The Black Hills Travel Blog

Black Hills Fall Colors Update: Sept. 27, 2010

By • Sep 29th, 2010 • Category: Outdoor Adventure

623. Spearifsh Canyon fall colors in the Black Hills of South DakotaClick the image above for a full-sized version.

The time is now and the place is here! The Black Hills are in their full ‘fall colors glory’ right now and look like they’ll stay that way for the next week or so. With predicted low temperatures above freezing for the next ten days, there should still be plenty of time to go for a drive, take some photos and enjoy the beauty of the season before the leaves really start to drop.

This will be the last colors report of the season here on the travel blog. Hopefully, they’ve been enjoyable and helpful for you this fall. As always, special thanks go to Jerry Boyer, fall-colors observer extraordinaire and author of the book, Canyon Echoes. Jerry’s report is as follows. Enjoy!

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Spearfish Canyon fall colors update as of September 27, 2010.
Photo and report courtesy of Jerry Boyer.

WOW, it is gorgeous! Recent mild temperatures have extended the canyon color rhapsody now at 95%. Every color is bursting into its glory with the rusts and oranges of the oaks, golds of the aspen and birch, yellows of the cottonwoods and willows, reds of the nannyberrys and ivies, and purples of the dogwood.

After 15 years of reporting colors, I am stumped this year as to just when the peak is since there are as many trees losing their leaves today as there are those about to burst. I’ll put the peak at this Wednesday, though it may have been today. With mild temperatures forecast to continue for the week, driving the scenic byway this coming weekend should be as splendid as it was last weekend.

Drive carefully. There are as many pedestrians on the roadway as there are “slow-moving” vehicles.

623. Spearifsh Canyon fall colors in the Black Hills of South DakotaSpearfish Canyon photo current as of September 27, 2010. Courtesy, Jerry Boyer.

About the Author

is a resident of Spearfish, S.D. He grew up in the tall-corn state of Iowa, where he developed an early interest in all things outdoors. After high school he moved to Vermillion, S.D., where he earned his bachelor’s degree in public relations and advertising. During his college years, two things caught his attention: the beauty of western South Dakota’s Black Hills and a girl from those Black Hills. After graduating from college, Joe traveled across the country as a recruiter for the University of South Dakota. He saw the sights from Pittsburgh to Las Vegas and everywhere in between, but it was the Black Hills (and the girl) that kept drawing him back. He and wife moved back to the Black Hills in 2008. He's an avid hiker, mountain biker and road cyclist whose future plans include trying to fit a pair of kayaks into the spare bedroom.
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