Mount Rushmore Extended Expedition Tour
Black Hills Day Trips:
Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, & Custer State Park
The Black Hills of South Dakota is a small and isolated mountain range located in the southwest part of the state. Touring the Black Hills leaves one refreshed and invigorated by the beauty and openness of the outdoors and inspired by the accomplishments of those who came before us.
We love the Black Hills and have a close connection to it through work, family and friends that make the Hills there home. We love people and the Hills and telling people about the rich history and showing them the unique beauty and wildlife of this area.
Our all-day Black Hills Day trip takes you through all the major and important areas of the southern Hills that make this area so unique. Our Day Trip tours allow you to enjoy the beauty of the Hills as we wind our way through the Black Hills, but we also narrate the rich history of the area. Listed below are the destinations we visit on our all day tour.
Depart:
Depart Rapid CIty
We depart Rapid City, the second largest city in South Dakota, located along the eastern slope of the Black Hills.
First Stop:
Mount Rushmore
We travel through Keystone, a small community that sits in a valley at the base of Mount Rushmore National Memorial. It had its start as a mining town in 1883, but since has been transformed into a fun little resort town that serves the many visitors to the area each year.
As we enter Mount Rushmore National Memorial at the edge of Keystone, we begin our climb to Mount Rushmore at 5,725 feet above sea level to view the four presidents chosen to be memorialized.
Second Stop:
Crazy Horse Memorial
Next we wind our way over to Crazy Horse Memorial passing by Horsethief Lake, a beautiful mountain lake, and Black Elk Mountain, the highest peak in SD at 7,244 feet above sea level.
Crazy Horse Memorial is the largest carving in the world, depicting the Oglala Lakota war chief, Crazy Horse, riding a horse and pointing to his tribal land. Housed within the Crazy Horse Memorial complex, is the Indian Museum of North American.
Third Stop (Lunch):
Custer
Next stop is in the small town of Custer for lunch. Custer is the oldest and first permanent settlement established in the Black Hills by European Americans. You’re on your own for lunch here, having the opportunity to choose the restaurant of your choosing.
Fourth Stop:
Custer State Park
Next stop is Custer State Park, a 72,000 acre state park and wildlife refuge. The park is home to a herd of 1,500 bison and a variety of other wildlife that roam free over the varied terrain that includes rolling prairie grasslands and rugged mountains.
Fifth Stop:
Iron Mountain Road Summity
Next stop is the Iron Mountain Road Summit. From the summit at 5,450 feet above sea level, we are at the same elevation as Mount Rushmore which can be seen in the distance across the valley below. A breathtaking view! To get to the summit, we drive through the Norbeck Wildlife Preserve along the Iron Mountain Road, purposely built to connect Custer State Park and Mount Rushmore and provide beautiful views of Mount Rushmore along the way. The Iron Mountain Road is one of the most unique roads in the entire United States as we traverse through three tunnels, navigate up and down switch-backs and pig-tail-bridges!
Return:
Returning to Rapid City
Our last stop is in Keystone to drop off any guests before returning to Rapid City and dropping you off at your pickup place between 4:00 – 5:30 pm.