Our Two Day Mount Rushmore Trip

A year or two ago, Bart mentioned that he’d never been to Mount Rushmore and that he would like to visit. 

We were surprised to look it up and discover it was only a 10 hour drive from our home in Utah and we put it on our short list of places to visit. 

Last year, we’d done Boise for a Memorial Day weekend trip and as this year’s approached, we decided it would be the perfect time for a quick trip to South Dakota. 

We headed out a little before lunch on Thursday and drove all afternoon, arriving in Casper, Wyoming at dinner time. We checked into our Airbnb (it was nothing fancy but fine for a quick overnight stop), took a walk around the neighborhood to stretch our legs and then went to dinner at The Railyard which took absolutely forever (and was pretty mediocre). 

We went home and tucked everyone into bed and got a good night sleep. In the morning, we quickly packed up and stopped at Copper Cup Coffee Co for a quick drive-thru breakfast. The savory waffles were INCREDIBLE – I’m still thinking about the pesto turkey one I had and definitely planning to recreate it at home. 

We drove through the morning, arriving in South Dakota around 1 p.m. and our first stop was the Crazy Horse Memorial as we drove in. We watched the movie about how it got started (between this film and the PBS documentary we watched about Mount Rushmore before our trip, it is clear to me that I have no interest in carving out a mountain) and then wandered through the Native American museum and then out to the viewing deck where there was a fun program going on of Native dancing (my girls were SO into it!). 

By now, everyone was starving, so we drove to Hill City for a little lunch at Downtown Deli & Bakery which was quite good! Many people had suggested the GuideAlong app where you buy a tour for the area you’re in and then when you pass certain points, it starts telling you about the history, suggests things to stop and see, and basically acts as an automatic tour guide as you drive. It picked up as we headed into Hill City and I was immediately a fan. 

After lunch, we walked along the main street planning to get some dessert but nothing was calling our name and we ended up spending a long time in Things That Rock. Our girls were entranced by all the rocks, gems, and beads. 

We hopped back in the car and got on the Needles Highway and into Custer State Park with the GuideAlong app telling us things to watch out for and lots of cool facts about the locations. When we got to Sylvan Lake, we stopped at the bathrooms and then went out to explore around the lake. The weather was perfect – cloudy and cool – and we had the best time scrambling over rocks. We passed the Sunday Gulch Trailhead which many people had said was terrific, but everyone was getting worn out so we headed back to the car and on to our lodging. 

I had wanted to go glamping for several years and when we’d looked up Airbnbs and hotels in the area, there weren’t a lot of good options nearby so Under Canvas seemed like the best choice. We checked in, got settled in our two tents and then went back to the main tent for dinner which was quite good! We gathered up s’more supplies from the front desk and then found a fire pit to make them with. It was chilly but by the fire it wasn’t bad and it was a perfect end to the day. 

I read aloud to the girls a few chapters of Little Town on the Prairie (especially fun because it is set in South Dakota – several people suggested we visit De Smet on this trip where Laura Ingalls and her family lived but adding another 10 hours of driving to an already driving-heavy trip just wasn’t palatable to me) before tucking everyone in and going to bed. 

It was CHILLY the weekend we were there – in the low 40s, very cloudy, and a fair amount of drizzle – and while the tents had stoves in them, unless you wanted to get up every 90 minutes to add wood, the temperatures in these tents were cold. We added extra blankets to our bed, layered up in sweatshirts and socks over our pajamas and it was still coooold. The water heating system in our tent also had a lot of issues so the water was ice cold (I showered in the girls’ tent the first morning and we never used the shower in ours at all because we just couldn’t get any warm water). 

We woke up early the next morning (like regular tent camping, it gets light EARLY plus the birds were going nuts) and Bart and I walked up to the observation deck where you can supposedly see Mount Rushmore but it was so incredibly foggy that we couldn’t see a thing. We walked back, all got ready and grabbed some hot chocolate at the reception and then headed out.

