Spearfish Canyon is beautiful from start to finish, but you’ll want to keep an eye out for some of these special features.

Bridal Veil Falls

Bridal Veil Falls is located about six miles into the canyon, just south of the Botany Bay picnic area. The falls are on the left side of the canyon. There is a pull-out on the right-hand side, across from the falls, for safe parking. In the spring, water cascades over the canyon wall (look up!) but by late summer the stream of water slows to a trickle.

The rock over which Bridal Veil Falls cascades is part of the igneous intrusions that occurred during the uplift. At one time, Spearfish Creek ran level with the falls, but as erosion ate away at the softer limestone formations, the streambed burrowed deeper and deeper, creating the canyon.

Eleventh Hour Gulch

Continue south along the byway and at about 3.3 miles past Bridal Veil Falls, Eleventh Hour Gulch meets Spearfish Canyon. The canyon rims of Eleventh Hour Gulch are so close together that it is said that the canyon floor only receives one hour of daylight a day and that the sun doesn’t enter the canyon until at least 11 a.m. The narrow canyon and high rim walls of the gulch present a striking formation.

Spearfish Falls

There are two easily accessed waterfalls near Savoy. The short trail to Spearfish Falls begins at the north corner of the Latchstring Restaurant. The trail is easy and it is a great spot to get out of the car to stretch your legs. The trail is about 0.75-mile long and highlights the rich diversity of plant life in Spearfish Canyon. The hike should take about 20 minutes and provides views of Little Spearfish Creek tumbling into Spearfish Creek from both the bottom of the falls and from the top.

Roughlock Falls Picnic Area is located on the other side of the byway. There is a one-mile wheelchair-accessible trail located behind the Spearfish Canyon Lodge at the corner of the parking lot, which parallels a marshy area created by Little Spearfish Creek and terminates at the falls. Alternatively, take a right on the road just before the lodge and drive to the picnic area. Just a few short feet away are the cascading falls of Little Spearfish Creek.