Bridal Veil Falls is a 75-foot waterfall on Rubicon Gulch in Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota, in the northern Black Hills of Lawrence County. It sits beside the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway, and is considered the most accessible waterfall in the canyon.
The falls
The stream falls in a single drop. The World Waterfall Database gives a total height of 75 feet; earlier surveys listed 100 feet, while other estimates give about 60 feet. The stream is also called Rubicon Creek. A sill and dike of nepheline syenite, an igneous rock intruded into the Deadwood Formation, resist erosion better than the surrounding layers and hold up the falls.
Getting there
The falls are about 5.8 miles south of the canyon's north entrance, at a large roadside pull-off on the scenic byway.
When to go
Flow is strongest in spring and drops off considerably in late summer and fall.
On site
An observation platform at the pull-off is set up for viewing and photographs. Hiking in the Bridal Veil Falls area is prohibited, so the falls are seen from the platform rather than from the base or the top.
Nearby
Spearfish Falls is about 5 miles away, and Roughlock Falls about 5.5 miles. Thunderhead Falls is about 33.8 miles away. The town of Spearfish lies about 5.3 miles to the north.
Distances are straight-line.