Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway

US Highway 14A is a paved, two-lane highway that runs the length of Spearfish Canyon in the northern Black Hills. The scenic byway stretch covers roughly twenty-two miles, from the mouth of the canyon just south of the city of Spearfish up to Cheyenne Crossing at the canyon's head. The whole way it follows Spearfish Creek, which carved this gorge over millions of years, and it climbs gradually from the plains near Spearfish to the higher, cooler country around the crossing.

The driving experience is slow and easy on purpose. The road is narrow and winding, hemmed in by rock walls and tall trees, so most travelers ease off the gas and let the scenery come to them. Small pullouts and marked trailheads let you stop for the waterfalls without holding up traffic behind you. The canyon walls are made of Pahasapa limestone, a hard, light-colored stone laid down by an ancient sea, and in places they rise more than a thousand feet straight up from the creek, some of the tallest canyon walls in this part of the country.

What makes the byway special is how much beauty it packs into a short drive. Waterfalls appear one after another. The forest changes as you climb, from creekside birch and aspen to darker stands of spruce. Wildlife is common, so keep an eye out for deer and wild turkeys near the road, and take the curves gently. Near the middle of the canyon, the little settlement of Savoy sits at the junction with the falls, a natural place to park and walk to the water before you drive on.

The byway is easy to reach from Interstate 90, the main east-west freeway across the northern Black Hills. Coming from the north, take Interstate 90 to the city of Spearfish, then head south on US Highway 14A. The road leaves town and drops into the mouth of the canyon within a couple of miles, so the scenery starts almost as soon as you leave the freeway. This is the most popular way in, and it lets the canyon walls rise up around you as you drive.

Coming from the south, near Lead and Deadwood, you can pick up the byway at Cheyenne Crossing, where US Highway 14A meets US Highway 85. From there you drive north and downhill through the canyon toward Spearfish. Travelers touring the central Black Hills, near Mount Rushmore or Hill City, often reach the crossing by way of US Highway 385 and US Highway 85.

Either direction is a fine choice. Many people like to start in Spearfish and drive up the canyon, then continue on toward Lead and Deadwood, making a loop of it through the heart of the northern hills.

Long before it was a scenic drive, the canyon floor carried a railroad. In the 1890s the Burlington line was built along Spearfish Creek to reach the booming gold camps at Lead and Deadwood, and for decades trains ran through the gorge hauling ore, timber, and passengers. When the railroad was finally pulled out in the 1930s, the old grade along the creek became the route that motorcars would follow, and the canyon opened up to a new kind of traveler who came simply to see it.

The road through the canyon, US Highway 14A, has carried sightseers for generations, but its formal recognition came in 1989. That year the route was designated both a South Dakota State Scenic Byway and a U.S. Forest Service Scenic Byway, an honor given to roads on national forest land that pass through country of outstanding scenic value. The Black Hills National Forest surrounds the canyon on every side, so the Forest Service designation fit the setting perfectly. Boutels lists the drive under its state and Forest Service scenic-byway status.

That same year, in the autumn of 1989, Hollywood came to the canyon. The final winter scenes of the film Dances with Wolves were shot deep in Spearfish Canyon, near Roughlock Falls, where a Lakota winter camp was built among the pines and cliffs. The production nearly had to move to New Mexico for lack of snow, but the storms arrived in time and the crew kept filming in the canyon. The movie went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, and it put Spearfish Canyon on the map for film lovers as well as leaf-peepers.

The canyon itself is far older than any railroad, road, or movie. Spearfish Creek cut this gorge down through hundreds of feet of Pahasapa limestone, a light gray rock formed on the floor of a shallow sea some 350 million years ago, back when this part of South Dakota lay underwater. Over long ages the creek sliced deeper and deeper, leaving the sheer walls and hanging side canyons that the waterfalls now pour from. The result is a landscape that feels almost secret, a green and gray world hidden below the surrounding plains.