As we were driving out, the fog seemed to be clearing up a little so we decided we’d take a chance on Mount Rushmore. When we entered the park (which wasn’t very busy thanks to the fog), you couldn’t see a THING. We decided we’d try the Presidential Trail and see if it cleared up at all. And then, as we came around the corner, the fog cleared a bit and suddenly we could see the heads of the monument! It was surprisingly impressive and so fun to see. We kept going a bit and the clouds cleared almost completely with very crisp clear views. We snapped some photos and then by the time we got to the Sculptor’s Studio, the fog was back and the monument was invisible again. We felt so lucky! 

We head back to the visitor center and the girls did the Junior Ranger books and earned their badges while I read the plaques and we all went to the bathroom. 

Afterward, we headed to Bear Country USA which many people had recommended to me and we LOVED it. All the animals were fun, but we especially loved all the bears coming right up to our car and the baby bears were adorable and super active, wrestling and playing. (Many people also said they loved Reptile Gardens but we didn’t have time for both and the bears were the clear choice for us). 

By this time, Bart and I were feeling the effects of a poor night’s sleep and so we headed back to Under Canvas and the girls played games and painted their nails in their tent while Bart and I took naps. Once we were back in action, we decided to head to Badlands National Park. 

We’d really only had snacks for breakfast so everyone was HUNGRY by now and we stopped outside Rapid City for a late lunch at a Mexican restaurant (Ma Cualli) with great reviews. Even at 3:30, it was HOPPING but the service was incredibly fast and it was the best meal of our trip (I had the Ribeye tacos which were incredible. We also had some virgin Pina Coladas which were the best I’ve ever had).

And on to Badlands – we listened to Summer of the Monkeys as we drove until literally all of us drifted off except Bart (who, happily, was driving) and then we woke up just as we pulled into the entrance of the park. We saw tons of bison right up along the road, which was very cool, and we turned on GuideAlong to give us a route. We headed through the park aiming for the Door and Window hikes and stopped at the fossil hike to use the bathroom and then ended up exploring and climbing for an hour or more (much to the delight of the two little girls who were beginning to free range). It was crazy to be that close to the road and parking lot and yet to feel like we were in the middle of nowhere with no one around – it was SO fun and several of the girls said it was the highlight of the trip for them. 

When we got to the Door trail, we headed along the boardwalk to the “door” in the rock wall line and then dropped down into the rocks to go to the last yellow post that marked the end of the train. 

We wanted to make a quick stop at Wall Drug on our way back and it was closing soon, so we dashed back to the car and drove to Wall (it’s hard to miss – there are one million signs for it everywhere along the route). We were hoping for some fresh donuts but they were done by the time we got there so we just looked around for a few minutes and then headed on to Hill City to have dinner at Alpine Inn. 

We’d walked past Alpine Inn the day before when we were in Hill City and so many people had recommended it that we decided it’d be perfect for our last meal in the area. We ordered the filet mignon (the dinner menu only had two items) and it was terrific – one of the better things we ate on our this trip and then tried three different desserts (creme brûlée with raspberries, the famous bread pudding, and the brownie with pecan praline ice cream and hot fudge. They were all good but not noteworthy).

It was LATE by now so we drove back to Under Canvas, got the fires going in our tents again to get the tents at least a little warm before we went to bed and went quickly to bed. 

We slept better this night and woke up to pouring rain (there had been a bit of drizzle over the last two days but no real rain so we were glad it had held off until now), packed up and were on the road by 8 a.m. for a 10 hour drive back to Utah! 

It was such a fun quick trip and I hope we make it back again to do some of the many things we didn’t get to (plus spend more time at Custer State Park and Badlands National Park!). 

I also opened a question box about our trip – here are some of the things people wanted to know about our trip to Mount Rushmore! 

How long was the drive there?
From Provo, it was just over 10 hours

How many days total did you spend there? Did you feel like it was worth the cost to go? 
We were there about 48 hours so it was a quick trip but totally worth it. Because we drove, the cost wasn’t very much – about 4 tanks of gas! (And if we’d camped, it would have been very inexpensive). 

