Over Winter Break we headed off to South Dakota to visit Mount Rushmore! Mt. Rushmore has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. Since we are no strangers to road trips, when we realized it was only a 7.5 hr drive, we started planning out our trip!
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore, a granite batholith formation in the Black Hills in Keystone, South Dakota.
The monument was Sculpted by Gutzon Borglum and his son, Lincoln Borglum. Mount Rushmore features 60-foot sculptures of the heads of four United States presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The entire memorial covers 1,278.45 acres and is 5,725 feet above sea level.
The carving started in 1927, and ended in 1941 with no fatalities. I was so impressed with this, seeing as how 90% of the carving was done with dynamite! Historian Doane Robinson conceived the idea for Mount Rushmore in 1923 to promote tourism in South Dakota. Nearly three million people visit Mount Rushmore each year. The busiest months are June, July and August. May, September and October are less busy and popular months to visit as well.
Since we went in December there were far less people than if we went during the summer. But for December there were quit a bit of people. We explored everything there was to do in the area. I would highly suggest checking out the museum underneath, it gives such a great history into the making of Mt. Rushmore, and why they chose the 4 Presidents that they did.
Being able to visit Mt. Rushmore was such a great experience. I love the fact that there is so much to do in all of America! If you ever get the chance make sure you visit!
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Additional Info:
GPS: 13000 Highway 244, Keystone, South Dakota
Hours: October 2, 2016 - March 11, 2017 : 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
March 12 - September 30, 2017: 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Cost: $10 per vehicle | $5 for Seniors (62 and older) | Free for Active Duty Military
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