• The Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway was designated both a South Dakota State Scenic Byway and a U.S. Forest Service Scenic Byway in 1989, recognizing its outstanding scenery on Black Hills National Forest land.
• The final winter scenes of the Academy Award-winning film Dances with Wolves were shot in Spearfish Canyon near Roughlock Falls in the autumn of 1989. The production nearly relocated to New Mexico for lack of snow before storms arrived in time.
• The canyon walls are made of Pahasapa limestone, a light gray rock formed on the floor of a shallow sea roughly 350 million years ago, long before the Black Hills were pushed up.
• Before it was a scenic drive, the canyon floor carried a railroad. A Burlington line ran along Spearfish Creek from the 1890s to serve the gold camps at Lead and Deadwood, and its old grade helped shape the route the highway follows today.
• In places the limestone walls rise more than a thousand feet straight up from the creek, among the tallest canyon walls in this region of the country.
• Spearfish Creek carved the whole gorge, and the byway follows the water almost the entire way, crossing and recrossing it as the canyon narrows and widens.
• The canyon holds some of the best fall color in the northern Black Hills. Its birch and quaking aspen turn brilliant gold, usually in the last week of September, though the exact peak shifts a little from year to year.
• Roughlock Falls got its name from the pioneer practice of 'roughlocking' a wagon wheel, chaining it so it would drag instead of roll, to slow a wagon on the steep descent into the canyon.

The route was designated in 1989 as both a South Dakota State Scenic Byway and a U.S. Forest Service Scenic Byway. The Forest Service honor recognizes roads on national forest land that pass through country of outstanding scenic value, and the Black Hills National Forest surrounds the canyon on every side.

The byway runs about twenty-two miles along US Highway 14A between the city of Spearfish and Cheyenne Crossing. Driven straight through it takes roughly forty-five minutes, but most visitors give it several hours to stop at the waterfalls, walk the short trails, and take in the canyon scenery along the way.

Traveling south from Spearfish, the highlights include roadside Bridal Veil Falls near the north end, then the Savoy area in the middle of the canyon, which is the base for short walks to Spearfish Falls and to the beloved tiered cascade of Roughlock Falls. Near Roughlock Falls is the wooded area where the winter scenes of Dances with Wolves were filmed. The byway ends at historic Cheyenne Crossing.

Yes. The byway is a public highway, US Highway 14A, and driving it is free. No pass or entrance fee is required to drive the canyon or to stop at the roadside pullouts and the falls trailheads along the way.

The canyon is beautiful year-round, but two seasons stand out. Late September and early October bring some of the best fall color in the Black Hills, when the birch and aspen turn brilliant gold. Spring and early summer send the most water over the waterfalls. For soft light and cooler air, early morning and late afternoon are especially pleasant on the drive.

Yes, the byway is generally open all year, since US Highway 14A is a paved and maintained highway. That said, winter storms can bring snow and ice to the canyon, and sections may close temporarily during severe weather. Always check current road and weather conditions before setting out in the colder months.

No. The byway is a paved, two-lane highway, and any passenger car handles it easily in good weather. Four-wheel drive and high clearance are not needed for the drive itself, though a little extra care on the narrow, winding sections is always wise.

The canyon can be icy and snowy in winter. The road is paved and maintained, but the walls keep parts of it shaded, so ice can linger, and passing storms may bring snow or brief closures. If you drive it in winter, slow down, give the road time to be treated after a storm, and check current conditions first.

Services in the canyon itself are limited. Fuel, food, and lodging are easiest to find in the city of Spearfish at the north end, and near Lead, Deadwood, and Cheyenne Crossing toward the south, with a historic canyon lodge in the Savoy area in the middle. It is wise to fill up before you start and to bring water and snacks, since there are long stretches with no services between the ends of the drive.

The canyon is cut into Pahasapa limestone, a hard, light gray rock formed on the floor of an ancient sea. As Spearfish Creek carved the main gorge, smaller side creeks were left hanging high on the walls, so their water now spills over the edge as waterfalls like Bridal Veil, Spearfish, and Roughlock. That is why so many falls appear in such a short stretch of road.