Would there be enough to do with littles? Or wait unit a bit older? He loves animals (4)
I think it’d be totally fun at that age! 

What were some of the other things you would have liked to have more time to do? Or was it just wanting more time in the places you went? 
Both! We could have absolutely spent a full day at Badlands and Custer State Park each. And I would have loved to do the President’s Walk in Rapid City (there are life-size sculptures of each US president), Storybook Island, Reptile Garden, Spearfish Canyon, Devils Tower, Jewel or Wind caves and more! So many people told me they spent a week in the area and didn’t run out of things to do! 

Where did you fly into? 
No flying on this trip – we drove it all! 

What prompted South Dakota? It is now on my list, but I hadn’t considered it before!
We’d talked about Mount Rushmore for the last few years and since it’s a manageable drive from home, it felt like a fun long weekend trip for us. And SO many of my readers said the Black Hills area was their all-time favorite family trip! 

Did you find anywhere cool to stop about 5 hours in? (Also coming from Utah)
Nope! Frankly, if we did it again, I’d just drive straight through instead of stopping in Casper. It burned up a lot of our time and it would have been better to get into South Dakota around 9 or 10 that first night and having more time in South Dakota. 

More about the GuideAlong app please!
Several people recommended this and when I went to download it, I realized I already had the app but had never used it (Jen on my team recommended it for Arches a few years ago). The app is free and then you find the tour you want and buy it. The Badlands/Mount Rushmore/Black Hills one was $25. You download it and then whenever you drive anywhere in the tour location, it’ll tell you what to look for, places worth stopping, and the history of the place. It is VERY cool and incredibly easy to use. We loved it in the Badlands and Custer State Park. Highly recommend and we’ll definitely be using it in other areas for future road trips! 

Do you bring a tripod to take family pictures or ask someone? 
We never bring a tripod – we just ask someone or selfie it! 

What did you pay for and what was free? 
Pretty much nothing was free – we paid for parking at Mount Rushmore ($10), entrance to Crazy Horse ($35 for the whole car), Bear Country USA ($80 for our car), and Custer State Park ($20 for our car). We did get into Badlands National Park for free because we have a National Parks pass, thanks to our fourth grader. 

What was the cost? 
If we’d camped, this would have been a pretty inexpensive trip. Glamping REALLY upped the cost (we could have stayed in a hotel for 1/3 the cost or camped for much much less). We paid for about 4 tanks of gas, a hotel would have been about $800 for two nights (with two rooms), food was a few hundred dollars, and entrance fees were about $150. 

How long would you recommend going for? 
Next time, I’d probably do 3-4 full days. (I also heard from tons of my readers who did a full week or even ten days and loved it). 

Was this an ideal time to go? 
I thought it was great – it wasn’t busy and the weather was nice and cool and with a jacket, it was perfect weather for hiking. So many people warned me that it was HOT but this early in the summer, it was gorgeous weather for climbing around. Frankly, if we’d been at a hotel where it wasn’t cold at night, it would have been ideal temperature wise! 

Did you glamp the whole time or stay anywhere else? 
We only stayed 2 nights in South Dakota and we glamped both nights. 

Where would you stay next time?
Probably at the Courtyard Marriott in Rapid City – it would have been about 1/3 the price of glamping plus you get access to the indoor water park which my girls would have loved. People also raved about the cabins at Custer State Park although my guess is you’d have to book those pretty far in advance! 

How much time do you need in Badlands? 
We could easily have spent the whole day there, but we did about 3 hours and that was pretty good too! 

What shoes did you and the girls wear for Badlands? Is it hard for 5 year olds? 
My girls all just had tennis shoes on and Bart and I both had our waterproof trail Nikes on. And I think a 5 year old would love it! 

Do you buy your kids souvenirs on your trips? 
Sometimes – we didn’t on this trip. 

Any other questions about our Mount Rushmore trip? Happy to answer! 

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