South Dakota: Mount Rushmore National Park

September 16, 2020
South Dakota
1 Comment

🏔️ The Scenic Route: Through the Black Hills to Mount Rushmore

After breakfast, we headed on out. The plan for the morning was straightforward enough — Mount Rushmore, the whole reason we’d pointed the car in this direction in the first place. We’d been advised to take the scenic route up through the Black Hills of South Dakota rather than the more direct road, and for once, somebody giving us directions actually knew what they were talking about.

It was a crisp morning — and by crisp, I mean properly cold, the sort of cold that makes you wish you’d packed one more layer. But it was stunning. The road winds up through rugged granite peaks and dense forests of Ponderosa pine, twisting through tunnels actually carved into the mountain itself. As you pass through each one, you get these extraordinary framed glimpses of Mount Rushmore in the distance — like someone’s hung a picture on the rock. Quite theatrical, and frankly worth the drive alone.

The Black Hills themselves are a fascinating geological oddity. They rise dramatically out of the vast flat sweep of the Great Plains — the result of ancient volcanic activity, pushed up over millions of years as tectonic plates ground slowly together. Their name, as it turns out, is a translation from the Lakota Sioux Pahá Sápa, meaning “hills that are black.” And you can see why — the Ponderosa pines look almost black when you approach from the plains below. The road itself features a series of spectacular switchbacks — tight, curling bends that fold back under themselves in feats of genuinely impressive engineering. One of them, inevitably, goes by the name “Pigtail,” and once you’ve seen it, you’ll understand immediately.

🗿 About Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore is, in the great scheme of American landmarks, a relatively recent addition to the landscape. The whole thing started as an idea in 1923 — dreamt up by South Dakota state historian Doane Robinson, who wanted something grand enough to put the state on the tourist map. The man he chose to bring it to life was Gutzon Borglum, a sculptor of considerable talent and even more considerable ego, who had previously been working on a Confederate memorial at Stone Mountain in Georgia before things got complicated. Borglum had a sense of scale that verged on the operatic and an ambition to match.

Work began on George Washington’s head in 1927, and the project ran for fourteen years, finally wrapping up in 1941 — though it was never quite finished to Borglum’s original vision. He died in March 1941, just months before the project formally concluded, leaving his son Lincoln to see things through. The four presidents carved into the 5,725-foot granite face — Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln — each stand roughly 60 feet tall. Jefferson, incidentally, was originally planned to appear on Washington’s right side, but the rock there turned out to be unsuitable, so he was moved to the left. These things happen.

Ninety percent of the sculpting, remarkably, was done with dynamite. The remaining detail — the fine work on eyes, noses and the general presidential expression of mild granite dignity — was finished using jackhammers, chisels and hand tools. The sheer volume of rock blasted away over the course of the project is still visible today at the base of the mountain, where a vast rubble field serves as a fairly dramatic reminder of what it took to get four presidents’ faces out of a South Dakota hillside.

The visitor centre does a genuinely good job of explaining all of this, and I found myself rather more impressed than I’d expected to be.

🤔 One Visit… Possibly

I’ll be honest — I had mixed feelings before we arrived. Mount Rushmore is one of those things you’ve seen a thousand times in films and photographs, and there’s always that risk of the real thing being a slight disappointment after a lifetime of build-up. But there’s also the rather thornier issue of its history. The monument was built on land sacred to the Lakota Sioux Nation — land guaranteed to them under the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, which the United States government later simply chose to disregard. The Lakota have never accepted compensation for its loss. And then there’s Gutzon Borglum himself, who had documented ties to the Ku Klux Klan — not exactly a detail you can file quietly away once you know it.

So I went in with reservations, told myself it would be a one-time visit, and then came back three more times with different family members. Make of that what you will. Hopefully that’s the last of it — though I wouldn’t bet heavily on it.

What to see at Mount Rushmore?

