7 Best Sights in Spearfish, Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills

Little Spearfish Creek tumbles down a series of waterfalls both powerful and tame at Savoy in Spearfish Canyon. Visitors can park at the head of the falls and walk a mile-long path alongside them to enjoy not only the cascading water, but also the surrounding limestone canyon walls and the mixed forest of pine, aspen, and birch.

By far the most powerful of the three waterfalls in Spearfish Canyon, Spearfish Falls makes a sudden, 50-foot drop to the very bottom of the canyon floor. Visitors can hike a short trail of about a mile from the Latchstring Inn at Savoy down to the bottom of the falls, close enough to hear the roar of the water and feel bursts of wind and mist.

Looking like a piece of flowing fabric, Bridal Veil Falls makes a delicate descent some 60 feet over the side of Spearfish Canyon. Among several waterfalls inside the canyon (which can all easily be viewed in a day), it's the most conveniently located, immediately alongside Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway. Be careful while driving through: It's a popular stop for tourists, who aren't always looking as they cross the road carrying their camera-phones and gawking at the falls.

A picturesque, serene stroll around the manicured grounds of a still-active and historically preserved 1896 fish hatchery awaits visitors here. View fish in the ponds and through a giant underwater window, take in the historic architecture of the numerous buildings on-site, climb onto a historic railcar, and feed the ducks that freely roam the grounds.

This 20-mile scenic route runs along Spearfish Creek, below 1,000-foot limestone cliffs and some of the most breathtaking scenery in the region. Cascading waterfalls quench the thirst of quaking aspen, gnarled oaks, sweet-smelling spruce, and the ubiquitous ponderosa pine. The canyon is home to deer, mountain goats, porcupines, and mountain lions. Near its middle is the old sawmill town of Savoy, a jumping-off point for scenic hikes to Spearfish Falls and Roughlock Falls. In fall, changing leaves rival any found in New England.

Spearfish native and internationally known artist Dick Termes creates his magical, mind-bending paintings on spherical canvases and hangs them from the ceiling on slowly rotating motors. The result, as Termes describes it, is an "inside-out view of the physical world"---"a revolving three-dimensional space/time exploration of an entirely closed universe." He calls the creations Termespheres. Many are on display and some are for sale in the Termesphere Gallery, located inside a geodesic dome structure. Book a visit by phone or on the website.