Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse and Custer State Park Wildlife Loop Tour
Description
What makes this tour unique is the combination of three of Western South Dakota's most iconic destinations – Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, and Custer State Park Wildlife Loop – into a single, comprehensive, and fully narrated experience. Over 8-9 hours, you'll not just see these landmarks, but gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for their history, cultural significance, and natural beauty. We always give the guest time to buy their lunch during the tour.
Tour Options
Itinerary
If the weather is good we go to Mt. Rushmore first for 1½ hours. There is a 14 minute video about the carving, the sculptor Gutzon Borglum, and workers. The Lincoln Borglum Museum has some great displays about Borglum, his family and his works, the mountain and machinery and the workers. The Presidential Trail is a gradually inclining walk that goes under the faces in the rock rubble with great spots for pictures of the individual faces. If you go further there is a strenuous walk down to the Sculptor’s Studio (open only in the summer months) then back up to the viewing terrace. The Avenue of Flags represents all 50 states and the territories, and their respective dates of admission to the Union. There is also a new Youth Exploration area recently opened. The large gift shop has many items. The Carvers’ Café and an ice cream shop are available for refreshments. As we leave we stop for a picture at the side profile of George Washington.
From Mt. Rushmore we drive 30 minutes to Crazy Horse Memorial. We allow 1½ hours here, or more if we eat lunch in the Laughing Water Restaurant. This is a 3 sided sculpture which will be the largest in the world when completed. There is a 20 minute video about the carving and the sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski and his family that are doing the work. The North American Indian Museum has items from many different Indian tribes, with 90% of the items being donated. The gift shop has many Native made items for sale. Ziolkowski’s workshop and the log home he built, filled with antiques, are available to walk through. There is a Native American Cultural Center where you can watch Natives making items for sale, as well as display items to see and touch. There is a brass Nature Gate and a huge statue of Fighting Stallions.
After leaving Crazy Horse we drive through the city of Custer which is the oldest town in the Black Hills, and down into Custer State Park where we drive the 18 mile Wildlife Loop Road. In the spring there are around 1300 buffalo including newborn calves in the park. There are also antelope, deer, prairie dogs, begging burros and breath-taking scenery. We make a comfort stop by the State Game Lodge area at Coolidge Inn Store or Custer State Park Visitor Center, then we drive back to Rapid City.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(72)
What a fabulous company! So helpful, on time. Our tour guide Scott was fantastic. A history buff himself added so much to the details and depth of our trip. Eating at the Blue Bell Lodge was historic and the food great. And seeing the Buffalo up close was quite the experience. Highly recommend this company!
Scott was pleasurable knowledgeable and thorough could not have done without him highly recommend
Our tour was much more than what we would have hoped for. Our tour guide Bruce was knowledgeable, professional, and very friendly. We were so excited to have had the chance to see the buffaloes roaming the hills. Every question we had, he answered right away. He even encouraged us to ask him anything that would increase our knowledge of the places we toured. We would recommend this tour to anyone that has never visited these areas.
We had a great tour with Scott. He’s very knowledgeable and a great conversationalist. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse and hearing the history behind these monumental sculptures. The lunch and ride through Custer State Park was amazing as well. I highly recommend this tour.
Great guide. Wonderful experience.
Great tour guide. Saw lots of interesting sights. We had good weather. A bit pricey but created a great memory.
Bruce was a great tour guide. He was knowledgeable, thoughtful and fun to be with. The sights were spectacular and exceeded our expectations.
Scott was our guide. He knew quite a bit of facts, history, and current activites with the Mount Rushmore/Crazy Horse/Cluster Park. He was very interactive. I would recommend this tour, every enjoyable!
Scott was pleasant, well spoken and the pace of the tour was excellent. Information about the tour and the history of the area was excellent.
Our Tour Guide, Scott with Affordable Tours gave us the "Royal Treatment"! He picked us as scheduled in downtown Rapid City in an extremely comfortable and roomy tour van. What's great about going on these private/semi-private tours is the guide is knowledgeable and knows the history about Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse sites. Scott was very good at guiding us to best spots to see and made sure we got to them before the crowds did! He knew the spots to park to get us close, kept the tour moving in a timely manner to the 4 stops we made. And even made sure we had reservations at the Blue Belle Lodge to enjoy a fantastic lunch! When we got to the Wildlife Loop we so fortunate to see so many of the wildlife animals out on the prairie; antelope, 2 herds of bison in different spots, prairie dogs. We even got out to feed the wild donkeys with little biscuits he had especially packed. Overall, an amazing and enjoyable tour to see some of the key sites in the Black Hills! Would do it again!
