KOTA TV: Rally traffic down nearly 8% through first six days of Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

Traffic entering Sturgis is running below recent historical averages midway through the 86th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, according to the latest numbers from the South Dakota Department of Transportation.

Through the first six days, 318,414 vehicles entered Sturgis at nine traffic-count locations. That’s 7.8% below the five-year average of 345,226 vehicles.

Traffic started strong during the rally’s opening weekend, with 54,515 vehicles counted Friday, Aug. 7, and 58,519 on Saturday. Both days were above the five-year average.

Traffic then dropped below average each day that followed.

Sunday saw 55,448 vehicles, down 7.5% from the average. Monday had 55,226, down 8.4%, followed by 51,742 on Tuesday, down 11.8%.

The biggest drop came Wednesday, when 42,964 vehicles entered Sturgis — 23.6% below the five-year average.

The SDDOT counts are used to track traffic trends during the rally, but they are not a direct headcount of individual rally attendees.

The rally continues through Aug. 16. SDDOT plans to release a more comprehensive traffic report, including counts from across the greater Black Hills, during the week of Aug. 24.

Watch the KOTA TV news clip here: https://www.kotatv.com/2026/08/13/rally-traffic-down-nearly-8-through-first-six-days-sturgis-motorcycle-rally/