The Best Places to visit near Mount Rushmore

Are you planning a trip to the Blackhills of South Dakota and wanting to know all the places to visit near Mount Rushmore after you have been visiting Mount Rushmore. Then make sure to keep reading to make sure you add all of these places to your list.

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Custer State Park

Located just 30 miles from Mount Rushmore is Custer State Park, it is the largest state park in South Dakota and first opened in 1912.

The park covers an area of 71,000 acres and is known for its wildlife, with a herd of 1,400 bison roaming throughout the park.

The most popular things to do in the park is to drive the wildlife loop to see the all the wild bison and other wild animals that roam freely in the park, to drive needles highway a 14 mile road through the forest and granite formations of the blackhills, with tunnels cut through some of them, with picture views of Mount Rushmore.

At the end of Needles Highway you will also find Sylvan Lake, another beautiful area of the park where you can relax by the lake or walk 1 mile around it or do a few longer hikes starting there.

Crazy Horse Memorial

Located 25 miles from Mount Rushmore and 11 miles from Sylvan Lake and the start of Needles Highway, you will find Crazy Horse Memorial. Similar to Mount Rushmore in that the mountain is being carved to create a monument to Crazy Horse, a Lakota war leader from the 19th century.

This monument was started in 1948 by Korczak Ziolkowski, who for many years worked on his own on the mountain. Even nowadays there are fewer than 20 people working on the mountain at one time.

Currently Crazy Horse’s face has been finished and they are working on his arm, that is stretched out and a finger pointing out over the Blackhills.

It is a great place to visit, with a museum and video to learn the history of Crazy Horse, there is also a viewing platform to see the mountain. For $4, you can get a van to see a closer view of the mountain or even pay a donation of around $120 to take a trip up to the face of Crazy Horse.

Wind Cave National Park

Located 50 miles from Mount Rushmore is the second most popular of South Dakota’s two national parks. Wind Cave National Park has just over 600k visitors each year.

Wind Cave National Park is not just a cave but the land above and around the cave is part of the park too, where you can hike or watch the wildlife in the park and the bison roaming the land.

It is free to enter the park and hike, but if you want to visit the caves and do one of the tours then it will cost you between $14 – $16 depending on the tour you choose.

It is best to book tickets in advance so that you are not disappointed when you arrive, especially around busy holidays and weekends, though half of the tickets are sold each day on a first come basis.

Deadwood

Located 50 miles north of Mount Rushmore. Deadwood is a town where you can experience what is was like in the gold rush in the 1800’s, with the main street virtually unaltered from the late 1800’s.

Deadwood is still a big gambling and drinking town, with old fashioned saloons and live entertainment on the streets of Deadwood. You can even see people acting out wild west gun fights on the streets.

If you want to experience the wild west for a night during your trip through South Dakota, then Deadwood is a must. Even some of the hotels have been restored to how they looked in the late 1800’s to give an even more authentic experience.

Jewel Cave National Monument

Located just 42 miles from Mount Rushmore and 30 miles from Wind Cave National Park, you will find Jewel Cave National Monument.

Jewel Cave is the fifth largest cave in the world with 215 miles of mapped passages, whereas Wind Cave is smaller and has 148 miles of mapped passages.

Jewel cave is known for its calcite crystals that cover the walls and that is how it got its name. Here you can do tours of the caves and it worth seeing both this and Wind Cave as the formations inside are different.

Spearfish Canyon State Nature Area

Located 56 miles north of Mount Rushmore and 16 miles from Deadwood, you will find the area of Spearfish Canyon State Nature Area. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful areas of the Blackhills of South Dakota.

Here you can see Roughlock Falls, Spearfish Falls and the Savoy Pond area which are all on a trail system connecting them, though this is quite a long hike. You are able to park at each of the 3 areas if you don’t want to hike between them.

If you continue north from Spearfish Falls towards Spearfish you will come across Bridal Veil Falls, a viewing platform has been built so that you can see this impressive 60 foot waterfall. It is best to visit it in Spring or early summer when the water is flowing much heavier.

Badlands National Park

Located 85 miles from Mount Rushmore is Badlands National Park, the most visited National Park in South Dakota with over 1m visitors every year.

The Badlands Loop is a 39 miles drive and is the most popular thing to do in the park, it has many stops, so that you can get out of the car and enjoy the views of the rock formations and prairie. If you get lucky you may even see the bison roaming free through the park.

If you want to hike then there are some small hikes near the Ben Reifel Visitor Center, if you are in South Dakota, then you certainly want to make sure to stop and explore Badlands NP.

Minuteman Missile National Historic Site

Located 100 miles from Mount Rushmore and opposite the North East Entrance to Badlands National Park, you will find the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site.

It was the site of 150 nuclear ballistic missile silos during the cold war. Nowadays you can learn the history of the site and the cold war and even visit one of the missile silos which has an unarmed missile inside it.

It is free to visit the site and to visit the missile silo, but it costs $12 to book one of the tours to explore the underground launch room.

The site is open Tuesday to Saturday from 9am to 3pm.

Devils Tower National Monument

Located 130 miles from Mount Rushmore and in the state of Wyoming you can find Devil’s Tower. It was the first US National Monument in 1906 and covers just 2.1 square miles.

Devil’s Tower is a natural rock formation caused by magma that was rising to the surface. Back then the earths surface was much higher, and over time the sediment around Devil’s tower has worn away and left this hardened magma.

Nowadays it is a popular attraction with just over 500,000 visitors each year. It costs $25 to enter the park in a car, though if you have an Annual National Parks Pass, it is free.

It is an amazing place to see up close and worth a visit if you are in the area.

Are there any other places that you think are great to visit that are near to Mount Rushmore, if so, let me know in the comments below.

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