Mt. Rushmore?

[paysensmom]

Anybody been there? My husband would like to take a vacation there this summer. Any advice on hotels or planning tips?
Thanks a bunch!

 

[akcire]

I can not express to you enough how much of a disappointment Mt. Rushmore was when we visited. Seriously, unless you have to be in Rapids City, South Dakota (from there it is 30-45 minutes) I would not bother.

Looking at the monument was a total disappointment after seeing Mt. Rushmore in movies. Get a copy of the 2nd National Treasure watch the movie and don't bother to go to South Dakota.

I am sure others will not feel the same way, but for us it was a total bust.

That is just my take.

 

[paysensmom]

That is pretty scary advice since I don't really want to go!! We went to Disney last summer and he hated it! He said he will never go back. He said he wanted tos e mt rushmore before it was gone! But, you made me really rethink it.

 

[dispor]

We went to Mt. Rushmore for our vacation this year. Mt. Rushmore was nice, but the Black Hills and the Badlands were GREAT.

I highly recommend the cabins in the State Game Lodge, located right in Custer State Park. We only spent one night there, but wish we had stayed more. The visitor center is directly across the road. The majority of our stay was at the Circleview Ranch (search for it on Tripadvisor). Very nice bed and breakfast in the Badlands. It is a working ranch, but we never saw any cattle - they were elsewhere on the 3000 acres!

Expect everything to be much farther apart than it looks on the map and for drives to take you longer than expected due to heavy tourist traffic, animals, curves, etc. I believe Needles Highway is 14 miles long and it took us close to an hour to travel it!!! Some of the hairpin curves are 5 MPH!! We went in mid June and had no problems with traffic.

Don't miss...

Iron Mountain Road (be sure to take this road TO Mt. Rushmore so that you can see the monument through the tunnels as you approach.)

Wildlife Loop - If you stay at the State Game Lodge you will be VERY close to the Wildlife Loop. Lots of wildlife - buffalo of course. And be sure to bring snacks for the wild burrows. Yes, you are allowed to feed the burrows. Do NOT feel the prairie dogs (or the buffalo - LOL!)

Needles Highway - Wow! A VERY curvy road along the edge of the mountains, tight passageways. Incredible!

Spearfish Canyon Drive - very scenic. For once, you'll be in a canyon instead of on the edge of a cliff!

Badlands - You MUST visit the Badlands while you are there. The most incredible landscape!!!! Looks like the surface of the moon. My kids could have spent DAYS climbing on the formations!!

Hope that helps. Be sure to search the forums here - that is where I got most of my planning information!!

 

[StephMK]

We drove up last Memorial Day weekend and loved it. Mt. Rushmore was really foggy that day so we only saw it briefly before the whole thing went into the clouds. However, one of the original workers was there that day so we bought his book & got his autograph. Same with Crazy Horse Memorial - foggy so the laser show was cancelled. However, the kids did the Jr Ranger badge at Rushmore & Badlands & we really enjoyed our time. I'm not a huge history buff but the films & museums were really interesting.

I second the Badlands rec!! That was our favorite part & just amazing. DD9 actually cried when we left because it was so beautiful. She also cried when her new Bobby Jack pjs didn't fit so take the crying with a grain of salt. But it was truly spectacular. Lots of driving.

I think your enjoyment will depend on what type of vacation you like & how old your kids are. My youngest is DS7, it was a lot of driving but he loves facts & learning so it worked for us. We like nature & drive through preserves looking at wildlife, etc. We liked driving & seeing the buffalo, taking tons of pics of the formations and reading about the memorials and their building.

There are not a ton of hotel or restaurant choices and mostly lower end from what we could find. We're casual so it worked for us but again, depends what kind of vacation you want.

 

[dewdropfairy]

We saw Mt. Rushmore on a 2 month road trip we took around the US. We went during the off-season so everything around was closed down. Still, we thought it was a cool stop! If I remember correctly we arrived in the middle of the night and pitched our tent at an unmanned KOA nearby. No one was even there to take our $! We drove to the monument the next day.

