Places Welcoming You
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Beaver Lake Campground Custer, South Dakota |
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Chris' Camp & RV Park Spearfish, South Dakota |
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Oasis Campground Chamberlain, South Dakota |
Spearfish puts outdoor enthusiasts front and center of the action within the northern Black Hills region. Just a short drive away from town, dramatic mountains, yawning caverns and cascading waterfalls serve up an awe-inspiring backdrop for superb hiking, fly-fishing, horse riding, mountain biking and rock climbing amid ponderosa pine forests. To top it all off, Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway is one of America’s most dramatic driving routes, spanning 19 miles along the bases of limestone walls and through dense forest.
Reveling in its mountain setting, Spearfish has been named the Best Hippie Town in South Dakota. Here, outdoorsy folks, environmentalists and back-to-nature devotees relax in the town’s earthy coffee shops, health food stores, and arts and craft galleries, soaking in the region’s natural bounty. Downtown, visitors will find nods to Spearfish’s Old West history.
The Matthews Opera House & Arts Center had doubled as a shooting gallery and movie theater before it assumed its current vocation as a live theater. With lively summertime festivals, including the Downtown Friday Nights street festival, and a spirited university populace from Black Hills State University, Spearfish’s happy vibe works its charms on travelers.
Just outside of town, the creek-carved gorge of Spearfish Canyon will take your breath away. With its narrow 1,000-foot-tall limestone palisades cast in hues of pink, gray, gold and brown, the gorge predates the Grand Canyon. As well as delivering sublime landscapes, Spearfish Canyon draws hikers to its excellent trails, which afford prime wildlife spotting. The wealth of flora provides a thriving habitat for mountain goats, deer, porcupines and bobcats. Spearfish Canyon’s undisputed highlight is Roughlock Falls, where Little Spearfish Creek cascades down a 50-foot limestone ledge in lacy falls.
The Roughlock Falls Trail, located at the end of the Spearfish Canyon Lodge parking lot, is a novice 1-mile trail that weaves through stunning wildflowers and delivers exhilarating waterfall views of Roughlock Falls. With its sparkling, otherworldly lakes and streams, Spearfish Creek is a fly-fishing paradise and is renowned for its wild rainbow trout. The area’s scenery has won over photographers and filmmakers; the final scenes of “Dances With Wolves” were shot here.
Just north of the 125-mile wilderness that forms Black Hills National Forest, it’s no surprise that hiking is a passion and a compulsion for locals. As well as hikes (for all levels) in Spearfish Canyon, Lookout Mountain and Crow Peak form two of the state’s most popular destinations.
If you’ve never visited a fish hatchery, the D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery & Archives, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is a worthy attraction. Spanning 10 acres, amidst an idyllic natural setting laced with hiking trails and a smattering of history — there’s a historic house, a museum and a traditional fish hatchery railway car — the hatchery is a big hit with families who are keen to learn and explore.
Visit Spearfish
800-344-6181
South Dakota Department of Tourism
800-732-5682