11 Tips For Visiting Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Mount Rushmore is one of the most famous landmarks in the United States, and it’s well worth a quick visit if you’re traveling through the Black Hills of South Dakota.

This national memorial features the colossal faces of four U.S. presidents carved into the rock. Aside from being visually impressive, it also has some neat history behind it.

Here are 11 tips for your first visit to Mount Rushmore!

1. Morning Is A Great Time To Visit

The best time to visit Mount Rushmore is in the morning. It’s less crowded, less hot (in the summer), and the lighting is great for photos.

This is the ideal time to take pictures of the monument. In the middle of the day, the lighting is more flat, and at sunset, the faces are covered in shadow.

We got there at 8 AM and this was perfect. We had plenty of time to wander the grounds almost alone, and take pictures without people in them. By 10 AM, the monument was already getting pretty crowded.

Avenue of the Flags

2. The Entrance Fee Is A Bit Confusing

Even though Mount Rushmore is administered by the U.S. National Park Service, the way it works is slightly different from the rest of the national parks and monuments.

There’s not an entrance fee at Mount Rushmore, but there is a parking fee. This fee is not covered by the annual or lifetime U.S. park passes, which seems a bit unusual.

You can check the current parking fee on the NPS website here. It’s well worth the cost, and you only need one ticket per vehicle. You can pay for it with cash or credit card at the gate.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

3. There’s A Night Lighting Ceremony

If you want to see a unique view of Mount Rushmore, the faces are lit up after dark every night of the year.

During the summer months, there’s also a lighting ceremony that includes a ranger talk about the presidents and the history of the United States.

You can check the seasonal hours for this on the NPS website here.

Note: Your parking fee at Mount Rushmore is valid for one year from the date you buy it, so remember to hold onto it if you plan to come back again later.

Night lighting ceremony (© Wikimedia / Public Domain)

4. It’s An Impressive Feat Of Engineering

The sculpture at Mount Rushmore is a huge and impressive feat of engineering.

Each of the heads are 6 stories tall. The noses are about 20 feet tall, and the eyes are about 10 feet wide.

Sculpting the monument in granite took 14 years, from 1927 to 1941. It involved almost 400 workers, and 90% of the mountain was carved using dynamite.

Even though the work was often dangerous, they managed to complete it without any of the men dying in the process.

Aerial view of the sculpting process old photo

Aerial view of the making of Mount Rushmore (© NPS / Public Domain)

Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of Mt Rushmore (© NPS / Public Domain)

5. There’s Some Neat History Behind It

Mount Rushmore was sculpted by Gutzon Borglum, who dedicated it to four key presidents of the United States: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.

Washington represents the birth and foundation of our country. Jefferson reflects the expansion of the country with the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the country in size.

Lincoln was chosen for the preservation of the country through the Civil War; and Roosevelt, for the development of the country as a world power leading into the 20th century.

Originally, Borglum’s plan was to sculpt the presidents with complete bodies down to the waist, but after he passed away in 1941, the monument was finalized with only their heads.

Smithsonian Magazine has an interesting article about the making of Mount Rushmore if you want to read it before you go.

I want to create a monument so inspiring that people from all over America will be drawn to come and look and go home better citizens.

Gutzon Borglum, sculptor of Mount Rushmore

The 4 presidents: Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, & Lincoln

6. It’s Pretty Easy To Get There

Mount Rushmore is a 30 minute drive from Rapid City, South Dakota, which has plenty of hotel options and a regional airport.

There’s lots of parking space at the monument since most people choose to drive to it.

There isn’t any public transportation to Mt Rushmore, but some companies offer guided tours if you want a live tour guide to handle the transportation, navigation, and itinerary for you.

Face of George Washington

7. It Doesn’t Take Long To Visit

If you’re in a hurry, it really doesn’t take much time to visit Mount Rushmore. You can do it in as little as 30 minutes.

Start your visit by walking through the Avenue of the Flags, which has 56 flags representing the 50 states, the District of Columbia, three territories (Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands), and two commonwealths (Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands).

Next, see the iconic view of the presidents’ faces from the main terrace, take some pictures, and get back on your way. Even a quick visit like this is much better than nothing!

If you have 1 or 2 hours, do all of the above and then walk the Presidential Trail, and top off your visit by spending some time at the Visitor Center to learn about the making of the monument.

Mount Rushmore is a famous icon of the USA. It was fun to see it!

8. Ranger Programs Are Available

There are ranger programs at the memorial throughout the day, and you don’t need a reservation to join them.

These include ranger talks that explain some history and information about the monument, a Lakota hoop dance performance on the main terrace, and other activities.

You can check the scheduling for these events on the NPS website here.

9. There’s A Hiking Trail

Yes, that’s right. There’s a short hike you can do at Mount Rushmore called the Presidential Trail, and it gives you a closer view of the monument from below.

This trail is a 1/2 mile loop that starts and ends at the main viewing terrace, and it can be done in 20 to 40 minutes.

Walking clockwise, the first 0.2 miles is flat and handicap accessible. The last 0.4 miles has 422 stairs, so it’s a bit harder, but it’s not as bad as it sounds.

Views from the Presidential Trail

This trail includes two unique viewpoints that are usually free from crowds.

One of these is the Borglum View Terrace, where Gutzon Borglum stood when planning the carving of Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

The other is the Historic View Terrace, which was one of the original viewing areas for Mount Rushmore.

Another place you’ll visit on this short hike is the Sculptor’s Studio, which is a nice little museum where you can learn some interesting details about the monument and how it was made.

Sculptor’s Studio

10. There’s A Museum & Gift Shop

The visitor center at Mount Rushmore has a small museum where you can learn about the making of the monument.

There’s an educational video that runs on rotation, and a room full of other exhibits that are interesting to look at.

Afterwards, there’s a nice gift shop near the entrance where you can buy Rushmore-themed shirts, hats, coffee mugs, magnets, and other souvenirs.

Museum at the visitor center

11. There’s More To Do In The Area

Aside from Mount Rushmore, there are lots of other great things to do in the Black Hills area of South Dakota.

Here are some ideas:

Custer State Park. A great place to go hiking in the Black Hills, or enjoy a scenic drive on the Needles Highway. You can see wild bison and other animals.
Wind Cave National Park. One of the longest cave systems in the world, and it’s also one of America’s oldest national parks.
Bear Country USA. An animal sanctuary where you can see baby and adult black bears, bison, and other animals.
Crazy Horse Memorial. This is a monument dedicated to the Lakota chief Crazy Horse. Work was started in 1948, and it’s still in progress, but it’s open to visitors in the meantime.
Black Hills Institute Of Geological Research. A nice little museum with some amazing dinosaur fossils, including a T-Rex.
Badlands National Park. This scenic and rugged park has some unique scenery. A good chunk of the park can be seen by driving, but there are also some fun hikes too, like the Notch Trail.