 

[lastminutemom]

We started at Mt. Rushmore, which we thought was beautiful and amazing, by the way and then weaved our way to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons through the Black Hills and Wyoming.

Awesome trip.

However, if your kids are really young, it probably isn't worth the long periods in the car....

 

[QT Pooh]

We also visited Mt. Rushmore as part of a trip to the Black Hills and Yellowstone. We stayed at the KOA in Rapid City at one of the camping cabins. Custer State Park and the Needles Highway are two of the things that are a do not miss. Take carrots for the donkeys! The kids loved feeding them.

Mt. Rushmore itself was cool to see, but the day we went it was pouring so we only stayed a short time. On the way back to Rapid City, we stopped at the Black Hills maze and had an awesome time (it had stopped raining). We also stopped at the very kitschy Wall's drug store and went to the Badlands on another day. So I would say, there are a lot of other things to do in the area and the black hills are really a pretty area. Don't just go there to see Mt. Rushmore.

 

[Stitch76]

My DH and I went on a road trip out west about 12 years ago, before the little ones came along.
We were VERY disappointed in Mt. Rushmore. It looks so much BIGGER on TV. Still neat to see once, but I wouldn't waste my time to go back to see it, unless I was already in the area.
We seen so much more interesting stuff on our trip to SD and WY.
Custer State Park in SD (drive through, a beautiful countryside, with thousands of free roaming buffalo, very inexpensive)
Bear Country USA in Rapid City, SD (drive through zoo, with lots of different animals, including BEARS, just be sure not to roll the window down to get a better pic. like DH did to me. I still think he was trying to get rid of me on that trip. They also have a nursery area where all the babies are, that you can get out and walk around to view them. If we are ever out west again, we will definitely go back to this place.)
Wall Drug Store in Wall SD (this place is near the Badlands, and worth the stop. Be sure to allow several hours to see.)
The Badlands (very cool, unless you lock your keys in your car while your there, then that kinda takes away from the experience.)
Deadwood SD (Mini Las Vegas, see the saloon where Wild Bill Hickock was shot, eat at Cody's for the best steak in your life, and play the nickel slots -we won a whole $7.00, which is quite a few nickels, and check out boot hill, where Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane are buried.)
Devils Tower in WY (as disappointing as Mt. Rushmore, but if your already in the area, it's kinda like why not. Neat to see if your a fan of Close Encounters of the 3rd kind)
Cody, WY (very cool town, they have a live gun fight reenactment on the town street every night, and a rodeo on the edge of town, I think every night too.)
Yellowstone Park (simply put, BEAUTIFUL!)
The Grand Teatons
Jackson Hole, WY (I did not get to tour here, my DH drove down to see the thousands of Elk that migrate here every year, no one told us it was the wrong time of year, so when we got there, no Elk. DH was mad, so we ended up driving straight through, but the part I did get to see looked like fun.)

Important note, just because it is warm where you live, does not mean it is warm there. We were very young and naive, and had not ever been farther than 200 miles from where we grew up in KY, when we decided to go on this trip.
When we left KY it was 100+ degrees (late June), and we packed my Camaro with a tent, and sleeping bags, shorts, tee shirts, and not much else. When we got to SD it was 50 degrees, when we got to WY it was 20 degrees, and they were in the middle of a snowstorm. We would consider it a BLIZZARD!!! in KY, they didn't think it was that bad. Did I mention we were in a CAMARO!! I was scared to death. Needless to say we had to stop and buy more supplies, warm blankets, and warmer clothes, and we did a lot of praying, on those mountain roads.

