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Historic place

Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway

US Highway 14A (Spearfish Canyon), Spearfish, SD

A 19-mile limestone gorge cut by spring-fed Spearfish Creek, exposing three rock formations and 300 million years of Black Hills geology in cliffs that were once the bed of a Mississippian-age sea.

📅 1989–present🏛️ Natural LandmarkStill here

Open on the map Slide back to 1989

The story

The canyon runs about 19 miles along US-14A between Spearfish and Cheyenne Crossing, its buff Pahasapa limestone the same rock unit that holds the Black Hills' famous cave systems. Much of the modern highway sits directly on the grade of a railroad abandoned after a 1933 flood. The route was formally designated both a state and a U.S. Forest Service scenic byway in 1989, and is one of the most-driven roads in the Black Hills — spectacular during Sturgis Rally week.

Everything that was here

1989–present · still open
Spearfish Canyon Scenic BywayNatural Landmark
A 19-mile limestone gorge cut by spring-fed Spearfish Creek, exposing three rock formations and 300 million years of Black Hills geology in cliffs that were once the bed of a Mississippian-age sea.
See the map in 1990 →

Did you know?

The canyon's Pahasapa limestone is the same rock that holds Wind Cave and Jewel Cave.

Much of the highway sits directly on the grade of a railroad abandoned after a 1933 flood.

Its spring-fed creeks run cold and clear even in late summer, supporting a trout fishery.

Connected places

Roughlock Falls

Galena (silver camp)

Nemo (Homestake timber camp)

Whitewood Historic District

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Burlington Spearfish Line

Explore the full web of connections on the map.

Nearby history

Homestake Hydroelectric Plant No. 1

S Canyon St (mouth of Spearfish Canyon) · 581 m away

To avoid buying coal, the Homestake Gold Mine paid for a 5-mile, 8-tunnel water diversion through solid canyon rock — en

Burlington Spearfish Line

Old CB&Q grade, Spearfish Canyon · 814 m away

For 40 years a Burlington branch line hauled lumber, farmers, and $2.50 excursion tourists through Spearfish Canyon — un

D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery

423 Hatchery Circle · 1.1 km away

Congress funded this fish-culture station in 1896 to stock trout across the West — and for a decade it ran a satellite o

Black Hills Passion Play

N Meier Ave (Lookout Mountain) · 1.3 km away

For 69 seasons, a German family who traced their Passion Play tradition to a 1242 monastery performed it nightly on what

Spearfish Historic Commercial District

600 block N Main St · 1.3 km away

Founded in 1876 as "Queen City" by prospector-brothers Alfred and William Gay, Spearfish grew into the gold rush's bread

Matthews Opera House

612 N Main St · 1.4 km away

Built by a Wyoming rancher who fell in love with the town, this 300-seat opera house spent decades as a movie theater, t

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Sourceshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spearfish_Canyon