Striking Gold: A Fall Trip to South Dakota's Black Hills

It's only after school starts and summer's minivan caravan ends that South Dakota's Black Hills roll out some of their finest weeks. Days dawn frosty, then warm into a palette of sharp blue skies and patches of glowing aspens and cottonwoods sprinkled among prairies and pine forests.

Click ahead for a look at some of our top fall stops in the Black Hills, including the views from the Needles Highway in Custer State Park (pictured).

Black Hills, Badlands and Lakes Association