Mount rushmore what is there to do

Badlands National Park consists of a big area of colorful sharply eroded buttes and pinnacles, along with the largest undisturbed mixed grass prairie in the United States. The rugged beauty of the Badlands draws visitors from around the world to view its dramatic layered rock formations and steep canyons.

From camping and hiking to auto-touring and road-side observation areas, visitors to Badlands National Park are guaranteed countless outdoor adventures. The sixth-longest cave in the entire world, Wind Cave is located just a short drive from Mount Rushmore. With its majestic boxwork cave formations and adjoining acres of mixed-grass prairies, Wind Cave is the first cave in the world to be designated as a National Park. Ranger-guided tours of Wind Cave run the whole year-round.

Tickets are very popular and are sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Though there are no fees to drive through or hike in the park, there are fees associated with visiting the cave. You can find pricing, tour information, and important things to consider before taking a cave tour here. Located in Keystone, just 2,5 miles from Mt Rushmore National Memorial, this adventure park offers a variety of amazing family-friendly attractions.

RTA has something for everyone: an aerial adventure park, an alpine slide, a jump tower, a tubing hill, a zipline tour, and a scenic chairlift.

Practical information: Opening hours vary a bit per season, but in general the adventure park is open on weekends in May and September and daily in June, July, and August. Please note that the park is only open weather-permitting. Spearfish Canyon is a deep, but narrow gorge carved by the Spearfish River. The mile long Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway winds it way through the ft deep canyon and allows visitors a pristine view of multiple natural wonders.

Rock climbing, biking, hiking, and fishing are just a few of the activities that can be done throughout Spearfish Canyon. Our favorite experiences were the up-close-and-personal encounters with the beautiful waterfalls in the area. The Mammoth Site is not to be missed in the Black Hills! More than 26, years ago, dozens of woolly mammoths and other animals were trapped and died in a pond, which is now Hot Springs, SD.

The site was discovered during excavation for housing development and is now preserved as an active dig site and public museum. Mammoth Site Museum is fascinating and definitely worth seeing. There are hands-on dig experiences for children and knowledgeable guides that provide a fun and educational experience for the entire family.

More info here. Because of the large number of things to see and do near Mount Rushmore, as well as how spread out most places are, we recommend at least 4 days in the Black Hills. Just for clarity, the Black Hills is a nickname used to refer to the entire area around Mount Rushmore and all the attractions that are mentioned in this post.

If you have the luxury of having more time, you can easily spend up to 10 days in the Black Hills and you will not run out of things to do, especially if you enjoy hiking.

However, not everyone has a lot of time, and often visiting Mount Rushmore is the main reason for people to visit this area. To make your trip planning easier, I have some suggestions on how to best plan your time if you have just 1 to 3 days near Mount Rushmore. Take a look! If you only have one day in the Black Hills , I suggest visiting Mount Rushmore first thing in the morning, before crowds build.

You then have three options on how to spend the rest of the day in the area. The second option — ideal for families — is to spend the afternoon at the Rushmore Tramway Adventures adventure park.

RTA is also a great option, especially for families with kids. Alternatively, visit the Badlands National Park. There is a Visitor Center, several long and short hikes, and multiple scenic overlooks. You can spend just a few hours here, but the Badlands can take up to the whole day as well. It really depends on what you want to see and do there. If you have three days in the Black Hills, you can do everything mentioned in the 1 and 2-day itineraries above. So, your itinerary could look like this:.

TIP: If you are looking for even more ideas for your Black Hills vacation, here you can find a more detailed Black Hills itinerary for 4 days.

Whether you are searching for the best match for your experience or your budget, dozens of lodging options are available in the cities and towns surrounding Mount Rushmore. But what are the best places to stay for visiting Mt Rushmore? Staying in a local community such as Keystone , Custer , Hill City , or Rapid City , will not only give you quick access to Mount Rushmore but also to the many other Black Hills attractions. All can be found within miles from Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

Just 1. Using the map below, you can compare hotels, apartments, and short-term rental accommodations in Keystone, the closest town near Mount Rushmore.

Check it out! So, this was our guide to Mt Rushmore. I want to thank our guest writer Jen for this great blog post about visiting Mount Rushmore and all the amazing things to do in the Black Hills. In fact, there are guided tours from Denver that offer this type of itinerary. About the author.

Jen is an American travel writer. A planner by nature, Jen has spent the last 12 years planning fun, and hassle-free family vacations for her family of 5.

Her blog Travel With A Plan is a compilation of the planning and execution that has gone into making family vacations efficient, enjoyable, and memorable. Just go to the Badlands and thank us later. This post was sponsored by Travel South Dakota. Thanks to Travel South Dakota for inviting us to explore your amazing state.

As always all of our opinions are our own. Born in Deadwood, grew up in Sturgis. Having worked in the hills where my Dad had trail rides loved meeting all the tourists from all over the world. Keep on coming you are so welcome! BEEN 2X.. Belle Fourche pronounced Bell Foosh is the geographical center of the nation. With flags from all 50 states and walking trails near the Belle Fourche river. A very friendly little town with several antique shops.

Becky — That sounds like a great little spot, and we love the travel feel with all 50 state flags. I am planning a trip to the Mt Rushmore area. I hear that Crazy Horse and Deadwood are not that great compared to many of the other wonderful attractions in South Dakota. Any thoughts? If you are short on time you could easily skip them, but if you are going by them they are both great places to stretch your legs and check out. We went to crazy Horse the carving itself was not as good as Mount Rushmore but the information center and everything that goes along with it was much better I thought thin Mount Rushmore.

Instead of seeing sharks on the streets selling cowboy boots and cowboy hats everything was geared towards motorcycles.

I enjoyed seeing them. Deadwood is a cool looking western town with stores, hotel and casino and casino has a great buffet. Crazy horse is interesting because you can revisit and see the horse in the works. A long 3 day weekend should be enough time for most people, but you could fill a week if you like nature and parks.

This was a really great overview which is helping us to plan our trip! Thank you so much for doing all the explanations and recommendations! It has saved us so much time and we are so excited to follow your suggestions!!! South Dakota was one of the first stops on a mega road trip we took a few summers ago and we were blown away!

It has a little bit of everything and is a perfect trip for a family. The only thing we did not do on this list was Wind Cave since we went to Jewel Cave instead. I wish we made time for both, especially since Wind Cave is under the national park system. Where did you stay when you were there? Did you camp or hotel it? We stayed in hotels, different one every night. We are considering bringing our kids out for spring break in mid March.

Camping in camper etc. You should be able to find sites that stay open most of the year but the facilities will be more basic than the summer. Have a great trip! May, September and October are less busy and popular months to visit as well. Want to avoid the crowds? Consider visiting before a. Use the links below to plan your visit to Mount Rushmore and the surrounding Black Hills.

How do I get there? Visit this page for maps, directions and travel suggestions. Learn more about some of the places to go at Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Explore what you can do during your visit to Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Get information about the accessibility of Mount Rushmore's facilities.

Show 10 40 per page. Phones are answered from a.