2026 Fall Canyon Color Report
2026 Leaf Reports & Photos by Kimberly Talcott
Leaf peeper Kimberly Talcott has been tracking the leaves in Spearfish Canyon since 2020.
Kimberly is a freelance writer and editor in Spearfish, South Dakota.
She blogs at SpearfishCanyonReports.com
September 7, 2026
Color Change: 18% (Very Low)
This is the first Spearfish Canyon Leaf Report of 2026. Our prayers are with our firefighters and neighbors impacted by the fire on Lookout Mountain that started Monday afternoon, September 7. For our out-of-town readers, Lookout Mountain is two miles north of Spearfish Canyon across Interstate 90.
The fall foliage in Spearfish Canyon is currently at 18% of its peak color saturation. As you enter the Scenic Byway 14A, you will see yellow dogbane with its distinctive red stems sprinkling the forest floor. Ground cover and shrubs are the stars of the Canyon right now! There are patches of radiant red Virigina creeper and sumac making their presence known throughout the Canyon, with more color saturation to come.
Mostly notably, we are seeing changes in the deciduous trees about four miles into the Canyon from Botany Bay through Bridal Veil Falls. Watch for bright greens and emergent yellows in some hop-hornbeam and birch trees in this area. The leaf colors create a striking contrast with the warm layers of sandstone rock, which is about 300 million years old.
We typically see the height or “peak” fall colors in Spearfish Canyon between September 23 to October 3. The hot, dry weather we have been experiencing in Spearfish during the later summer could indicate an earlier peak color season.
Kimberly Talcott
September 10, 2026
Color Change: 29% (Low)
The fall foliage in Spearfish Canyon is currently at 29% toward its peak seasonal colors. The Canyon will be the perfect backdrop for those ready to embrace the cooler, fall-like temperatures forecasted this weekend.
As you drive along the Scenic Byway, watch for golden trees around Split Rock (about 1.7 miles into the Canyon from Spearfish). Then, on the western side of the road, consider parking at the large semicircle near Botany Bay. The flora here is reaching peak colors into the mountain inclines. Look for additional buttery yellows in the birch trees on the western side of the byway as you approach Bridal Veil Falls.
I anticipate the vibrant greens across from Maurice Intake will begin to lighten their leaves into yellow hues over the next week. Iron Creek Trail hikers will notice golden dogbane at the trail entrance. Dogbane is giving us the most substantial color of all foliage right now throughout the Canyon.
Be sure to gaze beyond the vertical trucks of the evergreen trees this weekend. Doing so will give you glimpses of the seasonal changes on the forest floor, along with swaths of green deciduous trees ready to reveal their colors.
Kimberly Talcott
September 14, 2026
Color Change: 33% (Low)
Spearfish Canyon is presently displaying 33% of its peak fall colors. A lightning strike sparked a quarter-acre forest fire on the north side of Spearfish Peak (on a hill close to Spearfish Canyon’s entrance) in the early morning hours of Monday, Sept. 14. The U.S. Forest Service worked with the Spearfish Volunteer Fire Department to lay hose to get water to the site. Crews will continue checking on the area throughout the week, but the fire was under control at the time this report was filed. The Spearfish area received about a quarter inch of rain on Monday.
Botany Bay continues to be a stunner in Spearfish Canyon. This region of the Canyon earned its name on account of its diverse plant life. From the forest floor to the top of its rocky peaks, Botany Bay is full of fall color right now.
From the Canyon entrance through Bridal Veil Falls, many boxelder and ash trees are shining with bright, almost neon yellow and green leaves. Ruby reds from Virginia Creeper stems can also be spotted after Split Rock near Spearfish Creek.
Near mile marker 13 is another noticeable area to view beautiful fall trees this week. This area has an assortment of golden and verdant deciduous trees on the western Canyon wall. As you continue on Highway 14A around Savoy, look for amber-colored birch and aspen in the higher elevations of the rocky cliffs. As I stood in the Canyon today, I spotted wildflowers of many colors including goldenrod, yellow toadflax, and purple crownvetch.
Kimberly Talcott
September 18, 2026
Color Change: 50% (High)
Fall hues are becoming more vivid in Spearfish Canyon, where the foliage is now at 50% towards its peak colors. Fog was heavy in the City of Spearfish this morning. As I entered the Scenic Byway, it was almost like a veil was pulled away. The fog lifted revealing deeper lime green, golden, and ruby shades I had not yet seen in the Canyon this season.
