Visitors to northeast Wyoming to outnumber residents next month

SUNDANCE — Northeast Wyoming’s residents will be far outnumbered by visitors this August as rally-goers from the east collide with an estimated 60,000 guests at Gillette’s Camplex.

Both the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and the International Pathfinder Camporee will be taking place during the first week of August, and officials are warning that locals will feel an impact.

Crook County Emergency Management Coordinator Ed Robinson has advised local residents to save themselves some inconvenience by planning ahead to make sure they have everything they need on hand before the influx begins.

What’s Camporee?

The Seventh Day Adventist Church holds an international Camporee event every five years, welcoming kids and their families from about 100 countries.

For the first time, the Camporee will be held in Gillette this year from Aug. 5 to 11.

“Wyoming is appealing to them because of our history and what there is to see,” Robinson said. Of the 60,000 expected guests at the international event, about 3,000 will be support personnel.

The rest will be around the ages of 12 to 17, Robinson said.

Most of the guests will rarely leave the Gillette area, he anticipates. The Camporee will feature daily events and activities, as well as special events including rodeos, a vintage car display and a motorcycle demo.

“The kids themselves will not be doing any venturing outside of the Camplex, because they’re like a little self-contained town – except for when they do special things,” Robinson said. For example, the kids will likely perform community services, such as to go out and pick up garbage.

Families traveling with attendees may enjoy some sight-seeing in the local area, however, and have been provided with information about destinations all around the area, including in Crook County.

The Camporee “town” will be self-sufficient. Cooking will be done on-site, nursing and first aid staff will be present.

“It’s basically a tent city for a week,” said Robinson.

The decision to consume from the local economy is deliberate, he said, as a way to give back to the local economy.

For example, organizers spent an estimated $15,000 on mountain bikes from a Gillette store to be used by campers over the week and purchased property next to the Camplex for extra parking.

“They do understand that they impact the local community, so they try to give back a little bit,” he said.

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

Most of the community is already familiar with the annual motorcycle rally and the large number of bikers who descend upon Sturgis for the event.

In Crook County, events such as Wyoming Wednesday and the Ham n’ Jam bring revelers across the border on specific days, but the number of bikers enjoying a ride through the Wyoming scenery will be higher than usual throughout the week, and likely before and after the rally itself.

The dates for this year’s rally are Aug. 2 to 11.

“Vendor sales are up about 18 to 20%,” said Robinson of the expected attendance level this year. “But they’re not expecting any bigger numbers than they had last year.”

What will the impacts be?

Officials are expecting an impact from here to Sheridan, said Robinson, because most of the visitors will be relying on local resources during their trip.

“They’re not bringing stuff with them,” Robinson said of the Camporee attendees. “They’re going to consume everything from the local area.”

As well as food, this will include a wide range of daily supplies. “Paper towels, paper plates, garbage bags, toilet roll, bottled water – get that stuff before and have enough to last you two to three weeks,” Robinson said. “Basically, anything consumable.”

The same goes for gasoline. Robinson recommends that locals make sure their vehicles are fueled ahead of time and try to keep the tank full.

“Be sure to get any prescription medication that week prior that’s good for at least a couple of weeks,” he said.

Visitors won’t necessarily shop at Crook County’s grocery stores, said Robinson; they are more likely to frequent Gillette and Spearfish businesses for day-to-day needs. However, residents who normally shop in those towns will probably need or choose to rely on local options during the week, which will put more of a strain on supply than usual.

Robinson therefore also suggests that businesses consider making sure they are well-stocked on goods ahead of time.

Locals may notice issues with cellular use over the period of the two events. Two cell providers are planning to put up portable cell coverage towers, Robinson said, but things still could get congested.

An increase in vehicle traffic is also inevitable, Robinson said – particularly in the days prior to the two events and the period after they come to an end, when visitors are either traveling from or to home or are taking time to include some extra sightseeing.

“It’s not so much the international folks, which make up about 5,000 of [Camporee],” he said.

Those attendees have been warned to avoid Rapid City Regional Airport, which will be busy due to the arrival of bikers. All of the remaining Camporee guests are coming from the continental United States or Canada.

“Some are flying in, but a lot are coming by camper or bus,” he said.

In addition, travelers to Gillette should be aware that Garner Lake Road will be closed from I-90 to the Cenex Station south of the Camplex between Aug. 5 and 10.