Mount Rushmore: Should I Visit With Kids?
Should I Visit Mount Rushmore With Kids?
A trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota would be INCOMPLETE without a stopover at Mount Rushmore! During our trip planning we heard several opinions ranging from the super excited Mount Rushmore is a “super life changing experience” to “I can’t believe it’s that small” (insert Michael Scott joke from the Office here!).
You know what?
Both were right. And both were wrong.
Why is Mount Rushmore a Must See?
Yes, it’s true Mount Rushmore’s intent was affectively to promote tourism in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Why on earth would anyone want to do that? Very easy…the landscape and nature features of South Dakota are amazing. The summertime weather is unbelievably perfect. Maybe we caught it on a good couple of days. Either way, I could live in the Black Hills from May to September. Winter would be tough for this southern boy.
So, Mount Rushmore designed as a tourist trap? Yup, who doesn’t love getting sucked into the airbrush tee-shirt shop in [insert your favorite beach town]?
Along the way, the vision of the monument grew into something special.
One Man’s Vision
State Historian Doane Robinson knew the Black Hills were special. His goal was simple, Sharing the Black Hills with American. Robinson’s choice location were the Cathedral Spires / Needles of the Black Hills. We’re all lucky the Spires did not become the site as they are spectacular without any carving.
Mount Rushmore came into focus as the monument’s home thanks to sculptor Gutzon Borglum. Borglum explored the area and recognized the Needles and Spires were not the right home for the monument.
Did you know? Borglum was Robinson’s second choice as the project’s sculptor. Kids, sometimes second place isn’t the first loser. Afterall, who remembers who was number one in this case?
The Sculptor
Gutzon Borglum had developed a fine reputation as a sculptor of some amazing works throughout America. Effectively, he proved as resourceful with dynamite, pneumatic drills, and chisels as today’s inspired artist with a spray paint can and a freeway overpass with no apparent access. You know the ones, right? To this point, Borglum works included bust of Lincoln and Stone Mountain in Georgia (later fired from the project).
No stranger to transforming rocks into beauty, Norbeck sought Borglum to bring Mount Rushmore to life.
What was Mount Rushmore carved out of?
The Black Hills have an abundance of granite and spires. Granite walls provided Borglum a perfect cavsas for this truly amazing work of art.
Why was the Mountain Named Rushmore?
Well, it had to have a name right? Before Charles E. Rushmore, the peak was nameless. Native peoples and tribes likely had a name for the peak, but in the late 1910’s that wasn’t as important to the white men searching for Tin Mines in the area. Mr. Rushmore, a high dollar lawyer from NYC, was dispatched to the area by his clients to secure the rights to tin mines in the area. The enormous mountain of granite and the Black Hills in general sparked Rushmore to inquire the peak’s name.
Learning the peak was nameless. Rushmore took the bull by the horns and promptly named the peak Rushmore Peak.
What was the Inspiration for the Monument?
Beyond creating a tourist trap…Borglum showcased his pride in America by memorializing the men who Made America Great for the first 150 years.
- George Washington – The founding of the country
- Thomas Jefferson – Expansion into the western territory
- Abraham Lincoln – Preservation of America
- Teddy Roosevelt – Development of trade and commerce visavia the Panama Canal and celebration of Medora, ND. Just kidding about Medora!
How to Visit Mount Rushmore with Kids?
Mount Rushmore is a perfect monument to visit with kids. Why?
- The size of the monument and park allow for exploration without super long hikes or difficult terrain.
- Visibility of the monument nearly everywhere on the grounds gives visitors, including kids, a different vantage points to see this work of art.
- History comes alive when we walk amongst it or hear the stories first hand from park rangers.
- Ice cream! Need I say more!?! I’ll add that it’s hand scooped ice cream. YUM!
Where do I start my Mount Rushmore Visit?
Our visit began nearly 20 miles south of Mount Rushmore near Custer, South Dakota. Why? Well, grasping the magnitude of Mount Rushmore requires some distance and build up to the grand moment. Plus the Iron Mountain Road (16A) is one not to be missed.
Iron Mountain Road (16A)
Be sure to check your vehicle’s length, height, and width before taking on this road. UMM, Class A motorhomes need not apply. Pulling a camper from end to end of this road might help you sheer off an unwanted A/C unit or create that dream skylight you always wanted…THERE ARE LOW CLEARANCE TUNNELS ON THE ROAD, TIGHT HAIR PIN TURNS, LOW BRIDGES, ETC. Unless you want to get on the tow truck driver’s Christmas Card list take the warnings on size restrictions very serious!
