Visiting Western South Dakota- Mt Rushmore, Rapid City, Crazy Horse and Custer State Park
So South Dakota has always been on my "to visit list" but I never really got around to it. I figured it would be a good stop for us on our road trip out west.
We decided to stay in Rapid City because we figured that would be a good landing point between Badlands National Park, Wind Cave National Park and the other things we wanted to do (Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer etc)
Mount Rushmore
Alright let's get the most iconic item checked off the list. Was it neat? Yes. But honestly I was surprised that there wasn't very much to actually do here. We kind of got out and were like "Ok, there it is, let's go."
Quick facts to know before visiting:
- While it's free to get into the National Memorial it cost $10 to park (that's how they get you). I tried using my national parks pass but they weren't having it. I do have to say though they have the whole parking thing down to a system. That parking lot is a great place to play the license plate game.
- It is about an hour away from Rapid City, but the nice thing is you get on Mt Rushmore Rd and follow it all the way down. It's pretty straightforward for those who are directionally challenged
- There is a path that goes in a circle in front of the monument- it's a neat path but there are alot of steps- just be forewarned. It gives different views of the monument and a little bit of a history of each president. Also on the path is the "Sculpture's studio" which is a little building with a model of what the monument was originally supposed to look like. The National Parks Service does a neat informational talk about how they built the monument. Also there is a National Parks Stamp at this location if you are a NPS stamp collector like me!
- The four presidents on the monument are Washington, Jefferson, (T) Roosevelt, and Lincoln.
- There is a cafeteria style cafe and an ice cream shop- be prepared to overpay if you plan on eating there.
-Overall we probably spent about an hour- maybe and hour and half here. This includes slowly walking the trail, reading all the signs, listening to the informational talk and going to the gift shop. Like I said- there's not a ton to do.
- If you want close up pictures bring a camera that can zoom well. If you look at the pictures with Max and I in you can see that it looks sooo tiny. All of the other pictures were taken with my telephoto lens zoomed in to its full capacity.
This is a cool perspective of Washington from the trail
There is a walkway of all the US state flags. I stood by Wisconsin and made Max stand by Illinois
Crazy Horse
Alright I'm going to be perfectly honest- we didn't actually go to Crazy Horse. It wasn't something I wasn't super interested in going to and it was going to be $30 for us to get into and we didn't have a lot of time to really take it all in and go to the museums and stuff. I would consider going to it if we ever went back but I would want to go in the morning and give it time to get my moneys worth. The photo above was taken from the highway leading to crazy horse.
General Info:
-It's a 30 minute drive from Mt Rushmore.
- It is owned by the Indigenous people of North America not the National Parks Service. No public funds have been used to build it or support it (hence the admission fee)
-Admission in summer is $30 for two people in a car or $38 for 3 or more people in a car. So if you are traveling in a group-pack as many people as is safe into the car for the best deal.
-Plan on spending 1/2 a day to a full day here to go through the museums and see the memorial.
-Website: https://crazyhorsememorial.org/visit
Custer State Park
Donkeys along the side of the road
Beautiful views of Custer State Park
Tunnels on the Iron Mountain Road
Downtown Rapid City
Comments
Post a Comment