sprearfish, sd

We've been to South Dakota several times. We usually stay in Rapid City where there is tons to do, but this time our campground is in Sturgis, SD. There really isn't much here except some downtown biker shops and Emma's Ice Cream.

Since we've been to Rapid City a bunch I wanted to see someplace new. Spearfish, SD is only 15 minutes from Sturgis, so we planned a day of hiking, swimming and sightseeing. Our first stop was Spearfish Falls. There are three waterfalls in Spearfish and this was the best. It was a longer hike than the other two, but the waterfall was much cooler to see.

Our second waterfall was Roughlock Falls. This was the worst of the three. It was a short hike for a small waterfall.

Our last waterfall was Bridal Veil Falls. This one is right off the road, so you don't have to go very far. We hiked down the slippery rocks and through the creek to get a closer look.

After all the hiking the girls wanted to go for a swim. A local we met at one of our stops told us to go to the creek by the fish hatchery where the girls could ride the current. The water was ice cold. They had fun, but they didn't last too long.

Our last stop was the D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery. The hatchery raises three species of trout (rainbow, brown, and cutthroat) that they use to stock rivers and streams throughout the Black Hills. We weren't expecting much from this stop, but it was actually really good. The girls got to feed the trout and learn how they would transport fish by traincar.