From Rapid City: Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Tour

Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorial tell two very different stories about the Black Hills. This six-hour small-group tour lets you see both in one day, with a guide handling the driving, parking, timing, and background along the way.

I like the generous two-hour stop at each memorial, plus the included Crazy Horse admission and Mount Rushmore parking. Bottled water and hotel pickup in Rapid City make the outing easy. The main drawback is the fixed schedule: some people will want more time at Mount Rushmore, while others may find two hours at Crazy Horse longer than needed. Weather can also ruin the mountain views, as one disappointed guest discovered in May.

Key points to know before booking

• Two famous Black Hills memorials: Spend about two hours at Mount Rushmore and two hours at Crazy Horse.
• Small group of up to 12: Guides such as Nick, Bruce, Flo, and Ann have been praised for being friendly, flexible, and clear.
• More than a photo stop: You can watch two 23-minute films, visit museums, walk the Presidential Trail, and explore Native American exhibits.
• Crazy Horse costs extra for the best view: A $5 bus ride takes you to the mountain base for a fuller photograph of the face.
• Good value for a car-free day: The $253 price includes Rapid City pickup, Mount Rushmore parking, Crazy Horse admission, guiding, and water.
• Plan for walking and changing weather: Wear comfortable shoes, bring sunscreen and a hat, and do not count on clear mountain views every day.

A practical six-hour route from Rapid City

The tour begins with pickup at your Rapid City hotel or Airbnb. Pickup is free within Rapid City, while surrounding towns may carry an extra fee. You then ride in a van for about an hour before reaching Mount Rushmore.

That drive is part of the experience. The tour is narrated, so you receive context as the Black Hills pass by rather than spending the whole ride in silence. With a group capped at 12 people, the vehicle should feel more personal than a large coach, and the guide has room to adjust the conversation to your interests.

The return to Rapid City follows the same general pattern: about one hour after Crazy Horse. Add the one-hour ride to Mount Rushmore and the 30-minute transfer between the memorials, and roughly two and a half hours of your day are spent on the road. That is not wasted time, but it matters when you compare this tour with a self-drive visit.

The price is $253 per person. That is a sizable half-day expense, yet it covers several costs that can add up in a rental car: parking at Mount Rushmore, admission to Crazy Horse, transportation, a guide, and bottled water. It makes the strongest financial sense if you do not have a car or prefer not to manage the Black Hills roads and stops yourself.

Mount Rushmore: two hours beneath the presidents

Mount Rushmore is the first major stop, and the tour gives you enough time to see more than the famous front-facing photograph. Your visit includes the viewing area, the Avenue of Flags, the Lincoln Borglum Museum, the Presidential Trail, shopping, and time for refreshments.

Start with the 23-minute film Carved in Stone. It covers the carving project, sculptor Gutzon Borglum, and the workers who cut the presidents into the granite. This is worth your time because the monument can otherwise feel like a single oversized image. The film explains the human work behind it, including the machinery and the long process required to shape the mountain.

The Lincoln Borglum Museum adds more detail. You can see displays about Borglum, his family, his work, the mountain itself, the equipment used, and the men who worked on the project. If you want a short historical overview before walking outside, this is the right place to begin.

The Presidential Trail is the most rewarding walk on this stop. It gradually rises beneath the faces, passing through rock rubble and offering closer views of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln. You can pause for individual face photographs instead of taking only the standard distant picture from the terrace.

The trail is not presented as a flat stroll. It includes an incline, and continuing farther leads to a strenuous route down to the Sculptor’s Studio, followed by the climb back up to the viewing terrace. The studio is open only during the summer months, so do not build your plans around it outside that season.

The Avenue of Flags gives you a different way to read the site. It displays flags for all 50 states and the territories, along with their dates of admission to the Union. It is a simple feature, but it helps turn the approach to the memorial into a walk through American geography and government rather than just a quick photo stop.

There is also a large gift shop, the Carvers’ Café, and an ice cream shop. The ice cream has a historic hook: it is based on Thomas Jefferson’s original vanilla recipe from France. If that sounds like your kind of roadside history, plan your stop instead of rushing past it. One person on the tour missed the ice cream simply because there was not enough attention to the clock.

Before leaving Mount Rushmore, the van stops for a side-profile photograph of George Washington. This is a useful extra because it gives you a different angle on the carving and breaks up the usual front view.

The timing question at Mount Rushmore

Two hours is enough for a focused visit, but you will need to choose your priorities. If you watch the film, visit the museum, walk part of the Presidential Trail, take photographs, and stop for food, your time will go quickly.

I would put the Presidential Trail near the top of your list. The museum and film are worthwhile, but the trail is where you feel the scale of the mountain. If you want the Sculptor’s Studio, ask your guide early about the walking time and seasonal opening. The extra route is strenuous, and you do not want to discover that only after spending most of the stop indoors.

This is also the point where the tour’s structure may frustrate some people. One guest wanted more time at Mount Rushmore and less at Crazy Horse. If Mount Rushmore is your main reason for coming to South Dakota, a private or self-guided plan may give you more control. If your goal is to see both icons efficiently, the schedule is sensible.

Crazy Horse Memorial: an unfinished idea in progress

After about 30 minutes in the van, you reach Crazy Horse Memorial. It is a three-sided mountain sculpture dedicated to the Lakota leader Crazy Horse, and it is still being carved. When finished, it is intended to be the largest sculpture in the world.

The contrast with Mount Rushmore is immediate. Mount Rushmore is a completed national memorial with four finished faces. Crazy Horse is an active, unfinished project tied to Native American identity, private funding, and the Ziolkowski family, who continue the work begun by sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski.