Whereas foliage color change was spotty earlier this week, this weekend you will notice significant color change at nearly every turn of the road! Boxelder and ash in the first Canyon miles will greet you with gorgeous greens and yellows.
Watch for ruby red sumac across from Split Rock and further down the byway across from Victoria Peak. On the western side of the Scenic Byway across from the Devil’s Bathtub parking area and Kissing Rocks, look for swaths of poison ivy changing from green to copper. There are emerging goldens in the birch and aspen around Savoy and Spearfish Canyon Lodge.
We are grateful to see rain in the forecast over the next week to give our ranchers and firefighters some peace. It’s a bonus that rain also makes the colors pop in Spearfish Canyon. Take advantage of the byway pull-offs to safely linger and absorb the beauty. This weekend, Spearfish Canyon visitors will get a front row seat to a season in transition.
Kimberly Talcott
September 21, 2026
Color Change: 73% (High)
Leaf Drop: Low
Spearfish Canyon is presently at 73% of its peak fall colors. The Canyon is embracing its autumnal splendor in full force, just as the first official day of fall arrives.
As you enter the Canyon on 14A from Spearfish, look southeast to a patch of bright green and yellow leaves cascading down the hillside across the parking lot from the Scenic Byway Information area. Keep driving and you will notice ruby sumac reaching peak colors around Split Rock. Also look for vibrant red Virigina Creeper before you arrive at the Rim Rock Lodge road.
Two areas took my breath away with their beauty today. First, the cliffs right after you pass Bridal Veil Falls to the southeast, and second, the vicinity of Maurice Gulch, about six miles into the Canyon from Spearfish. Both areas are nearing peak colors with significant changes to the deciduous trees at the higher elevations. Seeing those golden trees at the tiptop of the peaks makes you realize just how high the limestone cliffs reach in Spearfish Canyon, some as tall as 1,000 feet above the creek bed.
I am still hoping for a little more color “punch” from the Bowl at Savoy in the coming days. Many trees in the Savoy area are at peak colors, but many are still quite green. Warmer, drier weather is forecasted for the week ahead. As long as the wind says calm, we can expect another picturesque week for leaf peeping in Spearfish Canyon.
Kimberly Talcott
September 24, 2026
Color Change: 77% (High)
Leaf Drop: Low
The autumn foliage in Spearfish Canyon is at 77% of its peak colors during this first official weekend of fall in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The initial half of the Canyon (from Spearfish through Devil’s Bathtub parking area) continues to shine with lime green ash and boxelder trees, deep red sumac shrubs, and golden birch.We are seeing new changes in the trees around Kissing Rocks and past Long Valley Picnic Area. Notably, the birch trees in this area are moving from bright yellow to a deeper golden. Long Valley is one of my favorite spots in the Canyon because of its variety of flora. I especially love the vistas driving northeast, or back into Spearfish from Savoy. The layers of deciduous trees along with evergreens against the rock strata is a sight to see!Speaking of golden leaves, the Canyon’s oak trees are just starting to turn from green into their autumnal colors. I have not seen as many acorns on the oaks this year. It may be that we received a late spring frost that damaged the blossoms. However, this year I am seeing a plethora of chipmunks in the Canyon. Maybe that is where all the acorns went!Leaf drop is still low, but on a hike this weekend you will notice fallen leaves accumulating on the paths. I sat quietly along Roughlock Falls Trail for this report and witnessed several leaves float slowly to the ground. Low lying shrubs like dogbane and baby trees almost seem to sprinkle the dark Canyon floors with their lighter leaves.