🚩 1. Promenade Along the Avenue of the Flags

The Avenue of the Flags is the main pathway leading from the entrance down to the Memorial itself, and it does exactly what it says on the tin. All fifty states of the Union are represented here, each flag arranged in strict alphabetical order as you walk down towards the monument — so Alabama gets to go first, which I imagine pleases nobody in particular.

It’s a genuinely impressive sight. The flags snap and billow in the South Dakota breeze, and the whole thing has a certain ceremonial weight to it — all that red, white and blue stretched out in neat rows, doing its patriotic best. And looming above it all, carved impassively into the granite, are the four presidents themselves — Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln — gazing out over the spectacle with the quiet, stony dignity of men who’ve seen it all before..

2. 🏛️ Enjoy the Monument from the Grand View Terrace

Walk the length of the Avenue of Flags — fifty-six of them, one for each US state and territory — and you arrive at the Grand View Terrace, which does exactly what it says on the tin. Stretching out in front of you, unobstructed and genuinely rather impressive, are the four presidential heads: Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln, carved into the granite face of the mountain in all their 60-foot glory.

This is the view. The one from every postcard, every travel brochure, every film you’ve ever half-watched on a Sunday afternoon. And standing there, you do get an odd little shiver of recognition — that slightly strange feeling of seeing something impossibly familiar in real life for the first time. That said, I defy anyone not to think, just briefly, that it looked considerably bigger in the photographs.

3. 🥾 The Presidents Trail — Up Close and Personal with the Monument

The half-mile paved Presidents Trail drops down from the Grand View Terrace to the very foot of the monument, and it’s well worth the modest effort. Along the way there’s a reasonable chance of spotting some of the local wildlife and flora — pine squirrels, wild turkeys, and the occasional mountain goat, if you’re lucky and paying attention rather than staring at your phone.

At the bottom, you find yourself standing almost directly beneath the four presidents, craning your neck upwards at an undignified angle and peering — and there’s no polite way to put this — straight up the noses of four of America’s most revered leaders. It’s oddly intimate.

Spread around the base is an enormous rubble field of granite — the accumulated debris of fourteen years of blasting and chiselling. Testament to the scale of the undertaking, even if it’s not exactly a beauty spot.

4. 🏛️ Visit the Lincoln Borglum Visitor Centre

Directly below the Grand View Terrace sits the Lincoln Borglum Visitor Centre, along with a museum and bookshop. It’s worth going in, and I say that as someone who has dragged his feet through more visitor centres than he cares to remember.

This one actually earns its keep. There’s a decent collection of interactive exhibits covering the history of the monument, the geology of the Black Hills, and the extraordinary engineering involved in carving four presidential faces out of solid granite using what was essentially a very large quantity of dynamite. There’s also a 14-minute film which does a solid job of pulling it all together — the politics, the construction, the ambition and the occasional chaos behind the whole project. Not exactly Hollywood, but genuinely interesting.

5. 🌟 Attend the Evening Lighting Ceremony

If you do one thing at Mount Rushmore — and I mean one thing — make it this. Every summer evening at 9 p.m. sharp, the amphitheatre fills up for the Evening Lighting Ceremony, and it is genuinely worth staying for. A ranger kicks things off with a short introduction before a 20-minute film about the memorial runs. Then, as the Star-Spangled Banner plays — and yes, even a cynical Londoner feels something at this point — enormous floodlights slowly illuminate all four faces, brilliant white against a pitch-black South Dakota sky absolutely riddled with stars. It’s properly dramatic, the kind of moment that sneaks up on you. The whole thing runs about 45 minutes and, like almost everything here except the car park, costs absolutely nothing. Which, given what they charge for parking, feels like the least they could do.

