Carved into Mount Rushmore in South Dakota’s Black Hills, Mount Rushmore National Memorial is one of the most famous landmarks in the United States. It was created by master carver Gutzon Borglum to depict the faces of U.S. presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
Begin your visit at the Information Center, where park rangers will brief you on what to see and do, or browse the historical literature at the on-site bookstore. The Grand View Terrace offers sweeping panoramas of the immense sculpture, with each of the faces around 18 metres in height.
Nestled below the terrace is the Lincoln Borglum Visitor Center, where you can learn the story behind the sculpture and watch the short film “Mount Rushmore, The Shrine”. Admire the 1/12th-scale model of Mount Rushmore in the studio where Gutzon Borglum worked between 1939 and 1941, then follow the Presidential Trail to get an up-close view of the sculpture.
Getting there
The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is around 30 minutes’ drive from Rapid City. It’s 45 minutes from Rapid City Regional Airport, which has flights to select destinations across the United States.