- Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Harley - photo by Jan Tik
Bikers start their journey on this fabulous road south of Deadwood, taking 385 to Nemo Road. Just before the city of Nemo they take a left onto Vanocker Canyon Road, which leads north towards Sturgis. If they are already in Sturgis, they can just take the ride in reverse and end up in Deadwood, as illustrated by this Google Map of the bike ride.
Best Motorcycle Ride Around Sturgis, South Dakota is Vanocker Canyon
The scenery is very nice, not over the top like Glacier National Park, but this ride is more about the road as any biker can attest. Vanocker Canyon and Nemo Road have everything that motorcyclists dream about:
- Sweeping curves where a speed of 55 to 65 miles per hour can be maintained
- Smooth and wide pavement
- Well banked corners to help with balance
- Great scenery
- Nice change in elevation for added interest
Black Hills Motorbike Holiday
South Dakota has frigid winters, so tourists flock to take advantage of its beauty during its summers. Other sights to take in during one's time at the Sturgis rally are Mt. Rushmore, the town of Deadwood, the Sturgis Museum, Custer State Park, the Badlands, and riding through Spearfish Canyon. An hour away in Wyoming is the first National Monument, Devil's Tower, which is worth the detour.
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota
Every August, hundreds of thousands of motorcycles descend upon the small town of Sturgis, South Dakota, with its population of only 6,000 people, for Bike Week. The event started innocuously in 1936 when Clarence "Pappy" Hoel bought an Indian Motorcycle Franchise in Sturgis and started a motorcycle club. Two years later he initiated a motorbike rally completely run by him and his volunteers. They focused on racing and doing stunts, and the main race was on a dirt track in front of 200 spectators.
Hoel called his rally the Black Hills Motor Classic and began to hold it annually until it was interrupted by World War II. The rally later resumed with more events added to it up through the 60's. By 1965 the Sturgis rally was so popular, it was extended to a five day festival, and then ten years later to a full week.
Nine vendors showed up in 1979 to sell their wares during the rally, and their number grew to 117 in just nine short years. By 1990 the attendance had reached an amazing 400,000 motorcyclists. The volunteers running the show finally gave it over to the City of Sturgis, and officials created an entire department dedicated to organizing and promoting the rally. By 2010, attendance had climbed to well over a half million bikers serviced by 800 vendors.
A vacation to Sturgis is a motorcyclist's dream, which is why so many of them are drawn to the rally every August, and the ride through Vanocker Canyon is certainly not to be missed.
