Some say there's a long winter on the way. First things first. Our short autumn is in bloom. Foliage fiends are flocking to the 14A. They have solid reasons to do so, but so do the unconventional partisans of pigment, who seek far from the crowds. These iconoclasts are known to rock Vanocker, another Canyon quaking with aspen.
A scenic drive through Vanocker Canyon is a Northern Hills tradition, but the best part is you can get out of the car and hike for miles into the heights.
Sturgis is known for three great contributions to humanity -- the biker community needed a place to gather and do Goldschlager shots out of somebody's navel. Sturgis stepped up. Jerky? Sturgis did it again. How to walk it all off? Here comes Sturgis with an extensive trail system accessible via trailheads in town and at various points outside city limits.
The system doesn't seem that widely known yet, perhaps because there's not much info online, but it's a gem. Your SDPB Outdoors correspondent recently explored the Deadman Mountain area. From the Deadman Pass Trailhead parking lot you can cross the road and climb Deadman Mountain, where you'll glimpse views of Bear Butte among ponderosa and oak forest. Aspen isn't equally distributed here. Sometimes the fall colors hew close to the earth -- deep crimson staghorn(?) sumacs, poison ivy, woodbine. After descending back down to the road, you can cross and hike to the placid Sturgis reservoirs, then further up to dramatic rocky outcroppings with views of Veteran Peak and Flagstaff Mountain.
You can create your own outing of anywhere from a few miles to thirty or more. These colors run, so catch them before they're gone.