In summary …

Mount Rushmore is on most American’s bucket list of things to do once in their lifetime. It is also a big draw for international tourists.
Whilst I had personal qualms about going to Mount Rushmore I am glad I did. I think it is a place you just need to visit once
It is free to go in but you have to pay for parking (its not pricey!)
The Monument is located in the middle of nowhere and the biggest close-by city is Rapid City. So, its not easy to reach – its a destination rather than somewhere you pass.
You can easily see everything comfortably in a couple of hours – but you might want to visit in the day and come back at night for the lighting ceremony.

Planning your visit to Mount Rushmore

🗿 Mount Rushmore National Memorial


📍 Location	13000 Highway 244, Keystone, South Dakota 57751	🕖 Opening Times	Daily year-round (closed 25 Dec); Summer 5:00 AM – 11:00 PM; Winter 5:00 AM – 9:00 PM
🌐 Website	nps.gov/moru	📞 Phone	605-574-2523

🚗 Getting There


✈️ By Air	Fly into Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP), approximately 35 miles (45-minute drive) from the memorial
🚗 From Rapid City	Take US Highway 16 south-west to Keystone, then Highway 244 to the memorial. Follow signs for Mount Rushmore
🚗 From the North	Take I-90 to the Rapid City exit, then follow US Highway 16 south-west as above
🚗 From the South	Take Highway 385 north to Highway 244
🚌 Tours	No public transport serves the memorial directly; private tour operators such as Black Hills Tour Company offer transfers from Rapid City
🅿️ Parking	On-site parking garage operated by Xanterra Travel Collection. Parking tickets are valid for one year from date of purchase

🎟️ Entry & Parking Fees

Entry	Private Vehicle Parking	Commercial Bus	Educational Bus	Senior (62+)	Military
Free	$10	$50	$25	$5	Free

ℹ️ There is no entrance fee. The parking fee is charged by the concession operator; National Parks passes do not cover it. No reservations required. Closed 25 December.

Fees and hours are subject to seasonal variation; visitors are advised to confirm current details at nps.gov/moru before their visit.

Best time to visit South Dakota

🌸 Spring (March–May)

South Dakota in spring is a season of transformation. The Black Hills shake off their winter coat, wildflowers push through the thawing earth, and wildlife becomes increasingly active — particularly in Custer State Park, where bison calves begin to appear in May. Temperatures range from around 4°C in March to a pleasant 18°C by late May, though snowfall can still occur well into April, especially at higher elevations. Crowds are thin, prices are lower, and the landscape feels wonderfully alive. The Badlands are spectacular in spring light, with dramatic skies and flowering cacti dotting the pale formations. It’s an excellent time for birdwatching, hiking, and road-tripping without the summer rush.

🎒 What to pack: Layered clothing is essential — pack a waterproof jacket, warm fleece, light jumper, and a base layer for cold mornings. Waterproof walking boots will handle muddy trails. Bring sunscreen, sunglasses, and a compact umbrella for unpredictable showers. Binoculars are a worthy addition for wildlife spotting.

☀️ Summer (June–August)

Summer is peak season in South Dakota, and for good reason. Long sunny days, warm temperatures between 25°C and 32°C, and the full opening of every attraction make it the most accessible time to visit. Mount Rushmore buzzes with visitors, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally draws hundreds of thousands in August, and Needles Highway offers some of the most dramatic drives in the American West. The Badlands, however, can be brutally hot — early morning or evening visits are strongly advisable. Wildlife viewing in Custer State Park is superb, with the annual Buffalo Roundup in late September just around the corner. Book accommodation well in advance, especially around Sturgis week.

🎒 What to pack: Lightweight, breathable clothing — shorts, t-shirts, and a light long-sleeved layer for evenings. High-SPF sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat are non-negotiable in the Badlands heat. Carry plenty of water. Comfortable trainers or trail shoes for walking, and insect repellent for the evenings. A light rain jacket for afternoon thunderstorms.

