Spearfish
www.visitspearfish.com

Sometime in the mid-1870s, the first residents of Spearfish gazed up at the ring of pine-clad hills and rocky bluffs that surrounded the community and noted how they looked like a crown. For this reason they called their small agricultural settlement the “Queen City.” Since then, the tiny village has evolved from a farming community (primarily to supply the notorious gold camp of Deadwood, just 15 miles away) into a thriving academic and cultural center, but the nickname has stuck.
 
Located on the northern edge of the Black Hills and at the mouth of Spearfish Canyon, a 20-mile long canyon of limestone palisades, waterfalls, aspen, spruce and pine, the community of Spearfish is an outdoor recreational paradise. The mild climate makes everything from hiking and mountain biking to fishing and golfing possible year-round.
 
But while the pristine natural wonder that surrounds and permeates the community is an exquisite jewel that the city wears proudly, it is but one gem in its crown. A low cost of living, high emphasis on education, small-town friendliness, low crime rates and progressive attitude gives Spearfish residents a strong sense of pride. Most are quick to point out that Spearfish is one of the fastest growing towns in the High Plains.
 
The historic downtown area, complete with the restored 1906 Matthews Opera House and a wealth of coffee houses, restaurants and specialty stores, hosts dozens of festivals and art shows throughout the year. It is home to Black Hills State University, one of two public institutions of higher learning in western South Dakota, and the internationally recognized Black Hills Passion Play, both of which help give Spearfish its unique cultural identity.
 
Although Spearfish is a small city with only 8,870 permanent residents, it is the commercial and academic center for several small towns in the surrounding Black Hills and in nearby Wyoming and Montana. It also attracts over a million visitors each year with its museums, festivals and natural beauty.
 
Spearfish Canyon
The breathtaking limestone palisades of this creek-carved gorge are more ancient than the Grand Canyon – albeit much closer together. The narrow walls of Spearfish Canyon, which rise up to 1,000 feet above the creek bed, are among the most spectacular scenery in the Black Hills. Cascading waterfalls quench the thirst of quaking aspen, gnarled oaks, sweet-smelling spruce and the ubiquitous ponderosa pine, which grow right off the edges of rocky precipices. The diverse array of plant life provides a comfortable home for deer, mountain goats, porcupines and bobcats. The canyon was accessible only by horseback until a railroad line to Deadwood was completed in 1893. When a flood in 1933 all but destroyed the tracks, a motorway was built right on top of the ancient rail bed. Today, this road is U.S. 14A, one of America’s few designated scenic byways. The highway continues through the canyon for nearly 20 miles, affording visitors views of both its pristine natural wonders and its historical treasures. Near the end of the canyon is the old sawmill town of Savoy, which provides a jumping off point for several scenic hikes and forays into ancient mining and logging camps. Further up the canyon is Cheyenne Crossing, the point where the gold-rush era Deadwood-Cheyenne stage line crossed Spearfish Creek.
 
Black Hills State University
Black Hills State University, the third-largest state-run school in South Dakota, provides both undergraduate and post-graduate programs to over 4,000 students in disciplines ranging from industrial technology and science to travel industry management and wellness. The University was first established in 1881 by the Dakota Territorial Legislature as a teacher’s college; it grew considerably over the next several decades until budget problems and restrictions by the state board of regents limited enrollment to around 2000 students in 1970. However, reorganization came in the late 1980s, and the university has experienced considerable growth once again over the past few years. Its well-tended grounds, modern recreation center and theater, films, plays, concerts and conventions make the institution a community fixture.
 
Black Hills Passion Play
This portrayal of the last seven days of Christ’s life is the oldest continually operating Passion Play in America, and one of the most renowned outdoor productions in the country. It had its birth in 1932, when German immigrant Josef Meier brought his version of the medieval Passion Play to the United States. It toured for several years before selecting a permanent home at the base of the Black Hills in Spearfish. Unlike its 15th century counterparts, the Black Hills Passion Play doesn’t take three days to watch. However, the production is still incredibly elaborate. The 250-member cast, featuring both professional and local actors, performs with camels, horses and donkeys on the largest permanent outdoor stage in North America. Performances are on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings from June through August.

High Plains Western Heritage Center
Founded to honor the pioneers and Indians of a five-state region including the Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana and Nebraska, the High Plains Western Heritage Center features some of the best in western artifacts, art and memorabilia. While the vast two-story museum features artifacts like an original Deadwood-Spearfish stage and life-size dioramas depicting the American cattle drive, the outdoor displays are just as engaging. The exhibits, which tend to be on the large side, include a sod home, a log cabin, a one room schoolhouse, antique farm equipment and – in the summertime – an antique farm. Herds of bison and longhorn steers complement the outdoor exhibits.  The Heritage Center’s annual schedule features cowboy poetry, live music, festivals, reenactments, and the historical Campfire Series.
 
