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Home › Waters › South Dakota › Rapid Creek
Creek · Black Hills · South Dakota

Rapid Creek Fishing Guides

The Pactola tailwater and the urban trout stream running straight through downtown Rapid City, with wild browns above town and stocked fish in the city park water.

Mist over a green river between wooded banks
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the Rapid Creek

Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.

About the Rapid Creek

Rapid Creek runs east out of the Black Hills through Pactola Reservoir, down Dark Canyon and Placerville, and then straight through the middle of Rapid City before heading out onto the plains. It is really three fisheries stacked end to end: the small freestone water above Pactola, the cold tailwater below the dam, and the city stretch through the parks and greenway in Rapid City itself.

The tailwater below Pactola is the best of it. Cold releases hold brown trout year-round, some of them large, in a canyon reach with good structure and difficult access that keeps the pressure down. Wild browns and rainbows dominate here and they see enough anglers to be selective. Through Rapid City the creek is stocked and heavily used, but the greenway water genuinely fishes: there are browns in the deeper bends and under the bridges, and it is one of the few places in the country where you can catch a wild-behaving trout on your lunch break. Above the reservoir the creek is small, brushy brook and brown trout water.

The Rapid City gauge reads the creek at the bottom of the canyon reach. Flow below Pactola is release-driven and generally steady, which is what makes the tailwater reliable. Spring melt and heavy Black Hills thunderstorms can spike the creek quickly, and this basin has a serious flash-flood history, so treat a fast rise as a reason to leave the canyon rather than a reason to change flies.

Rapid City covers everything, and Pactola, Silver City and Johnson Siding are the access points upstream. Spearfish Creek is an hour away for a second day.

This water needs a real photo

The photo at the top of this page is not Rapid Creek.

It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.

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  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Fished this water? Add a photo

Reviewed by hand before it appears. Pick the water, not the spot — we never publish exact locations.

Never published. We use it only if we need to ask about the photo.

Posting to Rapid Creek.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name shown under the photo. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Flow alert

Tell me when the Rapid Creek cfs

Now: 26.6 cfs, read 12:30 am CDT, Thu Oct 22, 2026 (USGS 06414000, RAPID CREEK AT RAPID CITY, SD).

We never use this address for anything else and never share it. See the privacy policy.

Access

Rapid City greenway: several miles of urban creek with parking and paths.
Canyon Lake Park: the city impoundment and the water above it.
Placerville and Dark Canyon: the canyon reach below the dam, limited parking.
Pactola Dam: the top of the tailwater.
Silver City and Johnson Siding: upper creek access.
Pactola Reservoir: the impoundment itself, trout and lake fishing.
Cleghorn Springs: the state hatchery area near town.

Seasons

Open year-round; the tailwater fishes in every month.
March through May: runoff and stocking, high water in the canyon.
June through August: terrestrials and cool release water; fish the canyon early.
September through February: wild brown trout at their best, low clear water and no crowds.

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Questions

What is the current flow on the Rapid Creek?

As of Oct 22, 12:30 am, the USGS gauge RAPID CREEK AT RAPID CITY, SD reads 27 cfs, the 24th percentile for this date. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the Rapid Creek?

Anglers target Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout on the Rapid Creek in South Dakota.

Are there fishing guides on the Rapid Creek?

GuidedFloats lists 3 guides and outfitters on the Rapid Creek. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.

Where can you access the Rapid Creek?

Rapid City greenway: several miles of urban creek with parking and paths. Canyon Lake Park: the city impoundment and the water above it. Placerville and Dark Canyon: the canyon reach below the dam, limited parking. Pactola Dam: the top of the tailwater. Silver City and Johnson Siding: upper creek access. Pactola Reservoir: the impoundment itself, trout and lake fishing. Cleghorn Springs: the state hatchery area near town.

When is the best time to fish the Rapid Creek?

Open year-round; the tailwater fishes in every month. March through May: runoff and stocking, high water in the canyon. June through August: terrestrials and cool release water; fish the canyon early. September through February: wild brown trout at their best, low clear water and no crowds.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Rapid Creek?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the South Dakota agency site: https://gfp.sd.gov/regulations/