Okay with that out of the way, what is the Iron Mountain Road? Iron Mountain Road is a 17 mile road from Custer to Mount Rushmore. Technically, the road is longer and I think goes to more places, but we’re concerned about the journey from Custer to Mount Rushmore!
Drivers (those who love driving for the thrill of experiencing the road) will love this stretch of road. We visited during the dinner hour; around 5:30PM. This was perfect. We were nearly the only car. In my mind I pretended I was driving a Porsche…in reality I was piloting our 1 ton diesel truck. Nevertheless, the tight turns, the ascents and descents, and views from the mountain tops were breathtaking!
Passengers are rewarded with remarkable scenery and chance encounters with all sorts of wildlife sightings.
Tunnels and More
Iron Mountain Road offers up 3 really cool tunnels blasted through the rock. Exiting each tunnel provides a closer perspective of Mount Rushmore. Our views were okay because the sun was beginning to fall behind the monument with was creating sun blindness for us.
We found through and were rewarded with some beautiful views at a distance.
Pro Tip – Binoculars are great! These let your passengers sneak a peak from several miles away.
Pigtails on the Road?
The Iron Mountain Road had several Pig Tail Bridges. I failed to get a good picture…Um Sara, we need to go back! Take my word for it these are super cool! Picture riding a wooden roller coaster and the turn that takes riders on a 360 degree turn while going up or down a hill. The engineers did that to this road not once, but like three times. Jaw dropping in a “I can’t believe they did this” kind of way!
Get Out and Stretch Your Legs
About 12 to 13 miles into the drive down the Iron Mountain Parkway there is a mountain top overlook complete with parking lots. These give you the chance to park for a minute, stretch your legs, let the kids run around for a minute before resuming the drive. At this point we’d been on the road for 30 or more minutes. This over look was a great photo op and a welcome stop over.
Patience
Pack your patience! We had the road to ourselves and it took a long time to drive. During peak hours of the day, the travel time must double or triple the 45 minutes we spent on the road. Once you commit to the road, there is no turning back.
Iron Mountain Road was designed to showcase the beauty of nature and the beautiful Black Hills. Enjoy it. Take it in. This topography is unique to the Black Hills!
As your journey on the Iron Mountain Road draws to a close, you are super close to Mount Rushmore’s entrance.
Arriving at Mount Rushmore
We were fortunate, our timing to visit the monument (during the dinner hour and before the golden sunset / light-up events) meant access the park was quick and easy. Parking, in the structure, was tight and not many spaces were open. Yet, we found a spot fairly easily. Again, be patient and things will work out!
How Crowded is Mount Rushmore?
Mount Rushmore can get very crowded. According to the National Park Service over two million people visit Mount Rushmore every year. This monument is a little less than 1,300 acres. Fortunately, visitors stagger their visits and things work out. But, certain visiting hours are more enjoyable than others. In fact, the NPS suggest visiting before 9AM or after 3:30PM for smaller crowds.
By design, we visited in the early evening hours. Why?
- First, we knew we only wanted to spend a few hours at the monument.
- Second, we expected the crowd would thin out around the dinner time hour.
- And third, we arrived to our Hill City, South Dakota home Rafter J Bar Ranch (Campground) around 3PM.
Mount Rushmore operates from 5AM to 9PM daily, at least during peak season…June, July, and August.
What is the Cost to Visit Mount Rushmore?
Zero, zippo…it’s FREE baby! Okay, well that’s close. Because this is a monument, there is a small charge for parking. Visiting the actual monument is free. Parking will set you back $10 which you pay at a ticket kiosk, so be sure to carry your ticket with you when you leave your car to walk over to the monument. Otherwise, you will get a few extra steps in.
Ten bucks does get you into the parking lot that is only steps away from the entrance to Mount Rushmore. So, at least you are close and not parking a quarter mile away. So, now you are parked and walking into the monument, what’s next?
Avenue of Flags
After passing through the entrance, you will walk down the Avenue of Flags. This reminded me of the World War II Memorial in DC. There is something special about seeing the state flags lined out paying tribute to the states that come together and make America an amazing country. Plus, finding one’s home state is special.
All the flags and states are arranged alphabetically, so the game of seek and find is pretty easy.
