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Forbestraveler.com names Black Hills to ‘15 Fall Foliage Drives’

SPEARFISH, S.D. (9/22/09) – Just as the Black Hills’ high country aspens are beginning to put on their autumn show, Forbestraveler.com has named the Spearfish Canyon and Peter Norbeck Scenic Byways, both in South Dakota’s Black Hills, to its list of top fall drives in North America.

The Black Hills were among Forbestraveler.com’s 2009 listing of “15 Fall Foliage Drives.” The story also featured the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the Denali Highway in Alaska, Carson Pass in California and White Mountains National Forest in New Hampshire.

“The highest point between the Rocky Mountains and Western Europe, the Black Hills have all the ingredients for the perfect autumn drive—plentiful trees, endless views and rich local history,” the Forbes editors said. “The hills are best explored on two scenic byways—the 68-mile Peter Norbeck and the 20-mile Spearfish Canyon—on either side of Mount Rushmore. Spruce, aspen, birch and oak are among the local trees that transform come fall, although the ubiquitous Ponderosa pine (dark when seen from the surrounding prairie) is what gives the hills their name.”

According to Linda Ahlers, general manager of the Spearfish Canyon Lodge between Deadwood and Spearfish, this year’s fall colors in the Black Hills are more breathtaking than she ever remembers seeing them. That’s because wildflowers, helped by a wet summer and a warm fall, are still blooming beneath the bright red sumac bushes, golden ferns and brilliant yellow aspens.

“I’ve never seen it so beautiful,” she said. “The forget-me-nots are still in the water, like a blanket of blue. The Queen Anne’s Lace is blooming in the canyon. It’s amazing how many wildflowers are still blooming.” She said the foliage along U.S. Highway 85 between Cheyenne Crossing and Buckhorn, Wyo., has been especially colorful this year.

Brian Boyer of Custer said the bur oak trees in the Custer State Park area are turning red, and the other deciduous trees are at about 75 percent of their full fall color.

The Black Hills’ fall colors have long attracted sightseers. Coupled with events such as the Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup (Sept. 28) and the Black Hills Powwow in Rapid City (Oct. 9-11), the fall colors have helped make autumn one of the most popular times to visit the Black Hills, according to tourism officials.

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For more information:
Lee Harstad

Deadwood Chamber of Commerce
605-578-1876