Laughlin River Run was an annual

motorcycle rally A motorcycle rally is a gathering of motorcycling, motorcycle enthusiasts. Rallies can be large or small, and one-time or recurring. Some rallies are ride-in events, whereas some like the Iron Butt Association#Iron Butt Rally, Iron Butt Rally invo ...

held in

Laughlin, Nevada Laughlin is an unincorporated resort town and census-designated place in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is located on the Colorado River, directly across from the much larger Bullhead City, Arizona. Laughlin lies south of Las Vegas, i ...

. It was the largest gathering of bikes and bikers in the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

. The event drew an estimated 70,000 motorcycle enthusiasts in 2005.

History

The river run was started in 1983 with 426 participants. It was "conceived by

Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depressi ...

dealer Dale Marschke, who wanted to bring his customers on a fun weekend ride." The name comes from the fact that riders are riding out to the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

, on which Laughlin sits. Other riders go across the river to Laughlin's sister city,

Bullhead City, Arizona Bullhead City is a city located on the Colorado River in Mohave County, Arizona, United States, south of Las Vegas, Nevada, and directly across the Colorado River from Laughlin, Nevada, whose casinos and ancillary services supply much of the em ...

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

rides to

Oatman, Arizona Oatman is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the Black Mountains of Mohave County, Arizona, United States, located at an elevation of . It began as a small mining camp when two prospectors struck a $10 million gold ...

and

Kingman, Arizona Kingman is a city in, and the county seat of, Mohave County, Arizona, United States. It is named after Lewis Kingman, an engineer for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. It is located southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and northwest of Arizona's ...

and also down to

Lake Havasu City, Arizona Lake Havasu City (, ) is a city in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 57,144, up from 52,527 in 2010. It is served by Lake Havasu City Airport. History The community first started as an ...

. The event featured several attractions and events, including live concerts, many motorcycle vendors, a

poker run A poker run is an organized event in which participants, usually using motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, boats, snowmobiles, horses, on foot or other means of transportation, must visit five to seven checkpoints, drawing a playing card at each on ...

, drag races, bike show, Ms. Laughlin competition and charity events. Accommodations are usually made at the various large hotels in Laughlin, however in recent years, campsites have also been utilized for RV's. The 2002 rally was marred by the River Run Riot, a major brawl between rival

motorcycle club A motorcycle club is a group of individuals whose primary interest and activities involve motorcycles. A motorcycle group can range as clubbed groups of different bikes or bikers who own same model of vehicle like the Harley Owners Group. Ther ...

s (

Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporatio ...

and

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...

) at

Harrah's Laughlin Harrah's Laughlin (formerly Harrah's Del Rio) is a casino hotel on the banks of the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nevada. It has 1,505 rooms, including 115 suites, as well as a casino. There are several restaurants, a poker room, keno and a race a ...

that left three bikers dead, another 13 injured, and 9 bikers arrested. The ''Laughlin Nevada Times'' reported on January 14, 2020 that the promoter for the 2020 event has not responded to inquiries and its website appears to have been abandoned, and that the Laughlin Chamber of Commerce has removed the event from their calendars. Since that year, the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

caused the river run to go on hiatus.

References

External links

Laughlin River Run Official Website
{{coord, 35.1417, N, 114.6186, W, source:wikidata, display=title Motorcycle rallies in the United States Laughlin, Nevada Festivals in Nevada Tourist attractions in Clark County, Nevada