🍂 Autumn (September–November)

Autumn is arguably South Dakota’s finest season. Crowds begin to thin after Labour Day, temperatures cool to a comfortable 10–20°C range, and the Black Hills ignite with golden aspens and crimson oaks. The famous Buffalo Roundup at Custer State Park, held in late September, is one of the most spectacular wildlife events in North America. The Badlands take on rich ochre and amber tones in the lower sun, making for extraordinary photography. By November, cold sets in quickly and some visitor facilities close, so early-to-mid autumn offers the sweet spot of good weather, reduced crowds, and full access to attractions.

🎒 What to pack: Medium-weight layers — a warm fleece, a windproof jacket, and long trousers. Temperatures can swing significantly between day and night, so adaptable clothing is key. Sturdy walking boots with ankle support for trail hiking, gloves and a hat for November visits. A camera with extra memory for the autumn colours and the Buffalo Roundup.

❄️ Winter (December–February)

Winter in South Dakota is raw, quiet, and genuinely beautiful. Snow blankets the Black Hills and the Badlands take on an almost lunar quality under frost and ice. Temperatures regularly drop below -10°C, and blizzards are possible. Most visitor facilities operate on reduced hours or close entirely, and many roads can become treacherous. However, for those prepared for the cold, winter offers a rare sense of solitude and drama — especially in the Badlands, where snow-dusted formations are hauntingly photogenic. Custer State Park remains partly accessible, and the town of Deadwood keeps its frontier saloon character year-round. Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are rewarding in the Black Hills.

🎒 What to pack: Full winter gear is essential — thermal base layers, insulated trousers, a heavy-duty waterproof coat, and a warm hat, scarf, and gloves. Waterproof, insulated boots with good grip are a must. Hand warmers, a car emergency kit (blanket, torch, scraper), and a portable phone charger for cold-weather battery drain. Layers that can be added and removed as you move between heated buildings and the outdoors.

🗓️ Overall Best Time to Visit

If you can only choose one time of year, early autumn — specifically late September — stands out as the sweet spot for visiting South Dakota. The Buffalo Roundup at Custer State Park is one of the most thrilling wildlife spectacles in the whole of North America, the summer crowds have largely dispersed, prices ease back from their peak, and the Black Hills are clothed in breathtaking golden and russet tones. Temperatures are comfortable for outdoor activity, the Badlands are dramatic in the lower autumn light, and every major attraction remains open and accessible. Spring runs a close second for those seeking solitude and wildflower scenery on a budget. Summer offers the fullest experience but demands advance planning and patience with crowds. Winter is strictly for the adventurous and well-prepared. Whatever the season, South Dakota rewards those who make the journey with landscapes that are, quite simply, unlike anywhere else in the world.

Other places close by worth visiting

Custer State Park

Custer State Park sits in the Black Hills of South Dakota, covering around 71,000 acres of rolling grassland, pine forest, and rocky outcrops. It is home to one of the largest free-roaming bison herds in the world, with around 1,400 animals, alongside pronghorn, elk, white-tailed deer, and a well-known group of burros that wander the roads and approach passing vehicles. The park offers a range of activities including hiking, fishing, horse riding, and wildlife drives along routes such as the Wildlife Loop Road. There are several lakes within the park where visitors can swim, kayak, or simply sit on the bank. Accommodation ranges from camping pitches to lodge-style cabins. The park is open year-round, though facilities are more limited in winter. Entry is charged, and it is one of the more visited parks in the region, particularly during the summer months when wildlife sightings are most frequent and the weather is settled.

Badlands National Park

Badlands National Park sits in the south-west of South Dakota in the United States, covering around 380 square kilometres of rugged terrain shaped by millions of years of erosion. The landscape is made up of sharp ridges, deep gullies, and layered rock formations in shades of grey, tan, and rust, formed as ancient seas and rivers slowly deposited sediment over time. The park is home to a range of wildlife, including bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and black-footed ferrets, one of North America’s rarest mammals. Fossils found here have helped scientists build a clearer picture of prehistoric life, with remains of early horses, rhinoceroses, and sabre-toothed cats discovered across the area. Temperatures can be extreme, reaching well above 38°C in summer and dropping sharply in winter, so visitors are advised to carry plenty of water and plan their trips carefully. Around one million people visit each year, drawn by the unusual scenery and the sense of open, unhurried space that the park offers.

