Spearfish Vacations, Spearfish Vacation Reviews, Tourism Guide

Located at the northern edge of the Black Hills, Spearfish sits about 10 miles east of South Dakota's border with Wyoming along Interstate-90. With almost 10,000 residents, it's the second-largest community in the Black Hills region.

Founded in the late 1870s as a farming community to serve nearby Deadwood, one of Spearfish's biggest draws for modern visitors is its connection to the outdoors. The 800-foot-high cliffs of Spearfish Canyon are just a few miles away, providing excellent hikes in summer, beautiful colors in fall, spectacular cross-country skiing and snowmobiling in winter, and even ice climbing up frozen waterfalls in early spring. Its trail systems are consistently rated among the best in North America by outdoor magazines, and National Geographic Adventure made Spearfish one of its top 50 adventure towns in 2007.

Spearfish is a college town, and the academic world of Black Hills State University gives the community a more vibrant arts, culture and nightlife scene than is otherwise uncommon in towns its size. There are several clubs, pubs and restaurants housed in the historic downtown district. The 1906 Matthews Opera House crowns the downtown area, and often hosts performances in conjunction with the university.