we stayed at Shade Valley too. Very nice place..great showers...great saloon if you didn't want to screw with a shitload of people. I'd be tempted to stay there again....but we were also thinking of staying in Deadwood.....what an awesome little town.

 

Yeah, Deadwood would be a good option too. Anywhere that you don't have to ride thru Sturgis (gridlock or what?) to get to and from the great rides.

I posted a few pics of the trip if anyone's interested.

 

i was planning oncamping.guy i went with isnt much for roughing it i guess.we found a room in newel sun night.nice little dive $100 a night for 2 beds.ran into the fts mon morning.hit what ever street is blocked off.main or la sal?was in town less than 5 hours plenty for me.wife and i are planning on a shed cabin at chris's campground for our 5 th anniversary.we were married at lake silvan on needles highway.

 

How was your stay at the Bulldog Campground? A groupd of us are planning on staying there next year.

 

Not to jump in on TJ's reply........
Bulldog is a nice campground. We stay at Rushnomore just behind Bulldog.
Both are on exit 37, 5 miles south of Sturgis.
Bulldog's campsites are more out in the sun, but shade up quick in the evening because of the ridge to the west.
Rushnomore is back in the canyon, more tree shade, better protected from the high winds and a pool.
Bulldog has more of a evening and night life with a stage and bands.
Both are serviced by "DaBus" which takes you into town and out to Full Throttle.
Don't know about Bulldog's rates, but Rushnomore jacked tent camping to $25/person this year and may raise it next year.
So we may be looking at hotels next year or a cheaper campground.
What I can tell you is that you can't go wrong with Bulldog.
Here's a link to Sturgis Campgrounds, Bulldogs there.
http://www.sturgiscampgrounds.com/

 

My wife and I went to Sturgis for the first time this year. We rode 4178 miles out and back. The only rough time we had was in Kansas and Southern Illinois. We hit 105 degree weather both afternoons and that was too hot for us so we shut down early both afternoons. Had a great time and yes, I would do it again but I have a few other places to go first.

 

Couple of friends and I made a 10 day to Sturgis and back, camped all the way, had a great time. Wish we could have taken more days, but work would not allow. We did the loop, SE GA to Sturgis, Rushmore, Devils Tower, Badlands, Rocky Mountains national park, Continental Divide.
Rode thru,or into, GA,Tn,Ky,Il,MO,Ia,Na,Sd,Mt,Wo,Co,Ks, sorry if I abreviated any states wrong, 4858 total miles, some days 600-700, other days 300-400. Will probably go back..

 

Well the ride here and back must be the best part...because if you think the riding here during the rally is good,....come up and ride when the rally ISN'T here, and you'll never want to ride during the sturgis rally again.

I actually got pissed off....I had a hard time enjoying my ride, because I was surrounded by bikes everywhere I went.

 

The wife and I left Campbell river B.C. on the 4th hoped on the ferry and started our ride.
We met up with friends along the way, and all decided to stay off the interstate, and just have a fun ride there. Which we did ( love the small towns ).
When we pulled into Sturgis We met up with the whole gang (7 in total) 2 first timers.
Since we stay north of Sturgis off to the Broken Spoke we go. Well I love seeing the face of ppl when they ride through there for the first time.
The next night we stop buy to have a cold 1 on the way home and they charge a cover!
W T F??????
The bands they had there wern't even worth a cover in the '80's when they had their hit ( singular).
Every night with the cover, so every night we went to other bars, like the Full Throttle, and Loud American Roadhouse. Which had way better bands anyways.
I think the Spoke dropped the ball with a $10 cover, $5 beer and $2 talent.
Anyhow, after Sturgis we went on a nice road trip up to beartooth pass, to Redwood, and made our way down to Hell's canyon. 2 lane roads all the way, and small towns made it a great vacation

 

Somebody mentioned crappy attitude of vendors?? haha. So I walked into one t-shirt joint and asked the girl there to help me find a shirt for my wife. I told her what style she wanted and what size she was. The girl helped me pick out a couple. Then (get this) she says, would you like to see what they're like on me? So she peels off her leather vest, wearing only a sexy black bra and tries on the shirts for me. haha. So I bought one from her. Now that's service!