What’s Happening With The 85th Sturgis Rally?
The 85th Sturgis Rally set for Aug. 1-10, 2025 is potentially going to be the largest rally yet, however, some wonder how the Sturgis City government’s recent unrest, budget cuts, and unprecedented turnover will affect the 85th Rally.
It won’t.
Why?
Black Hills area businesses are at the helm, as they always have been.
“What’s great about the Sturgis Rally is that no single entity owns it,” said Randy Peterson, owner of Sturgis.com, the original go-to source on everything Sturgis Rally. “It’s not a government-run event. It’s put together by individual businesses, clubs and communities all around the Black Hills. Each entity puts on their own rally experience to cater to our visitors, and they handle their own planning, staffing and events. The Sturgis government is struggling right now, but the rally won’t.”
A landmark court decision in 2019 stated that “…the jury could not infer from the onerous planning that the City undertakes to provide infrastructure for the rally that the City was the organizer or sponsor of the rally. To allow such an inference would be tantamount to saying that it would be reasonable to infer that the City of New York organizes the sessions of the United Nations General Assembly because of everything it does to assist their occurrence… the record does not indicate that the City’s involvement in the rally extends beyond the heroic provision of municipal services.”
“Sturgis is a municipality and by their nature, city governments are fraught with politics, especially concerning money,” said Peterson. “We wish them well, and we know the city of Sturgis will be fine eventually. It’s a good reminder for why the rally needs to remain free and in the hands of the rally goers and the people who make it happen. The rally is about great parties and riding motorcycles, not about local politics. People come here to vacation and escape their local politics and troubles!”
It’s true, the City of Sturgis has experienced no shortage of turmoil, budget cuts, and staff turnover in the last two years, and major news sources are taking notice. The Wall Street Journal, motorcycle publications like ADVRider, and others, have covered the instability and raised questions about the rally’s future.
Anyone who takes a peek into the region’s politics will find that it’s not the first time the rally didn’t have full City support. It’s not surprising that locals believe it’s risky business letting the government try to decide what’s best for the Sturgis Rally.
“There are people who believe the rally wouldn’t still be here if it weren’t for the rally’s largest promoters like Rod Woodruff, CEO of the Sturgis Buffalo Chip or, of course, The Jackpine Gypsies who started the rally in the first place” said Daymon Woodruff, President of the Sturgis Buffalo Chip.
In 1981, the citizens of Sturgis voted to try to end the city’s involvement in the rally. Their referendum lost by a slim margin, but city officials kicked bikers out of City Park. This led to the birth of campgrounds outside city limits, like the Sturgis Buffalo Chip, who welcomed bikers with open arms, allowing the rally to survive and thrive.
In 2020, the City put the rally municipal support on the chopping block again during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, the city decided to continue to support the rally, but if they hadn’t, it wouldn’t have mattered since the Sturgis Rally wasn’t owned by anyone and therefore the rally couldn’t be canceled.
That said, the pandemic did affect what would have been a massive 80th anniversary year for the 2020 Sturgis Rally. This is one reason why the 85th is expected to be larger than ever. Traditionally, Sturgis Rallies see their highest attendance on anniversary years ending in zeros and fives. The 75th, 70th and 50th were all huge years. Those who missed out on the 80th do not want to miss the 85th.
“The 85th Sturgis Rally is likely going to be the biggest we’ve seen in a long time,” said Peterson, “Our rally registration program signups are up from previous years, and our web traffic saw a large spike after the 2024 rally and into the fall. Interest in the rally is through the roof, which makes me think this could end up being a bigger rally than the 75th.”
Interest from website visitors to Sturgis.com centers around the upcoming 85th rally, with concerts and lodging pages receiving the highest number of visits. This interest continues to grow, with web visits to these pages up almost 30 percent in December 2024 compared to November 2024.
The largest Sturgis Rally music and motorcycle venue, the Sturgis Buffalo Chip, reported a record-breaking on-sale date back in September when they put 2025 passes on sale, with no bands or events even announced yet. In fact, when passes went on sale, reservations were up 67 percent over 2024 in the first month being on sale.
“I’ve not seen anything like it,” said Rod Woodruff. “To come out of the gate without any entertainment announced and have as many people interested is something we haven’t seen before, not even for the 75th. Inquiries for passes to attend the 85th anniversary started coming in half a year before the 84th rally was even under way, particularly from folks from other countries who were looking to plan for this bucket list event a year and a half in advance.”
Even with the Sturgis City government unrest, the 85th rally is looking strong. Rally-goers just want to come and have the time of their lives, and travelers can be rest assured that Black Hills businesses and communities are more than ready for them.
