After getting settled in at Sheridan Lake Campground, just outside Hill City, South Dakota, we dug in and completed our first week of camp hosting. (We’ll go more in depth on our camp hosting job in an upcoming blog and video). Determined to make the most of our relatively short time in the area, we set out on our first day off to explore Mt. Rushmore.
Neither of us had ever been to this part of the country, so we weren’t sure what to expect out of our visit. The drive in through the Black Hills was gorgeous, and as we passed through the quaint town of Keystone, we made a mental note to return to the town and explore it more.
Driving up the highway past Keystone, we got our first glimpse of the monument, four stoic faces gazing out across the Black Hills. At that moment, the impact of the monument, the men memorialized on it and all they stood for hit us. It was, literally, breathtaking.
Even though we had purchased a National Park Pass, it still cost us $10 to park our truck. That was our only cost for admission, though, and we figured it was a fair price (compared to the $28 per vehicle fee to get into Crazy Horse, but that’s another blog story as well).
Upon entering the main concourse of the monument, we visited the Information Booth and rented wands that provide a self-guided tour. We highly recommend getting these if you visit. It includes a map of the entire premises including the Presidents Trail, and has numbered stops along the way. At each numbered stop, you press a corresponding number on the wand and a narrator relates information regarding the building of Mt. Rushmore, the creator himself, and a look at each president memorialized on the monument. It’s a great history lesson!
If you are able, stroll along the President’s Trail. It’s about a mile walk, round trip, with 275 stairs to negotiate along the way. It isn’t particularly strenuous, but it could cause issues for those who have limited mobility or foot, knee or leg issues. The trail is not wheelchair accessible.
The trail takes you to a large terrace with a great view of the monument, and rangers are on hand to give discussions about the building of the monument and to answer questions. The next stop is the sculptor’s studio, which has a wonderful little bookstore. The rest of the trail has turnouts and benches where one can sit and ponder the work of each of these presidents and the remarkable things they contributed to the history of our nation.
Looking up from the trail, you can see the cut marks in the stone of the monument and even see drill marks in the rubble, from where builders had to drill into the rock and insert dynamite for blasting. At the far end of the trail, one is standing directly beneath the monument and literally able to look up their noses!!
We finished off our day by rewarding ourselves with some ice cream at the cafe. The terrace has a beautiful view of Mt. Rushmore, and they serve Thomas Jefferson’s original vanilla ice cream recipe from the 1700s. We knew we had him to thank for being the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, but we had no idea we also owed him our thanks for creating our favorite sweet treat!
The creators of Mt. Rushmore wanted the monument to instill a sense of patriotism among those who came to visit, and it really does! When you sit and gaze upon the monument, and reflect on each of these remarkable men and their accomplishments, it touches something deep inside and nearly brings a tear to your eye.
The entire grounds of Mt. Rushmore can be fully explored in half a day or less, leaving plenty of time in an afternoon to go back and explore the nearby town of Keystone.
If you’d like to see more of our visit to Mt. Rushmore, check out our YouTube episode:
