Mt. Rushmore

The Lakota Refused $1.3 Billion and They Are Still Refusing It

The US government has been holding that settlement money in a federal trust for decades – compensation for land taken in violation of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty when gold was discovered in the Black Hills. The Lakota Sioux will not touch it. They want the land back, not the money. Mount Rushmore sits on that land: four presidential faces carved 18 metres tall into a granite cliff by Gutzon Borglum between 1927 and 1941, on territory the United States took illegally. A visit is considerably more interesting if you hold that context alongside the undeniable spectacle of the monument itself. Both things are true simultaneously and neither cancels the other.

The National Park Service operates the memorial. Entry to the site is free. Parking is $10 per vehicle. Most visitors spend two to three hours, which is adequate.

The Site

The Avenue of Flags at the entrance lines up state flags and US territory flags. The main viewing terrace faces the mountain at about 600 metres from the faces – the scale reads clearly here. The Presidential Trail is a paved 0.8-kilometre loop bringing you to within about 150 metres of the base of the carvings. The Lincoln Borglum Museum has a solid exhibition on the construction: how 800 workers carved the granite using dynamite and pneumatic drills over 14 years, the multiple design changes Borglum made, and what the monument was supposed to include but never did. The Hall of Records – a chamber planned in the canyon behind the faces, intended to house foundational American documents – was never completed.

The evening lighting ceremony runs from late May through mid-September: the monument is illuminated after dark and Park Rangers give a talk before the lights come on. If you are already at the park and the weather is clear, stay for it.

On July 3, 2026, Mount Rushmore is hosting a fireworks event as part of America’s 250th anniversary celebrations. The park will be closed to general visitors that day and requires advance lottery tickets. If you are planning a visit in early July 2026, plan around this.

The Sculptor’s Studio, open seasonally, contains original tools, scale models, and workers’ equipment from the carving period. It is more interesting than it sounds.

Crazy Horse Memorial

Seventeen miles south, the Crazy Horse Memorial has been under construction since 1948. The Ziolkowski family has refused all federal funding (the government has offered it multiple times) and continues carving on a private, non-profit basis. The face of the Oglala Lakota leader Crazy Horse was completed in 1998; the horse’s head has been the ongoing work since. The completed monument would dwarf Mount Rushmore significantly in scale.

Entry costs $15 per person, which directly funds the ongoing work. The Indian Museum of North America on site is substantive. The juxtaposition of visiting both sites on the same day produces a thoughtful discomfort that most travel experiences do not.

Practical Notes

Rapid City, 30 miles east, is the practical base. It has a reasonable hotel range and access to Custer State Park (excellent bison, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn viewing) and Wind Cave National Park. A rental car is essential.

July and August are the busiest months. Arrive before 9am to avoid the worst of the crowd and parking situation. September and October bring fewer visitors, pleasant weather, and the same monument.