About Roughlock Falls
Roughlock Falls was an attractive 50ft waterfall nestled within a surprisingly scenic side canyon of Spearfish Canyon carved out by the Little Spearfish Creek.
As a result, I tend to call that side canyon “Little Spearfish Canyon”, but I’m not sure if that’s the official place name for it.
Nevertheless, I found the scenery of this side canyon to be every bit as compelling as the waterfall, and thus it was worth considering the one-mile trail that connected Spearfish Falls with this waterfall.
In addition to the scenery and the waterfall, we saw some informal wading pools that drew the kids further upstream from the falls on Little Spearfish Creek.
There were also picnic areas upstream of the falls, which further made this the kind of place that you can chill out for a bit before continuing to explore the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway.
Indeed, there were lots of options here, but I’ll just focus on how we were able to experience Roughlock Falls, which was via a short trail from its nearest parking area (see directions below).
Experiencing the Upper Lookouts of Roughlock Falls
From the parking area, we only had to walk roughly 600ft downstream along Little Spearfish Creek on a well-established walkway.
Near the parking area, there were the aforementioned wading pools as well as some picnic tables.
Further along the walkway, there was an open grassy area with some more picnic tables and a restroom facility, where I noticed lots of people chilling out in the grass and basking in the scenery around them.
Then, just a few paces further was a fork in the walkway where the path on the right went across a bridge and right to a lookout with a partial view of Roughlock Falls.
Continuing straight on the left path led to another fork where the spur on the right led to a lookout with a satisfying frontal view of Roughlock Falls.
I found this lookout to be the best spot to view the waterfall, and apparently lots of other people agreed because it can definitely get busy here.
Experiencing the Lower Lookout of Roughlock Falls
Beyond the main lookout, the developed walking path descended deeper into the “Little Spearfish Canyon” with knobby cliffs backing the scene.
Once at the bottom of the descent, the trail then crossed a footbridge over Little Spearfish Creek where I got more beautiful downstream views of the canyon.
On the other end of the bridge, there was a three-way trail junction where going left would have continued the mile-long trail back towards Spearfish Falls and Savoy.
However, I went right, where a spur trail led to a dead-end with a partial view of Roughlock Falls fronted by a wide percolating cascade.
This was the kind of spot that was conducive to long exposure photographs, and it might be why many photographers consider this waterfall to be the most scenic in Spearfish Canyon.
I guess which of these waterfalls was considered the most beautiful was subjective so I’ll leave it up to you to decide.
After having my fill of this bottom lookout of Roughlock Falls, I then returned the way I came, which made the overall walk between a half-mile to 3/4-mile.
Overall, we spent roughly 30-45 minutes away from the car.
Authorities
Roughlock Falls resides in the Spearfish Canyon Nature Area near the town of Spearfish in Lawrence County, South Dakota. It is administered by the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.
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