The Mammoth Site

The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, South Dakota, is a remarkable fossil site where the remains of more than sixty mammoths have been uncovered since the discovery of the first bones in 1974. The site formed around 26,000 years ago when a sinkhole filled with water, attracting mammoths and other large animals that became trapped and eventually preserved in the sediment. Both Columbian and woolly mammoths have been identified there, along with the bones of other animals such as giant short-faced bears and camels. Unlike many fossil sites, the bones have been left largely in place, allowing visitors to see them exactly as they were found. A large building was constructed over the excavation to protect it from the weather, and work continues there to this day. It functions both as an active research centre and as a museum open to the public, offering a straightforward and accessible look at a genuinely significant piece of prehistoric North American life.

Crazy Horse Memorial

Located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, the Crazy Horse Memorial is a large mountainside sculpture that has been under construction since 1948. It is being carved out of Thunderhead Mountain to honour the Oglala Lakota warrior Crazy Horse, who is remembered for his resistance to the United States government’s efforts to confine Native American peoples to reservations in the nineteenth century. The project was started by sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski at the invitation of Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear, and following Ziolkowski’s death in 1982, his family has continued the work. When finished, the sculpture will show Crazy Horse on horseback, pointing into the distance. The completed face of Crazy Horse was unveiled in 1998, and work on the remainder of the figure is ongoing. The memorial is privately funded and does not accept federal or state money, which means progress has been slow and steady rather than rapid. A visitor centre, museum, and cultural centre operate on the site, offering information about the history and cultures of North American indigenous peoples.

South Dakota Air & Space Museum

Situated just outside the main gate of Ellsworth Air Force Base near Box Elder, South Dakota, the South Dakota Air & Space Museum is a free attraction that traces the history of American military aviation from the Second World War through to the present day. The museum is made up of both outdoor and indoor areas — an open-air park displays more than 30 aircraft, including bombers and fighter jets that visitors can get close to, while four former alert hangars house indoor galleries covering topics such as Cold War military history, space technology, and the heritage of Ellsworth Air Force Base itself. Among the notable exhibits are a B-25 that served as General Eisenhower’s personal transport and an F-102 once flown by astronaut Gus Grissom. Between mid-May and mid-September, the museum also offers guided bus tours of a Minuteman II missile training silo on the base — the only one of its kind open to the public. Admission is free, and the museum is open Wednesday to Saturday throughout the year..

Minuteman Missle Historic Site

Situated in the grasslands of South Dakota, the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site preserves what remains of a nuclear weapons system that was on standby throughout much of the Cold War. The site consists of a missile launch control facility and a nearby underground silo, both of which have been kept largely as they were when they were in active service. During the Cold War, hundreds of these missiles were scattered across the Great Plains, each one capable of being fired within minutes of an order being given. The National Park Service took over management of the site in 1999, and it is now open to the public as a place to learn about that period of history. Visitors can tour the cramped underground launch control capsule, where two officers would have sat on alert, ready to turn their keys if the command came. The site offers a straightforward look at the realities of nuclear deterrence during the latter half of the twentieth century, without glamourising or condemning the role these weapons played in shaping international relations.

Wall Drug Store

Wall Drug Store sits in the small town of Wall, South Dakota, on the edge of the Badlands. Ted and Dorothy Hustead bought the modest pharmacy in 1931 for around $3,000, during the depths of the Great Depression, when Wall had a population of only a few hundred people. For the first five years business was poor, until Dorothy had a straightforward idea: put up roadside signs offering free ice water to travellers passing along the dusty highway in the summer heat. It worked. Drivers began pulling in, and the Husteads kept putting up more signs — eventually thousands of them, spread across the country and even as far as the London Underground. Today Wall Drug draws around two million visitors a year and has grown well beyond a pharmacy into a sprawling complex with a restaurant, a Western art gallery, souvenir shops, and outdoor attractions including life-sized dinosaur models and a large slide. Free ice water is still on offer, and a cup of coffee costs just five cents. It remains a family-run business, and while it is undeniably larger than life, it grew from a genuinely practical idea by a couple trying to make ends meet in a hard period of American history.

