There's a lot of history and culture that you can learn in the visitor center but that's as far as…read moreyou can go. You can see the monument from the visitor center inside only unless you pay extra to ride the "tour bus" ($5 per person) on top of the admission price being per person. The eatery closed at 4pm which we had planned to grab a snack so that was disappointing. There was plenty of parking and the visitor center was beautifully well done. I was also very happy to support the center and pay admission, but I don't feel like it was clear how far away you'd be. It felt more like just going to a museum. The clarity on what your experience would be was not explained or labeled clearly at the entrance which is why I gave the experience a 4.

Hint - pull over on the shoulder before you get to the pull off. The pull off is surrounded by…read moretrees and you can't see the memorial. From the pull off you have to get out of your car. I swear if I was Gates/Bezos/Kardashian rich, I would donate however many millions was required to finish this sculpture. It's a shame we have 4 presidents carved into stolen tribal land and there is no money to finish this.

Just Go (#17) My…read morefirst time in the State of South Dakota was a little over 10 years ago. We spent one day that day on 4/10/14 and explored the following sites: Mt Rushmore - what a sight to see as we arrived at the park super early to be the first ones to wander amongst giant presidents -- the majestic figures of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Minuteman Missile National Historic Site - about 1.5 hours from Mount Rushmore we visited the hidden sites of the Cold War nuclear arsenal. We took the Delta-01 Launch Control Facility Tour that included the missile silo at Delta-09. We were able to see Delta-09 in all its glory staring at us. Just amazing... Badlands National Park - less than 10 miles from the Minuteman Missile is the colorful buttes, spires, and the rugged beauty pinnacles of this underrated park. Unfortunately, because of our tight schedule we didn't get a chance to explore as much as we would've wanted to. This July 4th, 2024 we revisited the Great State of South Dakota. We enjoyed the celebrations, cultural demonstrations and presidential performances at Mount Rushmore then that evening we watched the traditional monument lighting ceremony. Thank you, Great State of South Dakota! Review #3473

Loved my 2021 road trip, thank you South Dakota for keeping this state a true American state, love…read morehow well you honor and respect our American flag, and what our founding fathers have fought for! Love that everywhere we go only the American flag stands alone!!! Most of all how your conservative and moral values are still practiced and respected here! PROUD to be an American and stand by God and my constitution!

Flew into Custer, South Dakota, for a one-night stay and came across this cool restaurant--and I'm…read moreglad we did! The bar is great: spacious, comfortable, and with plenty of drink options. The food menu is somewhat limited, but what we ordered was really good. I started with a non-alcoholic Lagunitas Hazy IPA, which was excellent. It had some refreshing fruity notes and was a great choice. I ordered the orange chicken. It was well done and definitely good, although it didn't quite have that "wow" factor. My buddy ordered the small nachos with added beef, and those were absolutely the way to go! The "small" size was huge, loaded with toppings, and packed with flavor. I sampled a few and would definitely recommend them. There wasn't any live music on Friday night when we visited, but it looks like they have live music fairly often throughout the week, which would be a fun bonus. Service was excellent--friendly, attentive, and helpful with recommendations. If you're in Custer, this is definitely a place worth checking out!

Over all, a solid evening that included a nice selection of tap beer, great food, and pretty dang…read moregood live music

Free WiFi. Bathrooms. Info. Reasonable place to work for a bit. Electric car and RV charging.read more

From the owner: The Custer Area Chamber of Commerce will promote a positive business climate by encouraging…read morecommunity unity, growth and development. When you're up for adventure, stay in Custer, South Dakota and be minutes-not miles-from the best climbs, trails and family fun of the Black Hills. Located on the edge of Custer State Park, Custer and the surrounding area offers travelers unique lodging, dining and shopping opportunities, as well as unlimited family fun. This uncrowded mountain town is a natural playground for all adventure seekers. Plus, you're just minutes from Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, and Jewel Cave National Monument.

