Roughlock Falls has long been a popular place to stop.

But now, it is a better place to stay a little longer.

The popular waterfall on Little Spearfish Creek has been spruced up by its new owner - the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department. And Rapid City tourism promoter Bill Honerkamp believes the improved facilities at Roughlock will translate into longer stays for more people.

"I suspect people will spend a little more time there than they have in the past, simply because it's not so carpet worn," Honerkamp, president of the Black Hills Badlands & Lakes Association, said Tuesday. "The place was loved to death. It just got trampled."

Those high-use, high-impact days are over at Roughlock Falls, however. GF&P bought the falls and surrounding property from its former owner, Barrick Gold Corp, as part of a $2.7 million land deal approved by Gov. Mike Rounds two years ago. GF&P's parks division and its contractors have since replaced and reconfigured sidewalks, expanded parking and added observation decks, picnic tables, benches, bridges and interpretive signs, as well as redesigning a hiking trail down to Savoy along Little Spearfish Creek.

That work cost about $600,000 and was paid for with state parks division funds.

The new design allows better access to the creek and the falls with less damage to the natural resources there, GF&P parks division director Doug Hofer of Pierre said.

"We removed the old fences that blocked the view of people who came to the falls," Hofer said. "The new observation decks provide better views of the falls than the public could access before. It's beautiful. All the work really helped beautify one of the most beautiful spots in South Dakota."

The new facilities also provide access to Little Spearfish Creek above the falls, but only in ways that don't contribute to erosion and natural-resource damage, Hofer said.

"In those areas where people were walking right on the end of the banks, we've added elevated walkways to get them off the banks and give them some places to dangle their feet in the water," he said. "Yet it's designed to protect the resources there."

GF&P bought about 38 acres, from the Roughlock Falls area down along the creek toward Savoy, in the upper reaches of Spearfish Canyon. Other land bought as part of the deal were 300 acres at the mouth of Spearfish Canyon and 18 acres at the Savoy Intake upstream on Spearfish Creek from Savoy.

GF&P bought the property from Barrick at 6-year-old appraisal values, using part of the money from a court settlement with Homestake Gold Mine, which Barrick had bought. The Homestake settlement involved pollution problems caused many years earlier in Whitewood Creek, the Belle Fourche River and the Cheyenne River.

Another agreement also restored Little Spearfish Creek flows over the canyon wall at Savoy, re-creating a striking 80-foot waterfall that had rarely tumbled for decades. Roughlock and Spearfish are two of the three sizeable waterfalls in Spearfish Canyon. The third is Bridal Veil Falls, father north in the canyon

The falls are important tourist spots, Honerkamp said.

"We talk quite a bit in our editorial and guidebook and magazine copy about the three waterfalls of Spearfish Canyon," he said. "They show on many maps."

The restored Spearfish Falls and the revitalized facilities at Roughlock fit well into preservation efforts by the Spearfish Canyon Foundation, according to the foundation's president, Susan Johnson of Deadwood. The foundation donated $250,000 to help with land purchases and believes it was money well spent, Johnson said.

"The foundation was established to preserve the canyon, and we feel that this kind of work is a leap in that direction," she said. "The canyon needs to be enjoyed by the public but also protected. This project does both. We hope it's just the beginning."

Both Johnson and Honerkamp were gratified that the Roughlock Falls Nature Area was not added to the state park system's list of fee areas.

"I'm super happy that the state decided to go on a no-fee basis up there," Honerkamp said. "Roughlock Falls isn't what you'd call a park attraction. It's more of a photo stop, and I think it would probably not be right to put a ticket booth up there."

If You Go

What: Roughlock Falls Open House and Dedication

When: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 12, with dedication at 2 p.m.

Where: Roughlock Falls, one mile west of the lodge at Savoy in Spearfish Canyon on Forest Service Road 222.

Who: Speakers include GF&P Secretary Jeff Vonk, Spearfish Canyon Foundation president Susan Johnson, Rich Haddock of Barrick Gold Corp. and Spearfish Mayor Jerry Krambeck

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com