Hiking the Presidential Trail Loop
The Presidential Trail Loop is 0.9 miles long on a well kept paved path. There are a number of stairs so you can choose to hike clockwise (starting to the left of the memorial) or counter clockwise (to the right) depending on your desire to go down or up stairs. Clockwise will take you down the stairs. Crazy enough we (me) prefer to go up stairs. I find it easier on my knees.
Early into your stroll on the Presidential Trail, you will visit the Architect’s Studio. In the studio, you are treated a ranger talk about the creation and carving of Mount Rushmore and the scaled model Borglum used to direct the sculpting of Mount Rushmore. By today’s monetary standards, the team appears to have carved this wall of granite on a shoestring budget of $1 million.
Architect’s Studio
The model is sized at 1:12 where one inch equals one foot on the mountain. Using ratios workers were able to plot out exactly where to blast away, drill out, and carve the granite to sculpt this masterpiece. If I can keep this in mind I won’t get so frustrated next time I build a sandcastle. Workers brought this vision to life while working hundreds of feet in the air while handling dynamite and heavy equipment.
Over 400 men worked on the project during it’s 14 year construction period. Remarkably, no one died as a result of construction. Borglum did pass away from natural causes in 1941 and his son oversaw the final phases of the project.
Compressor Room
Giant compressors were used to power the tools used for drilling out the granite. I find the construction techniques and ability to overcome challenges amazing. It’s easy to get lost in computers, Google, chatGPT, and tools we have that make life easier today and forget that our minds are supercomputers. Unfortunately, we let the electronic tools take over our thinking and problem solving.
A couple of problems the crews solved for were power blackouts on Mondays and air lines freezing during the winter because of moisture. Investigations revealed the power blackouts were caused by laundry day on Monday. A gas powered generator helped solve that problem on the job site. During the winter a liquid gas was injected into the air lines to prevent freezing! Really cool problem solving!
Just Around the Riverbend…
My kids might finish that off by saying “there will be twenty more”…which became our inside joke for the week in the Black Hills and Yellowstone. The gist is visitors stop for the very first glimpse of something, anything (like a Bison), and traffic jams are created! In this case, just around the trail bend is another fantastic view of the monument. Each offers a slightly different perspective. Unless you are a photographer, trying to capture the nuance of each glimpse is overkill. Take in the sights and enjoy the experience as you hike this gorgeous area.
Ice Cream
After finishing our grueling hike of 0.9 miles (just kidding), we decided we earned at least a spoonful of ice cream. Because we arrived close to quittin’ time (Madeline that’s for you!), the ice cream scooping staff was more interested in cleaning up than customer service. This was the slowest place on earth. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever watched more teenage workers that excited to clean-up vs. scoop ice cream. So, we waited patiently!
The ice cream was delicious.
The Daily Light-Up
Each night as daylight gives way to darkness, the memorial is lit up to showcase an illumination of the sculpture. During the event, veterans are honored for their service. This sounds really fantastic. We noticed the support for our military and first responders to be very strong throughout both North and South Dakota.
We did not stick around to see the actual light up of the memorial, but I imagine it’s really special to witness.
Other Hiking Trails
Mount Rushmore offers several trails including:
- Horse Thief Trail – 4 mile trail
- Old Baldy Mountain Trial – 2.1 miles
Check out AllTrails for more details on those trails. We did not hike either, so I’m not 100% sure if these trails are worth your time and effort.
Why would Mount Rushmore be Underwhelming?
In the beginning, I mentioned some folks shared with us the memorial did not WOW them. How could that be? For us, our expectations were set low. So, it was easy to cross the bar. We envisioned a small carving on the side of rock. Instead we were treated to a larger than life carving into a granite mountain.
Our visit was well planned and timed! Thank you Sara! Planning to visit for about an hour. Going in with a mindset of we’re going to see what the memorial is all about and leave when we’ve seen it was a great approach for us. In our experience this was not a place someone needs to plan on spending all day. Certainly, I’m sure you could if you hiked all the trails, talked with the rangers, and basically immersed yourself in the park.
Finally, everyone carries a different history and perspective. We view the world and our experiences against our own prism, so what was amazing for us may not be for someone else.
Our Recommendation
We recommend visiting Mount Rushmore! Keep the spirit of the tourist trap alive!
This memorial is super cool and a great place to see a mix of art, history, and the beautiful Black Hills!
