Spearfish Canyon feels as if somebody lifted a piece of the Rockies and set it down in the Black Hills, and Bridal Veil Falls is its tidiest corner. The falls pour over a ledge right beside the road, perhaps sixty feet of white water falling into a rocky pool under spruce and aspen. You park, you walk about forty steps, and you are standing in cool spray. Some travellers expect more drama, and that is rather the point: here the falls are an excuse to get off the bike beside a creek, not a trek.
The surrounding canyon is the real show. Limestone walls rise a thousand feet or so on both sides, painted in reds and creams, and Highway 14A follows the creek along the bottom in a series of easy, flowing bends. It is a road for relaxing into rather than attacking: speeds are low, the trees close overhead, and the light comes down in slanted columns that make the afternoon ride glow. In October the aspens and birch turn gold and the canyon becomes extremely popular, so expect a procession of cars. Mid-week mornings are best, and early summer gives you the most water.
The history here is mostly mining and movies. The Black Hills gold rush of the 1870s drew prospectors to Deadwood and Lead just over the ridge, and the canyon later fed hydroelectric works for the Homestake gold mine, whose remains you can still spot among the trees. Spearfish Canyon was also part of the backdrop to Dances with Wolves, which put the place on a lot of people's lists.
Practicalities are simple. Spearfish, about twelve kilometres to the north, is a proper town with plenty of petrol, motels and cafes, so top up there before entering the canyon. Lead and Deadwood are the sources at the other end. Deer step onto the road at dusk, and the surface is usually good, though it can hold dampness in shade after rain. Swing past the falls, take a few photographs, and carry on up the canyon to Roughlock.