Laughlin River Run: Renegade bikers swarm old folks' haven

Despite a growing dedication to golf, the Colorado River and impressive hotel casinos, Laughlin, Nevada still tends to be overlooked in favor of nearby Las Vegas or Arizona golf destinations.

This weekend, however, Laughlin - best known as place where old people go to live and play and young go go to play on the river - is the place to be for a different section of society - Harley-Davidson motorcycle lovers.

Yes, this is the weekend of the infamous Laughlin River Run, a time when nearly 100,000 Harley lovers congregate to pay tribute to their rides.

“The Laughlin River Run helps kick off the motorcycle rally season in the West. Arizona’s Bike Week during the first week of April is a good precursor, but Laughlin has an allure of its own. Where else can you walk out of the front doors of your hotel and instantly be in the thick of it? With 10 resort/casinos and almost 11,000 hotel rooms squeezed into a two-mile stretch of Casino Drive, it’s all about proximity. You could feasibly ride to Laughlin and then park it for a few days, because hundreds of vendors pitch their tents in the makeshift villages of the casino’s parking lots, music spills over from outdoor stages at all hours of the day, and the party takes to the streets for five days of fun. Even if you’ve had your fill of walking, take it indoors ‘cause there’s plenty of action inside the A/C-equipped casinos that line the strip,” wrote the aptly named Bryan Harley at Motorcycle USA.

Reportedly, if you aren’t into motorcycles, the casinos are empty as bikers frolic about town. At least during the day. At night, the party’s going full swing.

So, if you’re heading to Laughlin this weekend, be prepared to see some gruff biker types and even some non-gruff ones. Because Laughlin is all about motorcycles this weekend (though places like Laughlin Ranch and other Laughlin golf courses may have a say about that before it’s all over.)

–WKW