Worth it, ya'know! Sooo much top attractions here. The…read moremonumental Mt Rushmore, the friendly wilderness of the Custer State Park's wildlife loop, the awesome tranquility of Sylvan Lake, last but not least Crazy Horse's construction. And who could forget, the ominous night of Needles Hwy. I needed more than 1 day to soak it all in. Glad there are restrooms throughout this NF, along with some water bottle refill stations, cuz all this roadtrip sightseeing sure works up a thirst. Almost collided with a deer on my way out of Black Hills NF. We both swerved away each other simultaneously O_O My 5th animal crossing this trip! On your way to Black Hills, don't forget to pack fresh apples and carrots beforehand ;) Believe it!

Black Hills National Forest is so beautiful! We hiked the 7.1 mile hike to Black Elk Peak starting…read morefrom Sylvan Lake. The views are spectacular and we even got lucky and saw a mountain goat at the top. If you do this hike, I would recommend hiking shoes, a hat, and a water pack to stay hydrated.

South Dakota has more than just Mount Rushmore!! We spent a few wonderful and relaxing days in…read morethis beautiful state. Of course, everyone must visit Mount Rushmore when they come to South Dakota!! For me personally, it was a dream come true to see Mount Rushmore in person. A couple of other highlights including visiting Crazy Horse and the town of Deadwood. The Crazy Horse Memorial is still a work in progress. By the time it finishes, it will be the largest mountain carving in the world. Deadwood gained fame back in the 1800s Gold Rush era. It is the town where Wild Bill Hickok was killed. There are plenty of attractions in town. They've preserved the town quite well as can be seen in the architecture. You can even gamble. They've got casinos with slot machines and table games. Kind of feels like old school Vegas. Would love to visit South Dakota again in the future. 3 nights was not enough time to spend in the Mount Rushmore State. Next time, we need to visit Badlands National Park. Mount Rushmore deserves more than one visit in a lifetime. Oh, and I also need to eat more of their official State dessert called Kuchen. It tastes fantastic!!

We had a fun couple of hours going through the old buildings and looking at the old time…read morememorabilia. There is so much to read and learn about the Old West. Staff was very nice and helpful. We definitely would bring others here. It was a lot of fun. Excellent photo opportunities.

So much fun, only a couple of other people here so we could walk around feeling like we owned the…read moretown, get great photos and read all the interesting snippets of historic information scattered among the thousands of artifacts. The owner is dressed up as Poker Alice, and looks like her. There is a town building for everything, over 50 in total. The town is designed around history, humor and old fashioned horse sense. The doors of the buildings are open so people can experience the feeling of pioneer living. This really is an amazing acquisition of artifacts, junk and dust down to meticulous detail. It's wonderful and worth every penny to get in. If you are expecting a fancy museum all pristine and clean then you and your granola need to stay at home. Pioneer living was a grim dirty business.

This was an incredible tour of the Badlands led by Kare Bear, the best tour guide ever! She has a…read morewealth of knowledge, a great personality and kept us going with jokes and fun stories. She asked us where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see and we saw it all, from bears to deer to Prarie dogs to incredible views that allowed us to take great pictures, see movies at Visitor Centers and of course by souvenirs. As a group of 6 each one of us took a boatload of pictures of incredible images of rocks and animals and more. The tour itself was great, but Kare Bear made it a 10-star

Black Hills Above and Beyond is wonderful! You get some of the most incredibly beautiful scenery in…read morethe USA, along with the very best person in the USA--Kare Bear--to keep you entertained the whole time. There isn't a better experience anywhere for travelers!

Great tour of Casper State Park, Crazy Horse Monument and Mt Rushmore with Chris. Chris was very…read moreknowledgeable and responsive to what we wanted to see. Highly recommended!

Our guide John was fabulous and made the day one of the best tours I've ever been on. We only had…read more1 day to see all the sites in and around Rushmore. He was very knowledgeable and really had a passion for his tours. And the tour was just our family so we could personalize it to whatever we wanted to do. We went to Custer state park, crazy horse, Needle highway, iron mountain highway and Mount Rushmore. I can't imagine doing the day without this tour. He shared all the inside info with us too which left us with s slew of knowledge and great photos too! Definitely look into Geofuntours before you book on one of the big bus tours. I am certain you'll be happier with this one! (And it's like the same price too-what a deal)