwood wouldn't be a bad place to have as a launching pad.

It really depends on what you want your Sturgis experience to be. We just like to be close to the action and the concerts so The Chip works out for us. We also haven't stayed for more than a couple of nights at at time.

ETA: Sorry, I went back and clicked on those places and it said there were no rooms left.