Mount Rushmore

[VeloClone]

From Sylvan Lake you can hike up to Harney Peak. I believe it is the highest peak East of the Rockies, if i remember correctly. Make sure you dress for weather changes, though. When we last hiked it, it was early in the season (before Memorial Day) and we got rained and hailed on. It was probably only dime sized, luckily. There was so much hail that it covered the ground like snow. We saw some ill prepared couple (her in just a short sleeved t-shirt) running down the slope as they weren't prepared for the weather.

When I was a little kid, our whole family hiked it, so it shouldn't be too strenuous for your 8 year old as long as you are all in reasonably decent shape.

 

[MeanDean]

Last time I was there the vegetation around the Crazy Horse entrance had grown enough that you could not longer see it without going inside. There was a place along the road you could see it from a long ways away. Maybe there is a way to see it without paying from another road, but we didn't try all that hard. We saw it up close in 1976 and I can honestly say it doesn't look much different today.

Custer State park with the buffalo grazing right up by the road was very memorable.

If you need a break en-route, I thought the views overlooking the Missouri River at Chamberlain and also Lake Oahe (Sp?) above Pierre were spectacular. Of course Pierre is not right on the way. And I grew up along the Mississippi so take it for what it is.

Both of the last times I went I came back on 2 lane roads. You can comfortable drive 65-70 and you see a lot of countryside. That might be boring for kids, though. Avoid the Rosebud reservation unless you like to be depressed and see trash in yards and curr dogs everywhere.

 

[c.y.c.l.o.n.e.s]

Another good side trip from the Black Hills is to go down to Hot Springs. Kids love the mammoth fossils.

Our kids enjoyed Wind Cave, Mammoth exhibit, etc.. Probably one of their favorite things was spending an afternoon hiking around and swimming in Sylvan Lake. Has your daughter seen National Treasure: Book of Secrets? Good, clean adventure movie for the 8-13 year old crowd. Part of the movie was filmed there and she would probably find it fun to walk around on the same rocks as Nicholas Cage.

I was standing in line with a local person and she said that the folks that were carving out crazy horse were intentioally taking their time getting it done because they think that once it is finished, people will just drive by to see it without paying for anything. No idea if that is true or not.

Watch for rattlesnakes if you climb around on the rocks in the badlands.

 

[VeloClone]

Last time I was there the vegetation around the Crazy Horse entrance had grown enough that you could not longer see it without going inside. There was a place along the road you could see it from a long ways away. Maybe there is a way to see it without paying from another road, but we didn't try all that hard. We saw it up close in 1976 and I can honestly say it doesn't look much different today.

This video shows quite a bit of progress since '76. Especially the face of Crazy Horse. It still is a painfully slow progress, especially since they refuse to use anything but private donations and proceeds from admissions and gift shop sales.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25LJjPdhNyE]Crazy Horse Mtn 1948 To 2009 Progress - YouTube[/ame]

 

[galactawitz]

First I don't know how anyone said least favorite vacation of all time. We took a 3 and 7 year old there two summers ago and they had a blast.

I don't know if anyone mentioned Story Book Island yet. It is a free park with lots of statues of Fairy Tail Characters, including Disney ones. The kids loved it, and again it was free.

The neat thing about the area is if you want to do tourist trap type stuff, you can, if you want to simply catch some awesome scenery you can't get anywhere else you can, if you want to gamble, you can, or if you just want to relax you can. Some stuff takes a little driving to get to, but I'd say there is stuff for all ages. Highly recommended!

 

[RING4CY]

Home

 

[Palmer]

Don't forget to cross over into Wyoming and see Devil's Tower.

 

[c.y.c.l.o.n.e.s]

This may seem rather obvious, but make sure that you are not planning to be there at or near the same time as the Sturgis rally. You probably wouldn't find a place to stay anyway.

 

[Jonecy]

This may seem rather obvious, but make sure that you are not planning to be there at or near the same time as the Sturgis rally. You probably wouldn't find a place to stay anyway.

Very good advice & the rally is always the 2nd week in August for those that don't know. It gets pretty crazy in the hills during this time and it definitely isn't an ideal time if you're taking a young family.

 

[becrisgreg]

One other South Dakota suggestion with an 8 year old girl if she is into the Litte House on the Prarie books or TV shows - spend a night in DeSmet on the way up/back. My then 7 and 9 year old daughters loved it last summer when they went with my wife and their grandmother.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

Here are a couple of pictures

 

[sdcyfan]

So my 8 year old daughter asked me the other night if we can go see Mount Rushmore. I was thinking we could go this summer some time. Anybody here have ideas of what else we can do on our trip?