Wind Cave National Park

Wind Cave National Park sits in the Black Hills of South Dakota, in the western United States, and covers around 34,000 acres of mixed-grass prairie and ponderosa pine forest. It was established in 1903, making it one of America’s oldest national parks and the first in the world to be created specifically to protect a cave. Below ground, the cave stretches for well over 130 miles of mapped passages, making it one of the longest and most complex cave systems on earth. It is particularly noted for its boxwork formations — thin fins of calcite that criss-cross the cave walls and ceilings in a honeycomb-like pattern, found nowhere else in the world in such quantity. Above ground, the park is home to bison, elk, pronghorn, prairie dogs, and a range of other wildlife that roam the open grasslands largely undisturbed. Visitors can explore the cave on guided tours, which are the only permitted way to enter it, or spend time on the roughly 30 miles of hiking trails that wind across the surface landscape.

Where to stay?

1. Summer Creek Inn & Spa

Tucked into the stunning landscape of the Black Hills, the Summer Creek Inn and Spa in Rapid City, South Dakota, is a hidden gem for those seeking a luxurious escape from the everyday. This adults-only boutique bed and breakfast offers elegant accommodations with private check-in and check-out services, a sun terrace, and a beautifully landscaped garden. The year-round retreat features ten inviting guest suites, each with private luxury baths, cozy beds, and premium linens, set among grounds with a waterfall, gardens, and quiet patios. Guests can unwind by the outdoor fireplace, soak in the hot tub, or book a spa treatment — just be sure to schedule 24 hours in advance. With Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, and the Crazy Horse Monument all within easy reach, Summer Creek Inn perfectly blends pampering seclusion with Black Hills adventure

2. Sweetgrass Inn Bed & Breakfast

Tucked into the Black Hills just eight minutes south of Rapid City, the Sweetgrass Inn B&B sits within easy reach of iconic South Dakota landmarks including Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. Owned and run by the hands-on duo Adam and Andrea, the inn radiates a genuine labor-of-love charm that guests consistently rave about — a refreshing alternative to cookie-cutter hotel stays. All eight rooms feature private bathrooms, some with jetted spa tubs, plus flat-screen TVs, and the inn can comfortably host couples, small reunions, and groups of travelling friends. The highlight for many visitors is the morning meal: a made-to-order breakfast served from an actual menu, which is something of a rarity in the B&B world. There’s also an on-site restaurant and bar, a game room, picnic area, and a library — plenty to keep you happily lingering between adventures. Ranked among the top B&Bs in Rapid City on TripAdvisor, Sweetgrass Inn is the kind of place you’ll find yourself planning a return trip to before you’ve even checked out.

3. Under Canvas Mount Rushmore

If you’ve ever dreamed of falling asleep under a sky full of stars just minutes from one of America’s most iconic landmarks, Under Canvas Mount Rushmore might be exactly what you’re looking for. Tucked among ponderosa pines and juniper on the site of an original gold mining settlement, the camp sits less than four miles from Mount Rushmore National Monument, offering a glamping experience that effortlessly blends adventure with comfort. Luxury tents come equipped with private bathrooms, balconies, parquet floors, fireplaces, and outdoor furniture, so roughing it has never felt this good. Evenings are spent around the communal fire pit with complimentary s’mores, and optional stargazing windows let you watch the Milky Way from the comfort of your bed. With Custer State Park, Crazy Horse, and the Badlands all within easy reach, it’s the perfect basecamp for exploring the Black Hills.