Myrtle Beach bike rallies draw thousands 3 times a year. Why they’re a big deal?
Three times a year, restaurant owners put out signs that say “Bikers welcome,” rope off parking spots specifically for motorcycles and get excited when they see a crowd of two-wheeled vehicles parked out front.
The Myrtle Beach area famously hosts three motorcycle rallies: the 10-day Myrtle Beach Spring Bike Rally in May, the four-day Atlantic Beach Bike Fest over Memorial Day weekend and the 10-day Myrtle Beach Fall Bike Rally in late September and early October. The 2025 Fall Rally will run Sept. 26 through Oct. 5.
While the motorcycle rallies do not bring sales comparable to peak summer, many businesses see a boost that keeps the Myrtle Beach area relevant during the off-season, according to business owners, managers and lodging data.
“So the end of September, beginning of October, is when that fall rally hits. And there’s not really much like going on in the area. Yes, you have some festivals and things, but there’s really no draw to the area for that week. So our numbers definitely go up at both locations for that week,” said Maribeth Lamuraglia, the general manager at Dagwood’s Deli.
Lodging and restaurants see greatest impact
About 400,000 to 500,000 people attend the spring rally and about 100,000 to 200,000 attend the fall rally, said Lee “Spider” Webb, the chairperson of the Myrtle Beach Bike Rally Promotions Group. The Atlantic Beach Bike Fest, also known as Black Bike Week, brings about 300,000 people, according to an Atlantic Beach document.
That’s a lot of people that need places to sleep, eat and shop.
Occupancy rates in the Myrtle Beach area during the two spring rallies ranged from 57.9% to 66% from 2022 to 2025, according to data from the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. This is lower than the rates in mid-July the same years, which had a range of 73% occupancy to 83% occupancy, but higher than the fall rally, with occupancy around 55% in late September and early October.
These rates do not focus specifically on the motorcycle rallies, but show the overall occupancy rates for hotels and vacation rentals in the Myrtle Beach area.
It is difficult to gage exactly how much revenue the rallies bring to the Grand Strand. In 2024, Atlantic Beach, which hosts the event each year, reported over $15,000 in profit from the Atlantic Beach Bike Fest.
For the rallies, a vendor permit can cost up to $1,000 in Horry County, said Lee and Bill Barber, the special events manager at Suck Bang Blow. This brings in a lot of revenue for the county and the state as many vendors set up around the county.
“The campgrounds are very popular, you know, that way in a lot of the campgrounds, some of the campgrounds, the bikers can have their motorcycles right there,” Lee said. “Biker visitors obviously fill up a lot of hotel rooms.”
Accommodations like campgrounds and condos typically mean travelers will stop to pick up some groceries, Webb said. It’s common to see groups of bikers shopping at Walmart or Publix to pick up snacks and meals for their week in the Grand Strand.
“Non-hospitality businesses also feel the impact, as banks, repair shops, grocery stores, healthcare providers and others support our hospitality industry and their employees,” wrote Marlane White, communications director at the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, in an email to The Sun News.
The restaurant and bar industry also gets a boost during these times. The sales numbers are not comparable to a week in the summer, but during the off-season, bikers bring a definite increase, said Al Hitchcock, the owner of Drunken Jack’s Restaurant and Lounge in Murrells Inlet, where many of the bike rally activities and events take place.
“If they came in July, we probably wouldn’t notice them as much. But since they come in October and May, they take over the town,” Hitchcock said.
Lamuraglia agreed with Hitchcock’s sentiment, saying while July and March are the busiest times of the year for the sports bar, the bikers bring a sizable boost in sales.
The bikers have different habits than typical tourists said Lamuraglia, meaning Dagwood’s has to prepare for them differently. For example, Dagwood’s sells more jumbo sandwiches during the rally than any other time of year, which means the restaurant has to bake more jumbo bread.
“The bikers in the spring and the fall, we see them for like a late lunch and then, like a later dinner,” Lamuraglia said. “You can get a group of 20 bikers because they like to travel in bunches and groups.”
As for the Atlantic Beach Bike Fest, which is held over the Memorial Day weekend, Lamuraglia said it’s hard to distinguish customers coming into town with their motorcycles and customers who want to spend the holiday weekend in Myrtle Beach.
Straying from typical tourist activities
June, July and August are the busiest months for the Gay Dolphin Gift Cove said owner Justin “Buz” Plyler. But during the rallies, he sees a small drop in business. The long-time gift shop in downtown Myrtle Beach is a must-stop for many tourists in the summer, but not for the bikers.
“It’s hard to take merchandise back on the bike,” Plyler said. “We never found (bikers) to be a great merchandise prospect.”
It makes sense that motorcyclists would not prioritize a wander through the Gay Dolphin or play a round of minigolf when there are a plethora of vendors and activities catering to bikers. At Suck Bang Blow, the Beaver Bar, the Harley Davidson stores and Jamin Leather, tents pop up selling Myrtle Beach Bike Rally T-shirts, leather goods and new tires.
However, the motorcycle rallies have a tense history with the city of Myrtle Beach, where many tourist activities are located. Earlier in the bike rally’s history, bikers used to spend more time in Myrtle Beach but that changed when the city tried to use new laws and practices to run them out.
The city passed a helmet law in 2008, requiring all motorcyclists to wear a helmet when located in city limits, The Sun News reported. The South Carolina Supreme Court overruled this law in 2010, saying only bikers under the age of 21 have to wear helmets.
This, combined with other law changes, upset longtime Bike Rally attendees, causing them to look elsewhere for bike events. Now most of the rally events go on in the Murrells Inlet, North Myrtle Beach and unincorporated Horry County.
The NAACP filed a lawsuit for racial discrimination in 2018, which the city settled for $50,000 in 2021, according to The Sun News. The organization claimed Myrtle Beach’s traffic loop, which only allowed south-bound traffic along Ocean Boulevard for 23 miles, was only implemented during a weekend where most visitors are Black. The NAACP also sued Myrtle Beach in 2003 for racial discrimination related to Atlantic Beach Bike Fest.
These practices pushed Black bikers north, with many now spending time in North Myrtle Beach and Atlantic Beach over Myrtle Beach.
However, during the summer, the same biker crowd tends to come back with their families and have a typical Myrtle Beach vacation, said Bill Barber, the special events coordinator at Suck Bang Blow.
The motorcycle rallies are a part of keeping Myrtle Beach relevant year-round. Plyler said he has gone from only making a profit in the summer to staying profitable the entire year, giving credit to the influx of transplants. Part of what draws the transplants is the rally, said Barber and Plyler.
“I know so many bikers from other communities that had so much fun here, they end up moving here,” Barber said. “We have more things to offer here than most of the rallies.”