It was a trip to remember though. I would like to take the kids out west someday, but when they are much older. We ended up driving 2000 miles or so on that trip, not something you want to do with young kids. At least not mine. (The back seat would mysteriously be empty when we got back, and I would be taking a ride in a car with pretty blue lights on the top)

 

[gandycat]

We also visited on a trip to Glacier/Yellowstone/Grand Teton. I wouldn't drive to Mt. Rushmore just to see it but it was fun to stop on the way home. There are lots of things to do in that general area though. Custer was beautiful and the badlands are pretty cool. I agree though, lots of driving! Good luck deciding

 

[merrily]

We loved Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park and the Badlands. We actually went to Mt. Rushmore twice, once at night to watch the lighting ceremony and once during the day. The kids, 12 and 15 at the time also really liked it. It is pretty spectacular. We learned a lot about the building of the faces.

Custer State Park is s don't miss. The Needles highway is spectacular. We drove through a herd of hundreds of buffalo. They were literally right outside the car. I could have touched them(but don't do that!). My kids still talk about that as the coolest part of the trip. We visited Sylvan Lake which was in the filming of National Treasure 2.

We did not stay in the little town near Mt. Rushmore. We spent 2 nights in Custer, SD and one night in Rapid City before heading through Wyoming to Yellowstone. Devil's Tower is also not far away so you could visit that as well.

There are all sorts of touristy things to do in the area. One thing we did was go to a Chuckwagon dinner. That was a lot of fun.

Do a Google search and you'll find tons of info. I sent away for brochures and such from the South Dakota tourism website. Honestly, my husband was less than thrilled about going to this area and it turned in to one of the favorite parts of the trip for him. I think you'll have a great time!

 

[dizkids]

We went to Mt. Rushmore on July 3rd HUGE mistake..pick any other day. They start camping out in the morning for the night fireworks...it was raining foggy and couldnt see the mountain when we drove by but the fog lifted eventually and we saw it. We all thought THATS IT??? We had 3 families with us.

That wasnt the highlight of the trip but we did the Badlands that were great (kids LOVED them). We started in Denver and did day trips to Pikes Peak and Rocky Mountain National Park twice....these were both great. We also did Custer and the Wildlife Loop where we got out of the car and took pictures. We drove a lot but it was definitely worth it.

Denver by the way was great, too!

Lots of info on the boards here...start searching.

 

[3boymthr]

We did Mt. Rushmore as part of a cross country trip (28 states in 28 days). We had three kids at the time.

Definitely not a place to make as "THE" destination, but a great place to see as part of a tour of the area.

Other places we went:

Custer State Park - Awesome. We camped here. Totally worth it. The buffalo and other animals on the loop were great. They also have a lodge you can stay at which was beautiful.

Wall Drug store in Wall SD - right near Badlands NP. Amazing place to visit, especially with little kids. It's not just a drug store, it's this giant emporium with activities and a diner and souvenirs.

Badlands NP was amazing.

We drove from there to Yellowstone NP which took 14 hours in the middle of July.

There were a lot of other places to visit that were much closer, but we just didn't have the time:

Devil's Tower (ya know that place in Close Encounters of the Third Kind).

Cody

and much much more.

 

[Blue.Fairy2]

I would most definitely do Mt Rushmore totally disagree with those who did not like it.

Be sure to have all day so you can come back for the lights and the fireworks, that is the one thing we regret because we were on a tight schedule after having spent an extra day at Yellowstone,Tetons and JacksonHole.

We saw MtGoats grazing at the base of Mt Rushmore very neat.

Again I disagree with others on Devils Tower awesome very spiritual place do not miss the prayer cloths hanging in the trees along the paths.

And the prairie dogs at the base are amazing also.

http://www.nps.gov/deto/naturescience/prairiedogs.htm

I will post some pics later.

We would love to go back to the area and spend some more time there since we had so little would love to do Badlands and the areas surrounding when we have more time to spend and not feel so rushed.

 

[MagicalMawMaw]

I'm finding everybody's ideas really interesting as we too are thinking about visiting this area this coming summer.

I notice lots of you did a combine trip w/ Yellowstone. This is what I thought about at the first but was afraid we wouldn't have enough time in either place that way & would end up rushed instead of relaxed.

We plan on flying out a Sunday afternoon & fly back home that coming Saturday. Would that really be enough time to fly into Yellowstone area..spend a couple days..drive to Mt. Rushmore area for the rest of the time..or just stick w/ flying into Mt. Rushmore area & see the Badlands & everything around & stay in a cabin? Or is that too much time for this area?

