Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway
21116 US Hwy 14a, Lead, SD
Lead, SD
A twisting drive up a deep limestone canyon past silver waterfalls and spruce-clad walls in the wildest corner of the northern Black Hills.
Spearfish Canyon is where the northern Black Hills show off. For roughly twenty miles, the scenic byway follows Spearfish Creek along the floor of a limestone gorge whose walls climb more than a thousand feet in places, clad in dark spruce and, in the side canyons, silver birch and quaking aspen. Waterfalls spill straight off the rock near the road, close enough to feel the spray.
It is a canyon of postcards, and rightly so, but it is also a place with real depth. The rock records hundreds of millions of years, the forest holds an unusual northern character for this latitude, and the surrounding hills carry the history of the Lakota, for whom the Black Hills, He Sapa, are sacred, and of the gold rush that followed. In autumn, when the birches turn, it is one of the most beautiful drives in the West.
What Guests Love
- Roadside waterfalls like Bridal Veil and Roughlock spilling off the canyon walls
- The towering limestone cliffs and dense spruce, birch, and aspen forest
- Spectacular fall color when the birches and aspens turn gold
- Short trails from the byway to falls, overlooks, and creekside spots
Worth Knowing
- The byway follows a creek-bottom highway, so drive slowly and watch for wildlife, cyclists, and stopped cars at the falls
- Fall is the peak season for color and can bring crowds on weekends
- Trails to the falls can be wet and slick, so wear good footwear
- Winter driving in the canyon can be icy and snowy, so check conditions
Details
Lead, SD
Learn about Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway
He Sapa, the sacred Black Hills
The Black Hills are the heart of Lakota country and are known as He Sapa or Paha Sapa, a place of profound spiritual importance to the Lakota and other nations of the Oceti Sakowin. Under the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty the Hills were recognized as belonging to the Great Sioux Nation, but after gold was discovered in the mid-1870s the United States seized them in violation of that treaty.
That seizure has never been accepted by the Lakota, and in 1980 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Hills had been taken unlawfully and ordered compensation, which the Lakota have declined, continuing to seek the return of the land rather than payment. To travel through Spearfish Canyon is to travel through sacred, contested ground, and the Lakota presence and claim to He Sapa remain very much alive today.
How the canyon was carved
The walls of Spearfish Canyon are built largely of pale Pahasapa limestone, laid down in warm seas more than 300 million years ago and later lifted high as the Black Hills domed upward. Spearfish Creek then spent long ages cutting down through that limestone and the harder rock beneath it, carving the sheer, layered gorge you drive today.
The waterfalls, Bridal Veil, Roughlock, and Spearfish Falls among them, form where side streams and the creek drop over resistant ledges of rock. Because the canyon is deep and shaded and threaded by cold spring water, it holds a cool, moist microclimate very different from the drier hills above, which is why an unusual northern forest thrives on its floor.
Forest and wildlife
The canyon is famous among naturalists for its white spruce, a northern tree that survives here in a cool refuge far south of its main range, growing alongside paper birch, aspen, oak, and ash. That mix gives the canyon its dramatic autumn color and its dense, layered green in summer.
Wildlife is abundant along the creek and walls. White-tailed and mule deer move through the timber, and the cliffs are prime habitat for mountain goats, sure-footed climbers descended from animals introduced to the Black Hills long ago. American dippers work the creek, trout hold in its cold pools, and songbirds fill the canyon in the warmer months.
Season by season
Spring brings high, roaring water to the falls as snowmelt fills the creek, and fresh green to the canyon floor. Trails can be muddy but the falls are at their most powerful.
Summer is cool and shaded on the canyon bottom, a welcome escape when the plains bake, ideal for the short hikes to the falls. Fall is the signature season, when the birches and aspens flood the canyon with gold and the drive becomes unforgettable, drawing color-seekers from across the region. Winter turns the canyon quiet and snow-hung, with the falls partly frozen, beautiful but requiring careful, well-prepared driving.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Lead
Spearfish
At the canyon's north end
A lively college town with a historic downtown, the D.C. Booth Historic Fish Hatchery, and the trailheads of the canyon.
Lead and Deadwood
About 15 to 20 miles
Historic gold-rush towns, home of the vast Homestake Mine, now the Sanford Underground Research Facility, and Deadwood's frontier legends.
Roughlock Falls
In the canyon near Savoy
A wide, tiered waterfall reached by a short creekside trail, one of the canyon's most photographed spots.
Bridal Veil Falls
Along the byway
A tall, slender waterfall dropping off the canyon wall right beside the highway, with a roadside pullout.