Related South Dakota Favorites Tips

Favorite thing: Along interstate 90 and 29 are Info centers. Not all rest stops are info centers. The info centers are manned from may to sept and have lots of brochues of sites to see. The distinctive thing about SD rest stops are the Artist style Teepees.

Favorite thing: I hope this map is helpful is locating some of the best spots to enjoy the monument and hopefull help you map out where you want to go to get the best photograph.

Mount Rushmore National Momument

13000 Highway 244
Building 31, Suite1
Keystone, SD 57751

Headquarters
605-574-2523

Visitor Information Recorded Message
605-574-3171

Favorite thing: South Dakota along with Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska are mainly farming and this is picture shows our wealth. This picture happened to be taken just over the border in Minnesota but it could be any one of the farm belt states.
When farmers or grain elevators run out of storage space, the corn is piled many feet deep until they can get enough train cars or trucks to haul it out to the processing plants. The newest use for this yellow gold is to distill it for ethonal for mixing with gasoline. The byproducts are also sold as animal feed.

Favorite thing: The drive on Highway 85A through Custer State Park to Mount Rushmore. Stop at the Custer State Game Lodge for lunch. And don't miss the buffalo in the park! Along the way on 85A you'll cross pig-tail bridges made from huge pine logs and drive through tunnels that were carefully planned to frame the Four Faces. You may see some wildlife, too, usually bison but often deer or antelope, a.k.a. wapiti as well.

Fondest memory: The people. I grew up in South Dakota, but have lived away from it for years. What I notice most when I return is how helpful people are there, quite unlike urbanized America. This alone makes the state worth visiting.

Favorite thing: visit Custer State Park. It is the place where they made the film Dances With Wolves. You will feel like you are back in time, when the buffalo roamed the flats of northern america.

More info: South Dakota State Parks:
http://www.state.sd.us/gfp/sdparks/

Fondest memory: Shown here is the view looking across the Missouri River. Driving across this state really gives you an appreciation for how much open space there is there. The rolling hills that seem to stretch on forever and open ranges with occasional ranches and farm animals is really relaxing to see as you drive along.

Favorite thing: This epic sculpture features the faces of four exalted American presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. South Dakota's Black Hills provide the backdrop for Mount Rushmore, the world's greatest mountain carving. These 60-foot high faces, 500 feet up, look out over a setting of pine, spruce, birch, and aspen in the clear western air.

Sculptor Gutzon Borglum began drilling into the 5,725-foot mountain in 1927. Creation of the Shrine of Democracy took 14 years and cost a mere $1 million, though it's now deemed priceless.
Throughout 1998, Mount Rushmore National Memorial celebrated the culmination of a multi-million dollar public-private partnership project to improve visitor facilities at the memorial. The new Lincoln Borglum Museum explores the stories behind the making of Mount Rushmore.
The Avenue of Flags leads from the Concession Building to the Grandview Terrace. The flags of the 56 states and territories again fly below the memorial. The avenue provides direct and easy access to the Grandview Terrace and Presidential Trail, a half-mile walking trail that offers spectacular views of the mountain sculpture.
The memorial offers interpretive programs, exhibits and a film at the Lincoln Borglum Museum. Rangers provide interpretive walks and talks, including the Evening Sculpture Lighting Ceremony. The lighting program takes place at approximately 9 p.m. nightly (May-September) in the park's amphitheater. The amphitheater is fully accessible via the Avenue of Flags to elevators at the museum.
Other programs being offered include guided walks to the Sculptor's Studio, Presidential Trail walks, talks on the Grandview Terrace, afternoon children's activities and studio talks.

Favorite thing: Make a trip through Badlands National Park. To get there take the Interstate 90 from Rapid City to the east. After half an hour you will see the Badlands exit. A highway leads all the way through the park. It´s rough landscape with canyons, hills and sandstone. Pretty nice. The road goes on top of a plateau and winds down into the canyons after a few miles. There are also some interesting hiking routes through the park. You can do the fast version of a visit by just stopping at some viewpoints and continue your journey out of the park after two hours or you can take some time and spend a whole day in the Badlands. I would prefer the second alternative!