If you are trying to decide how to sleep during rally week at Ride N Rest Campground on State Highway 79, the short version is this: pick based on how you are getting here, how many people are in your group, and how much you care about air conditioning in August. Riders who came in on two wheels with a bedroll strapped to the sissy bar do fine on a shaded tent site. Anyone hauling a fifth wheel or motorhome wants one of our 50-plus full-hookup RV sites. Couples who want a door that locks and a thermostat go for a cabin. Groups of six or eight who want to stay together take the Rally House. We are a mile north of Highway 34, just outside downtown Sturgis, so whichever you choose, you are minutes from Main Street and pointed straight at the Black Hills.

Is tent camping at Sturgis worth it?

For a lot of riders it is the whole point. Tent camping in Sturgis, SD puts you outside, close to your bike, and costs the least of anything we offer. Our tent and primitive sites sit under trees, which matters more than people expect — early August here regularly runs into the 90s and a site with afternoon shade is a different experience than one baking in the open. You will want a good sleeping pad, ear plugs, and a plan for keeping water cold. Dry camping during the Sturgis rally works the same way, just with more room for a group to spread out. What makes it livable is the shower house, and we are stubborn about keeping ours clean. Nobody enjoys a week of camping when the showers are an afterthought.

What size RV fits at a full-hookup site?

Our RV park in Sturgis SD handles a wide range of rigs, from small travel trailers up to the big diesel pushers people bring for the whole month. Every full-hookup RV site has electric, water and sewer, so you are not breaking camp mid-week to dump tanks or hunt for a fill station. If you are running a 40-foot rig with slides, call ahead and tell us the length, whether you are towing, and which side your hookups are on. We would rather place you correctly the first time than watch you back into a spot that does not work. Rally week traffic on Highway 79 is heavy, and a smooth arrival makes the rest of the day easier.

Are the cabins better than a hotel?

Different, and for most riders better. Our deluxe cabins are climate-controlled, which is the deciding factor for a lot of people who have done one hot August in a tent and decided once was enough. You get a real bed and cool air, but you are still in the campground — bike parked outside, breakfast in the morning, steak dinner in the evening, neighbors you will be talking to by day two. Cabins near Sturgis, South Dakota book early for rally week, so if this is your plan, make it early.

Can a whole group stay together?

That is what the Rally House is for. Four bedrooms, two and a half baths, full kitchen, family room, laundry and a garage for bikes or gear. It suits a riding club, a family reunion, or a group of friends who have been talking about doing Sturgis together for ten years and finally did. One booking, one address, everybody under the same roof, and a kitchen so you are not eating every meal out.

Which one should a first-timer pick?

If you have never been to the rally, a cabin or an RV site takes the most variables out. If you are on a budget and used to camping, take a shaded tent site and enjoy it. Either way you are a short ride from Bear Butte, Deadwood, Spearfish Canyon, Iron Mountain Road and the Needles Highway — which is the real reason most people come to the Black Hills in the first place. Call us with your dates and your rig and we will tell you honestly what fits.