I would say I made a rookie mistake on my trip from Custer to Spearfish Canyon, but I have been doing this for far too long to do something so stupid. I was having a relatively lazy morning packing up because I knew the drive to Rod and Gun campground was only about 90 minutes. I finally pulled out around 11:30am, plugged the destination into GPS and headed out for a beautiful drive.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! What could possibly go wrong on a GoogleMaps-selected route through the mountains? About 30 minutes into the drive, I saw the dreaded sign – “Pavement Ends”. The road appeared wide and well-graded and turning around wouldn’t have been easy, so I continued on. The views were stunning as I wound around the sides of mountains. A clear stream flowed beside the road in the valleys. It would have been a wonderful drive, if I was not worried about the two tons of trailer behind me. After ten miles, I approached a T-intersection. Google directed me left, but a sign indicated 385, a major highway, was 6 miles to the right. I had no cell service to check for a better route, but I made the decision to head for the highway and hope for service to get me back on track. It was a great option, and as I approached the town of Lead, GPS gave me route that I probably should have followed all along. It was steep in parts and narrow through town, but completely paved so a welcome relief from my more adventurous route.

The Rod and Gun campground is a forest service campground located in the middle of the famous scenic Spearfish Canyon, up Roughlock Falls Road. The Spearfish Lodge and Restaurant exist at the intersection and are essentially the only public businesses along the route. There are no services in the canyon. When I decided to go for more firewood and gas, the options were Lead or Spearfish, each about 30 minutes away.

The campground is self-serve at $21.50 per night plus $2 for the dog, payable by cash or check at the post at the entrance. Someone did come around in the morning to check on fees and clean the bathrooms. A vault toilet sits at the midpoint among the 7 spaces. A hand pump for water is nearby, but I was unable to get it to work and didn’t see anyone use it.

I arrived and found one other person there. I selected what seemed to be the easiest site to back into and got unhooked. As I was setting up camp, the sun beat down ferociously. Blue panted miserably. There were no hook ups and the inside of the trailer was well over 90 degrees. I looked over to the neighboring site and realized although the table and fire pit were on the wrong side of the trailer, they were shaded by a huge spruce. I walked over and found immediate relief in the shade. I hooked back up and moved over one spot. I would much rather walk around the back of the trailer than stifle inside it. And we definitely managed to enjoy the firepit (until I started to think too much about the mountain lions in the area).

When I opened the door to the trailer, I was met with an awful surprise. The entire interior of the trailer was coated in dust, presumably from the ten miles of gravel road. I wet a cloth and began wiping the walls, floors, counters, couches, everything. Even the interiors of some of the drawers were caked. The problem was compounded by the lack of hookups. I had to make my fresh tank last three nights. I did the best I could with limited water, but I think this is going to be an ongoing issue until I get away from these gravel roads.

The Rod and Gun campground sits in a side canyon off Spearfish canyon. It is truly gorgeous and it is easy to see why Dances with Wolves was filmed here. Although a gravel road sits yards from the entrance, traffic was minimal after dark and the only noise was the nearby stream.

On my first morning, I took the chance to drive the scenic canyon. It is absolutely spectacular and a must-do for the area. Several pull-offs allow for time to take in the scenery. At Bridal Veil falls, a crowd of people indicated mountain goats were grazing on the opposing slopes.

Just two miles up Roughlock Falls Road is the trailhead for the so-named falls. The falls themselves can be viewed from the top, but a short, steep, paved descent leads to an excellent view of the cascade through lush greenery. From there, a path follows the stream for about a mile down to the lodge. This was a great opportunity to really take in the canyon. Across the street from the lodge, a 1.5 mile round trip trail descends to Spearfish Falls, another stunning area. This is definitely not the scenery one pictures when thinking about South Dakota. All-in-all, the hike from the top of Roughlock Falls to Spearfish Falls and back was a little over 3.5 miles. There were a couple steep portions that would put this in the moderate rather than easy category, but I would rate it about a 4 out of 10 for difficulty. Definitely a great little hike!

On the second day in the canyon I visited Devil’s Bathtub. I was under the impression Lucifer cleaned up in Virginia, but it seems Old Nick prefers options for bathing in multiple states. This trail was a relatively level 1.5 miles out-and-back walk along a creek. But casual walkers on a side trip found the multiple water crossings to be a challenge. Dry feet seem like a pointless goal for this hike. It is better to have shoes with good tread and push on through the water. Levels were low on our visit, and it was still a hike/swim. Perfect for a warm day!

My final night in Spearfish Canyon was spent as perfectly as possible – editing bison photos while rewatching the movie that had been filmed just yards away.