I'd appreciate any imput for you folks that have been there.

 

[Blue.Fairy2]

I'm finding everybody's ideas really interesting as we too are thinking about visiting this area this coming summer.

I notice lots of you did a combine trip w/ Yellowstone. This is what I thought about at the first but was afraid we wouldn't have enough time in either place that way & would end up rushed instead of relaxed.

We plan on flying out a Sunday afternoon & fly back home that coming Saturday. Would that really be enough time to fly into Yellowstone area..spend a couple days..drive to Mt. Rushmore area for the rest of the time..or just stick w/ flying into Mt. Rushmore area & see the Badlands & everything around & stay in a cabin? Or is that too much time for this area?

I'd appreciate any imput for you folks that have been there.

My answer to that would be NO, you would regret only spending a couple of days in Yellowstone, Tetons and Jacksonhole! We were there on business and made it into a trip we spent 4 days at Yellowstone, Tetons and Jacksonhole and that was not near enough!

Here are some pics from Devil's Tower, Mt Rushmore: don't know why they are so large lol

 

[dispor]

I agree - I wouldn't try to do both areas in just one week. We only did the Black Hills. We spent 5 days and felt that there were MANY things that we missed (Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, Mammoth Dig, etc.)

We plan to make Yellowstone/Grand Tetons another trip.

 

[Blue.Fairy2]

I agree - I wouldn't try to do both areas in just one week. We only did the Black Hills. We spent 5 days and felt that there were MANY things that we missed (Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, Mammoth Dig, etc.)

We plan to make Yellowstone/Grand Tetons another trip.

Best plan! I took over 5,000 pics in the Yellowstone,Tetons and Jacksonhole area. We saw so much but I do not feel we even put dent in what we could have seen given another 3 days.

If we had it to do over...and we plan on it. We would spend at least one night at the Old Faithful Inn amazing architecture.

http://www.yellowstoneparknet.com/old_faithful/old_faithful_inn.php

 

[pixiedancr]

I'm really sad to see so many people didn't like Mount Rushmore. My dh grew up an hour away from there and yes he doesn't see it as anything exciting now but the first time you see it your breath should be taken away. We took our dd there a couple of years ago when she was 6 and she still talkes about it. Actually tour the museum and look at how much work actually went into making this beautiful monument. For 10 dollars(since it's a national park you only get charged for parking) it's well worth it. If you like flying check out the helicopter tours my FIL said it's the best we have not gone personally. Next time we go up we are going to do the train ride...I hear it's beautiful.

No this isn't going to be a trip where you go on rides and have to deal with crowds and lots of energy...instead it will be a relaxing vacation with beautful scenery. Most everything in the Black Hills, Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana is untouched. If you love the outdoors...hiking you are going to have a lot of fun. If you are in need for some high energy excitiment go to Deadwood and gamble a little.

As far as places to stay...when we go there we are at my IL's but there are tons of places to stay. Do not go anytime around the Sturgis Rally as there will be NO PLACE to stay. I would highly suggest staying in Rapid since it's the big city in the area. Deadwood has some nice places but they are expensive. My personal favorite is Hill City but that wasn't a hotel it was a ranch.

 

[3boymthr]

When we did this trip we were doing the whole COUNTRY so didn't have a lot of time to spend in any one place.

We did one day in the black hills area,

3 days in YNP. Which was plenty for Yellowstone unless you are going into the back country, but not plenty if you also want to see Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole

We did miss A LOT. but still felt we did well to see what we saw.

Do I regret it, no.

But... we also saw, Crater Lake, the alkalai flats of OR, the Snake River (with the Canyon that was jumped by Evil Knevil (sp?)), Redwoods NP, the pacific coast highway, LA, LaBrea Tar Pits, GCNP, PF NP, Mammoth Cave, Gracelands, and, and, oh, and trains, lots and lots of mile long trains .