Deadwood
There was a time when it wasn’t safe to walk the boardwalks of the wildest and woolliest town in the west. But that was a hundred years and a dozen gunfights ago. This is the town that welcomed Wild Bill Hickok, then wept when he was gunned down holding aces and eights, forever after known as the “Deadman’s Hand.” This is the place that witnessed the one-woman-cyclone known as Calamity Jane, who claimed she could out-shoot, out-spit and out-swear any man, and usually did. Today, both are buried side-by-side in Deadwood’s “Boot Hill.” Visitors now encounter brick streets, period lighting, old-time trolleys, Victorian facades and one of the largest historic preservation projects in the world, all fueled by an unlikely benefactor --  limited stakes gaming, complete with poker, blackjack and the notorious one-armed bandits.

Outdoor Recreation
Situated on the edge of a 1.2 million acre national forest, Spearfish provides nearly endless opportunities for playing in the outdoors. The community is a mountain biking mecca, boasting hundreds of miles of rocky singletracks and paved trails in the surrounding area. Fishers, too, can find their own personal paradise, whether it’s casting a line in Spearfish Creek as it winds through town or venturing out to one of the Black Hills’ 14 mountain lakes or some of its 300 miles of blue ribbon streams. Those interested in larger quarry will find premier hunting for wild turkey, elk, pheasant and deer. For those that prefer hunting rocks, the diversity and size of the caves throughout the Black Hills are a perfect playground. In the winter, over 300 miles of groomed snowmobile trails and ski slopes on two of the highest peaks east of the Rockies make the area pristine winter recreational area.

Spirit of the Hills Wildlife Sanctuary
Established as a safe haven and release site for indigenous animals that had been injured or orphaned, the sanctuary is also a permanent home for many animals that cannot be released back to their natural habitats, including lions, tigers and camels. These animals are part of the sanctuary’s educational programs, which promote harmony between people, nature and wildlife. The 100-acre grounds, part of Josef Meier’s estate three miles southwest of Spearfish, offer visitors the opportunity to go hiking, horseback riding, snowshoeing, and even sleigh riding. Modest admission fees are used to sustain the work of the sanctuary.

Matthews Opera House
When cattleman and business tycoon Thomas Newton Matthews opened his modern opera house in downtown Spearfish in 1906, it was immediately hailed as the focal point of an otherwise culturally bleak region. It was used extensively for the first decade of its life by touring repertory companies, vaudeville acts, roaming minstrels and local talent. The rise of silent movies and film, however, meant the downfall of live performances. It spent the following years as a movie theater, shooting gallery, storeroom, parachute assembly line and the summer theater of the local university. The Opera House reopened in the late 1980s after extensive renovations gifted the historic building with new dressing rooms, public restrooms, offices, an elevator, a shop and something the old building never had: a lobby. Its long and varied history lives on today through regular music, vaudeville and comedy performances. Shows run most Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays mid-June through mid-August.

D.C. Booth Fish Hatchery
Constructed in 1899 as the region’s first fish management center, the Spearfish National Fish Hatchery was responsible not only for introducing trout to the Black Hills, but for being the first to control the fish population in Yellowstone National Park. The institution quickly grew in importance, becoming the coordination center for all federal fisheries in the Western United States. But by the 1980s budget cuts forced the Fish and Wildlife Service to close the hatchery. Renamed for its first superintendent, its colorful history, pristine setting and century-old buildings are now preserved as an educational center devoted to fish culture. Besides the original ponds, hatchery structure, icehouse and Victorian Booth home, the center now includes underwater viewing areas, a museum and a gift shop. The historical buildings, old gardens and forest setting make the hatchery grounds a popular location for recreation and outdoor receptions.
 
While the Black Hills are centrally located to North America and are home to some of the nation’s most famous national treasures, the region is still relatively undiscovered. Spearfish is a small city with less than 10,000 inhabitants, and the Black Hills as a whole are home to less than 300,000 people. Only two million visitors a year come to this vast region, which means that the pristine forests and mountain wildernesses are anything but crowded.
 
Related Links
• Spearfish Accommodations: www.visitspearfish.com
·    Black Hills Badlands & Lakes: www.blackhillsbadlands.com
• Black Hills Central Reservations: www.blackhillsvacations.com
• South Dakota Department of Tourism: www.travelsd.com