Fall foliage in South Dakota

South Dakota’s color is concentrated in the Black Hills. Aspen and birch in the northern hills around Spearfish Canyon turn in the last days of September and the first week of October, with the oak and ash of Custer State Park and the southern hills following through mid-month. East of the Missouri, cottonwoods and bur oaks along the river and in the glacial lakes country go gold in the second and third weeks of October.

Those are the months when color is present somewhere in South Dakota, from its highest ground to its lowest. Any one location changes over a much shorter period than that.

Why the timing shifts from year to year

Shortening days start the process, so most places in South Dakota change at close to their usual time each year. Within the state, elevation and latitude account for most of the difference: higher and more northern ground generally changes first, and lower, sheltered ground last. Weather has more effect on how strong the color is than on when it appears. Cool nights and sunny days favor the reds, a dry summer mutes them, and a hard freeze or a windstorm can strip a slope in a day. What determines the timing goes through this in detail.

Nearby states

Fall color does not follow state lines. South Dakota borders:

• Iowa fall foliage
• Minnesota fall foliage
• Montana fall foliage
• Nebraska fall foliage
• North Dakota fall foliage
• Wyoming fall foliage

Timing for a specific place

This page describes a whole state, which is about as precise as a season can be described in words. Conditions at one overlook on one weekend are a narrower question, and that is the one Fallcast answers: an expected period of color for a specific location, with a confidence attached, updated through the season as the trees change. It is coming to iPhone this fall.

Questions, or somewhere in South Dakota you would like covered? Write to fallcastapp@gmail.com.