Zooming in on Inyan Kara Mountain (6,368 feet).

Zooming in on Inyan Kara Mountain (6,368 feet).

Route 585 took us south to the town of Four Corners, Wyoming and the intersection with US Route 85 - the Can Am Highway. Once in Four Corners, we turned left and found ourselves at the South Dakota border about 9 miles later.

The Can Am Highway is a 1,975-mile stretch of pavement that connects Mexico, (the border at El Paso, Texas), with the town of La Ronge, Saskatchewan, Canada via the US states of Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, and North Dakota. Our time on the Can Am Highway would be short, (around 25 northbound miles from Four Corners, Wyoming to Cheyenne Crossing, South Dakota), but beautiful, (through the Black Hills National Forest).

We had to stop for pics at the Welcome to South Dakota sign.

This was my first visit to South Dakota.

Five minutes later, we arrived at the sign for O'Neill Pass.

O'Neill Pass (6,683 feet) along the Can Am Highway.

O'Neill Pass (6,683 feet) along the Can Am Highway.

The Can Am Highway winds its way through the Black Hills National Forest and at some point, finds itself running next to Spearfish Creek, the body of water that created Spearfish Canyon. The photos above and below show what the next couple of hours would look like with the prevailing pattern being Drive, stop and take pictures, repeat. We first stopped in between Intake Gulch and Raddick Gulch, which translates to the middle-of-nowhere in the Black Hills National Forest.

The amazing scenery in Spearfish Canyon reminded me of Poudre and Rist Canyons in Colorado from last year's trip.

Spearfish Canyon.

Zooming in on the cliffs of Spearfish Canyon.

Zooming in on the cliffs of Spearfish Canyon.

Zooming in on the cliffs of Spearfish Canyon.

We followed the Can Am Highway north until we reached the town of Cheyenne Crossing, South Dakota. A left turn at the Cheyenne Crossing Store near Icebox Gulch put us on US Route 14A - the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway. We made it a few miles and stopped again at a very nice looking covered and gated bridge over Spearfish Creek near the town of Elmore, South Dakota.

If the covered and gated bridge is any indication, it looks like real estate may be pricey within the Black Hills National Forest.

Beautiful covered and gated bridge over Spearfish Creek, Elmore, South Dakota.

We pulled over again near the Spearfish Canyon State Nature Area to take a few more pics of the canyon.

Cliffs near the Spearfish Canyon State Nature Area.

Cliffs near the Spearfish Canyon State Nature Area.

Cliffs near the Spearfish Canyon State Nature Area.

Cliffs near the Spearfish Canyon State Nature Area.

This area contains several vacation rentals, which make sense given the nearby Spearfish Canyon State Nature Area.

Vacation rentals near Roughlock Falls.

We then arrived at the Spearfish Canyon State Nature Area that encompasses Spearfish Falls, Roughlock Falls, and the Savoy Pond, something we unknowingly passed by on our way here. A series of panels present info on the history of Spearfish Canyon.

Info on Spearfish Canyon.

Info on Spearfish Canyon.

A timeline of events is presented on the other side of the panels.

We arrived in time to check out the sun setting over the hills beyond the Spearfish Canyon Lodge across Route 14A from the parking area.

Sunset as seen from the Spearfish Falls parking area.

Even though the sun has set in the parking area, it's still clearly visible on the higher surfaces of the canyon.

Across from the parking area is Little Spearfish Creek.

We headed across the roadway to check out Little Spearfish Creek.

Little Spearfish Creek.

Little Spearfish Creek flows under the roadway to Spearfish Falls where it joins with Spearfish Creek.

The photo above looks back on the Spearfish Falls parking area. The building with the green roof is the Latchstring Restaurant.

Nobody paid much attention to Spearfish Canyon until gold was discovered here in 1876. That brought mining operations to the area along with logging and sawmills. The railroad arrived in 1893. The area was designated a Forest Reserve in 1897 and a National Forest in 1905. With that designation came tourists. The Latchstring Restaurant of today began life as the Glendoris Lodge which opened in 1906. In 1919, it was renamed the Latchstring Inn. The original building was replaced in 1989 with the current building seen in the photo.

I also had a great view of the nearby cliffs.

Cliffs to the north.

The building on the left side of the photo above is the Spearfish Canyon Lodge, a 54-room hotel built in 1995.

I did what I always do and started zooming in on random trees off in the distance.

Zooming in on the cliffs behind the Spearfish Canyon Lodge.

We walked back across the roadway to the Spearfish Falls parking area. The photos above and below show where the previously mentioned Little Spearfish Creek flows under the road.

Little Spearfish Creek.

Little Spearfish Creek then flows over Spearfish Falls and joins Spearfish Creek.

Observation area next to Spearfish Falls.

Zooming in on some ice in Little Spearfish Creek.

Ice in Little Spearfish Creek.

Spearfish Falls as seen from the observation platform.