Gold at Home

Oct 31, 2025

By Christian Begeman

The autumn of 2025 has so far found me mostly homebound. The toils of everyday work life coupled with many of my nieces and nephews excelling in fall sports has kept me from my usual Black Hills trip seeking out the fall colors of the high country. The good news is that there is plenty of seasonal splendor to be found right here in Minnehaha County.

One of the perks of the good folks at South Dakota Magazine allowing me to share photos and thoughts in this column over the past decade plus is that I can look back at the seasons and compare and contrast the details. For example, this season has seemed like the green and warmth of summer lingered longer than past years, when in actuality, the peak of color is happening at about the same time. That said, it is a touch greener and the orange, yellow and reds are somewhat muted compared to years past. Even so, you can find the color of fall out and about if you take the time to go look.

I was able to take off work on October 24 to wander the city on a near perfect autumn afternoon. That’s when I noticed how much things have really changed over the years. There aren’t as many trees flanking the main falls at Falls Park, for starters. The views of downtown from Cathedral Hill are not nearly as easy to see because trees from the park land below the church continue to grow. And so it goes. I should remember that the only thing that remains constant is change even when it comes to photographing familiar locales, but I don’t really remember until confronted by visual proof.

Palisades State Park.

 

In this column, I will keep the words brief. Fall is both a beautiful and bittersweet time as the growing season comes to an end in a final colorful flourish. We all have more than a few months of the long cold winter lined up next. Even so, winter does make one enjoy the spring all the more. In this selection of photographs, the first half are from this year, and the second half are selections from past years that have never been published here before. May they inspire you to get out and enjoy a last autumn stroll or two before old man winter’s long arm reaches down from the north country.

Christian Begeman grew up in Isabel and now lives in Sioux Falls. When he's not working at Midco he is often on the road photographing South Dakota’s prettiest spots. Follow Begeman on his blog.