You are here:
Scenic Dakotas Home >> South Dakota >> Mount Rushmore

Visit Mount Rushmore
Pictures and Information

The next day after waking up in Custer Mountain Campground, we took off to find Mount Rushmore. We figured that early morning pictures would be the best time of day for the faces.

We headed into Custer SD on Hwy 16 then turned in the middle of town and followed Alt 16 north.

The trip to see Mt Rushmore is very scenic, and we saw several more campgrounds, like the Custer Crazy Horse Campground, and souvenir shops on the way.

Mount Rushmore sign

Our first peek at the monument was on highway 16a, after we passed Crazy Horse Mountain. The hubby spotted one of the faces to the left of us.

We turned on Hwy 244 and headed to our goal for the roadtrip. In 9 miles we'll be able to see Mount Rushmore. We passed a huge KOA Campground nestled in a valley, and they had horse stables there. The elevation of Mount Rushmore is about 5,600 feet. On the way up we started seeing jagged rock formations that looked really cool. Here's another view.

Mt Rushmore view

We followed the winding road and then we saw Mount Rushmore! We also saw a sign that said, $8.00 to park. So the drive through is free, but if you want to park it's 8 bucks.

Since there was no one else here at 8 in the morning, we turned around several times to get some more pictures. Leaving the same way we came in, they have a turnaround where you can take a profile picture.

On the way back to Custer, I took more pictures of the campgrounds, and also found a place where you can take a helicopter ride for $35.00. Please note that the last time we were here in 2012, the price went up to $49.99 for an Introductory Ride.

You can also take the train ride to Keystone from Hill City, or take a balloon ride to see Mount Rushmore.

Watch the video of our Mt Rushmore drive-by

Here's a more recent video we made in September 2012. We included Mount Rushmore in this video, along with other fun stuff we did. We called it: Fun in the Black Hills.

More Pictures Near Mount Rushmore

-a tiny car sitting on the side of the road.... tiny car
-the sign for the Horsethief Lake Campground... Horsethief Lake Campground sign
-The Rafter J Bar Ranch mountain Resort entrance... Rafter J Bar Ranch entrance
-Highway 16 - 385 sign leaving Mount Rushmore... Highway 16 - 385 sign
-Fine Black Hills Lodging, The Lodge Palmer Gulch... Lodge Palmer Gulch sign
-Beaver Lake and French Creek Campgrounds signs... Beaver Lake and French Creek signs
-a popular antique store on hwy 16a north of Custer... antique store... another view
-the sign for the Buffalo Ridge Best Western in Custer... Buffalo Ridge Best Western
-Heritage Village Campground sign... Heritage Village Campground sign


Thanks for visiting ScenicDakotas.com
Photography © Vlad and Carol in Tripp, SD
Questions about this website? Email us at: ckononov@aol.com