Begin with the 23-minute film about the carving, Korczak Ziolkowski, and his family. It gives you the basic story before you explore the grounds. Since the mountain remains incomplete, the film is especially useful for helping you understand what you are seeing now and what the finished design is meant to become.

The North American Indian Museum contains items from many tribes. About 90 percent of its collection was donated, and the exhibits give you a broad look at Native American objects and traditions. The Native American Cultural Center adds a more hands-on element, with displays you can see and touch and a chance to watch Native people making items for sale.

You can also walk through Ziolkowski’s workshop and the log home he built. The home is filled with antiques, making this part feel more personal than a standard monument exhibit. It connects the huge mountain project with the ordinary tools, rooms, and working life of the people behind it.

Outside, look for the brass Nature Gate and the large Fighting Stallions statue. These details are easy to skip if you focus only on the mountain face, but they help show that Crazy Horse is a wider cultural and artistic complex, not just a single carving.

Getting the full Crazy Horse photograph

The standard view does not always make the scale of Crazy Horse easy to grasp. For an additional $5, you can take a bus to the base of the mountain, where you can photograph the full face more clearly.

I would budget for this if the mountain is one of your main reasons for booking. The cost is modest compared with the total tour price, and the closer position helps you understand the relationship between the carved face and the surrounding rock.

The tour also includes time for lunch at the Laughing Water Restaurant. Food is not included, so bring money for lunch and other refreshments. Bottled water is supplied, but snacks are still a good idea, especially if you plan to walk the Presidential Trail or spend time outside at Crazy Horse.

Two hours at Crazy Horse gives you room for the film, museum, workshop, cultural center, gift shop, lunch, and possible bus ride. Some people will use every minute. Others may feel they have seen the main exhibits sooner and would prefer to return to Mount Rushmore. Think of this stop as a cultural center with a memorial attached, not a quick roadside photograph.

What the guides add to the day

The guide is the main reason to choose this tour instead of driving yourself. Nick has been described as pleasant, friendly, patient, and willing to match the visit to a guest’s interests. Bruce received strong praise for explaining the history during the ride and at the memorials. Flo was noted for being flexible and making sure the guest saw the requested sights, while Ann was praised for her work on another outing.

Those details point to the kind of service you should expect: a live English-speaking guide who can explain the sites and adjust the pace within the limits of a shared tour. A small group helps. The van holds no more than 12 people, and one booking ended up with only two people, though you should not assume that will happen on your date.

Communication before pickup deserves a little care. One Australian guest wanted an easier way to contact the guide through WhatsApp. The practical move is to confirm the pickup details and the best contact method before the tour day.

Weather is the serious risk

Clear skies matter here. Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse are mountain carvings, so fog, rain, or low cloud can hide the very sights you paid to see. One May booking turned into a very disappointing day because the weather made both mountains hard to see.

This is not a flaw unique to this tour, but it is an important planning issue. Ask about the forecast before you go, and understand that a scheduled departure does not guarantee a clear view. If you have only one day in the Black Hills and the weather looks poor, check with the operator about conditions before setting out.

Bring sunscreen, a hat, comfortable shoes, a camera, snacks, and extra water beyond the supplied bottle. Smoking is not allowed. The activity is not suitable for wheelchair users, and the walking routes include inclines and, if you continue toward the Sculptor’s Studio, a strenuous descent and climb.

Who will get the most from this tour?

This outing suits you if you are staying in Rapid City, do not want to rent a car, and want the two major Black Hills memorials handled in one half-day. It is also a good fit if you value explanation, museums, and cultural context as much as photographs.

Families and first-time visitors should appreciate the simple route. You get picked up, transported between the sights, given background in English, and returned to Rapid City without sorting out parking or admission at every stop.

You may want another plan if you prefer slow visits, long hikes, or complete control over your schedule. Mount Rushmore alone can fill a morning if you take the trail, museum, film, food, and shopping at an easy pace. The same is true of Crazy Horse if you want to read every exhibit and take the bus to the mountain base.

Should you book the $253 tour?

Book it if your priority is efficiency and guidance. The price includes enough useful extras to make the math reasonable: hotel pickup in Rapid City, transport, Mount Rushmore parking, Crazy Horse admission, a live guide, and water. You also get two memorials, two films, museums, walking time, and a lunch opportunity in six hours.

Skip it if you want a leisurely day or if Mount Rushmore is your sole focus. The schedule gives both sites equal attention, even though your interests may not be evenly divided. Also check the weather closely, since poor visibility can undermine the entire outing.

For most people based in Rapid City, this is a practical way to see the Black Hills’ two signature memorials without driving. Go with comfortable shoes, set aside the extra $5 for the Crazy Horse bus, and keep your expectations flexible if clouds move in.

FAQ

Where does the tour begin?

Pickup is available from hotels or Airbnbs in Rapid City. Pickup from surrounding cities may carry an additional fee.

How long does the tour last?

The tour lasts six hours, including transportation between Rapid City, Mount Rushmore, and Crazy Horse Memorial.

How much time do I get at each memorial?

You spend about two hours at Mount Rushmore and two hours at Crazy Horse Memorial.

Is transportation included?

Yes. Transportation is provided in a van, with about one hour of travel from Rapid City to Mount Rushmore, 30 minutes between the memorials, and about one hour returning to Rapid City.

Is food included?

No. Food and refreshments are not included, although cold bottled water is provided. You can buy food at the Laughing Water Restaurant at Crazy Horse, and refreshments are available at Mount Rushmore.

Is admission included?

Mount Rushmore parking and admission to Crazy Horse Memorial are included. A bus ride to the base of Crazy Horse costs an additional $5.

What language is the tour offered in?

The live tour guide speaks English.

Is the tour suitable for wheelchair users?

No. The activity is not suitable for wheelchair users, and you should wear comfortable shoes for the walking portions.