Kimberly Talcott
September 28, 2026
Color Change: 100% (High to Peak Color)
Leaf Drop: Moderate
Spearfish Canyon has reached peak fall colors with brilliant displays of golden, auburn, and burgundy leaves throughout Scenic Byway 14A. The eastern Canyon slopes from Rim Rock Lodge to Bridal Veil Falls are bursting with rich, neon yellows from the ash trees. As you approach the Bridal Veil Falls parking area from Spearfish, look up to the southeast ridge. You will see golden deciduous trees reaching toward a sky that does not seem all that far away from the high Canyon cliffs.The Spearfish area experienced thunderstorms both Sunday and Monday evenings. As you drive along the roadway, you will notice quaking aspen with some leaf drop in their delicate leaves. Keep reading, though! I have a suggestion for a spot where you can still see aspens in their full splendor this week.Trees surrounding Homestake Hydro Plant No. 2 are at their peak colors. Watch for bronze trees sprouting out from the dense conifers southeast of the Devil’s Bathtub parking area. More leaf drop is noticeable in the large cottonwoods and box elders as you near Iron Creek Trailhead.If you’re searching out those shimmering golden aspens, keep driving southeast on Scenic Byway 14A past Spearfish Canyon Lodge and even past Old Spearfish Creek Dam and Nature Area. This stretch of the byway showcases several aspen bunches in peak color emerging from the dark evergreens.
Kimberly Talcott
October 1, 2026
Color Change: 100% (High to Peak Color)
Leaf Drop: Moderate
The fall leaves in Spearfish Canyon continue to show off their peak colors this first weekend of October. A stretch of warm, sunny, and calm weather forecasted in the Northern Black Hills indicates leaf drop will remain low to moderate throughout the weekend.
As you drive along Scenic Byway 14A, watch the eastern Canyon walls from Split Rock to Bridal Veil Falls where layers of golden birch and elm trees curve around the rocky outcrops. Even Botany Bay, which revealed its peak colors two weeks ago, continues to hang on to its copper leaves on the eastern side of the Canyon byway.
If you park at Bridal Veil Falls and linger at the overlook, you will notice that the large cottonwood trees adjacent to the waterfall are just beginning to reveal their fall pigments. Aspen located south of Bridal Veil Falls are shimmering with copper hues as you continue along the Scenic Byway.
Maurice Gulch, a favorite among fly fishermen, has just turned to peak colors late this week. You will see several golden deciduous trees amongst deep conifers surrounding the Intake.
Peak fall colors can also be seen east of the Devil’s Bathtub Parking lot and Homestake Hydro Plant No. 2. Further into the Canyon at Savoy the aspen and birch are still stunningly golden in the Savoy Bowl, with some leaf drop at the higher elevations. Be sure to observe the trees and rock strata around Spearfish Canyon Lodge – breathtaking!
Daylight hours are gradually shortening since last week’s autumnal equinox. Spearfish Canyon shows its foliage colors differently at different times of day. The sun sometimes acts as a spotlight illuminating a canyon peak or a twist of the creek. If you visited the Canyon recently, I encourage you to visit again, perhaps at another time of day. You might be surprised by what you see and experience in a different Spearfish Canyon hour.
Kimberly Talcott
October 5, 2026
Color Change: Past Peak, Retaining 85% of Peak Color
Leaf Drop: High
This is the last Spearfish Canyon Leaf Report for 2026. Fall foliage in Spearfish Canyon is past peak colors. Leaf drop is moderate to high overall. Yet, the autumn hues that remain are still showing strong at 85% of full peak color.
Mid-Canyon is having a moment. By “Mid-Canyon” I mean Bridal Veil Falls through Devil’s Bathtub. This stretch of the Canyon is the best place to see bright green and golden trees right now. The area around Bridal Veil is just reaching peak colors in the American hophornbeam, cottonwood, and birch trees surrounding the falls. Bright yellows in this area are bursting against the opaque volcanic rock. Be sure to look at the southern slopes of the Canyon as you turn into the Bridal Veil Falls parking area. We continue to see golden bunches of deciduous trees emerging at the highest elevations.
To see vibrant reds and purples, look to the undergrowth from Iron Creek Trailhead to Calamity Gulch. This area has radiant chokecherry and dogwood bordering Spearfish Creek. With the warm weather forecast this week, park your car for a bit and feel the cool air coming off the creek.
Oak trees around Victoria Tower and Kissing Rocks are turning a tawny brown. From Long Valley to Savoy, watch for picturesque vistas where copper and burnt orange leaves seem to arch over the byway like an autumn postcard.
You will notice leaf drop from the quaking aspen as you approach Savoy. Take a moment, though, to also notice the slender, white trunks of the aspen that have lost their leaves along the roadway. The trunks are often grouped together and exude beauty in their stark solidarity.
The drive along Scenic Byway 14A is still worth the trip, leaf peepers! You will be greeted by warm weather forecast for the remainder of the week and into the weekend.
Kimberly Talcott
