SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The 2022 Sturgis Rally could be on pace for the highest attendance since the 75th anniversary in 2015.
The state’s traffic count for the first three days is about 13,000 more than in 2021. The three-day traffic count is 179,726 compared to 167,094 in 2021, according to the South Dakota Department of Transportation.
The 2021 rally drew an estimated 555,000 attendees.
The city of Sturgis uses traffic counts, tons of garbage collected and photo analysis to estimate rally attendance each year. The S.D. DOT’s traffic counts are usually close to the city’s estimated crowd size.
Generally, the first three days of the 10-day rally have the highest DOT traffic counts.
The first day, Friday, the count was 56,855 The count increased on Saturday to 62,199.
The highest one-day count in 2015 was 96,509 on the Monday of the rally week.
The DOT also included daily traffic counts from the week prior to the Aug. 3-9, 2015 rally. The rally was the largest as it drew an estimated 750,000 attendees.
The count on Monday was 60,672.