I live in Rapid City. Mt. Rushmore is roughly 35-40 minutes away from Rapid. I don't know how many days you plan on staying out here, but I would suggest you make a day out of touring the southern Black Hills which include Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, Reptile Gardens, Bear Country, Needles Highway,Custer State Park and their Game Lodge, Wind Cave National Park, Custer, Hearney Peak, Sylvan Lake, and Keystone. All of which are within 5-35 minutes away from Mt. Rushmore. If visiting Mt. Rushmore for the first time I also suggest you take the scenic route. The road is called Iron Mountain Road which was specifically built as a scenic route to Rushmore. It does take a little longer, but definitely worth it. You get on Iron Mountain Road in Custer State Park right as you enter the Park at the East entrance and it takes you through the park, you get to see the buffalo, and as you get closer you will have visuals of the faces from far away and there is many scenic overlooks where you and your family can get out for pictures. It is quite the drive and as you get closer you will experience the "pigtails" part of the drive and then Rushmore is right around the corner. I would stay in Rapid City if you're staying in a hotel as it is in the center of the Black Hill and its attractions. There are other hotels throughout the Black Hills but if you are looking for quality, Rapid City is where you should stay. The Northern Hills would be another day. Deadwood, Spearfish and Spearfish Canyon, and Devils Tower would be included in this. Deadwood is more of the adult atmospere but is also family friendly with all of its western history. They do the shooting of Wild Bill daily at Saloon 10 in Deadwood. This is not the original saloon where he was shot, but has a real western feel to it. Devels Tower is a ways away(about 2 hours away from Rapid) but if you're looking to get all of the Black Hills in you better check out Devils Tower. It is really a unique sight. Sturgis and Bear Butte is also on the way to Deadwood. Sturgis is where they hold the annual Harley Davidson Bike Rally. One of the largest in the nation. If you have any other questions feel free to PM me. Hope you and your family enjoy the Black Hills!

 

[CascadeClone]

We did this trip when the kids were younger, maybe 8 & 12. This was nearly a decade ago, now.

Custer State Park was incredible. Just beautiful. Drive around, yes, but stop and hike around as well. You can get pretty alone and amazed very quickly. One trail goes straight down a ravine, following a splashy mountain creek. Best thing we did. It's the only thing I would go BACK to do again.

Rushmore is cool, and very patriotic. But somehow a letdown compared to Custer - more of something to see, rather than do. But we didn't hike up around the heads on the tour, I think you can do that.

Badlands was also amazing. We didn't have lots of time, and IDK what kind of hiking around you can do, but the views are just stunning. It's another planet.

We did the Mammoth thing, and the Reptile Gardens. Mammoth was very lame IMHO, but the wife loved it. Reptile Garden was very cheesy, but the guy did wrestle around with freaking crocodiles (or alligators, maybe). And he got knocked down and it didn't go as planned, you could tell he was scared to death. That was something.

Wall Drug - well, if you consider a trip to the Jordan Creek Wal-Mart exciting, then Wall Drug is for you.

Almost forgot the Corn Palace halfway there in SDak. Never has anything been named more appropriately. If you are going that way, it's on the way and worth a short stop, esp if you grew up in Iowa or have anything to do with farming. It won't change your life or anything. There's a lot of corn stuff there, and you will leave thinking "wow, there was a lot of corn stuff there". That's about all I can say.

 

[aauummm]

As a maybe 8 or 10 year old kid, I thought deadwood was the coolest part of the whole trip. The corn palace was corny (pun intended), badlands were beautiful, crazy horse was pretty neat. When we went on the trip I recall how dumb I thought it was, but in retrospect I did have a good time.

There was one place where you could feed prairie dogs peanuts, and I got pretty close to one and threw the peanut a ways away from the den so he had to run and get it. Wouldn't ya know, that sucker got eaten by a hawk just a few yards in front of me? That was probably the highlight of the trip for me. That or my dad bought me a schrade old timer which I accidentally maimed myself with a few years later.

The prairie dogs at Devil's Tower are really great, kids love throwing them peanuts (and me too).

 

[aauummm]

In four days around easter last year during govt free week with no tourists to speak of, I went to see the cool Journey Museum in Rapid, free Devils Tower in the snow, free Rushmore, gold mine and casinos in Lead, Crazy Horse ($20 car - very nice museum included), Carhenge on way back, Wall Drug (not free), free Badlands, free Wind Cave (one of two longest in the world), free Mitchell Corn Palace on way out (circus animals were a bonus), motorcycle museum, $6 bumblebee pie at Purple Pie Palace in Custer, and Mammouth Park fossils in Hot Springs. Drove different roads the whole time. If you want to go bowling, visit Sundance, Wy (inside jojke - I was stuck in Sundance as a kid for a few days when family trailer had a problem on our way to Yellowstone.)

It was national park free week.
U.S. National Park Service National Park Week
The only thing that I paid for fed sites was parking at Rushmore which has a bonded parking garage


Bobkat's Purple Pie Place, Custer - Restaurant Reviews - TripAdvisor
605-673-4070

Good one! I had to stop there to pick up a blueberry pie!