As little house on the prairie fans we had to stop and see what they had preserved from Carrie…read moreIngalls. They had a room filled with curated items that we saved prior to Carrie's house burning down. They also have a room filled with local keystone historical items from both settlers and Native Americans. GPS brought us close but not directly to the location but we could easily see how to get the last few hundred feet. Another hidden gem. The volunteer at the door helped guide us and gave us background that wasn't written on any of the exhibits. The classrooms upstairs look like the students just left the room. Great place to visit for local history.

Great place with great volunteers So neat to learn so much…read moreabout Keystone, and Carrie Ingalls

I would highly recommend this history museum it has a lot of history about Mount Rushmore. This is…read morea great location. This has a movie that tells you about Mt Rushmore. The staff is very friendly and helpful.

Borglum's studio is located at Mt. Rushmore and is certainly worth seeing but unlike what can be…read morelearned at Mt. Rushmore, the Gutzon Borglum Historical Center gives you a complete picture of the artist, family and friends. Teddy Roosevelt was among Borglum's admirers. Borglum was Danish in decent and the child of a Mormon father who married two sisters, the younger of the two was Borglum's mother.He attended Harvard technical school and studied in Paris where he was influenced by Rodin. The museum is well organized and professionally curated., The audio-guide is clear and precise and can be paused and rewound. There is also a video of period clips narrated by Senator Tom Daschle who knew that Borglum was such a prolific sculpture with works at Stone Mountain Georgia, General Philip Sheridan in Washington DC, Wars of America in Newark, NJ's Military Park, Thomas Paine sculpture in Paris, bronze memorial to Sacco & Vanzetti in Boston and Woodrow Wilson statue in Poland to name a few. The full sized eye of Lincoln lends a sense of scale to what you will see at Mt. Rushmore and the seated Lincoln out front is a nice photo-op.The museum is located in Keystone, a western style city which is about three miles from Mt. Rushmore and an interesting stop in itself. Hours are 8:30-4, Mon-Sat and closed Sunday during June, July and August. May, Sept and October hours vary so call ahead.. . The Mt. Rushmore Borglum Museum is a worthwhile enrichment to what you will see at Mount Rushmore.

This was an incredible tour of the Badlands led by Kare Bear, the best tour guide ever! She has a…read morewealth of knowledge, a great personality and kept us going with jokes and fun stories. She asked us where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see and we saw it all, from bears to deer to Prarie dogs to incredible views that allowed us to take great pictures, see movies at Visitor Centers and of course by souvenirs. As a group of 6 each one of us took a boatload of pictures of incredible images of rocks and animals and more. The tour itself was great, but Kare Bear made it a 10-star

Black Hills Above and Beyond is wonderful! You get some of the most incredibly beautiful scenery in…read morethe USA, along with the very best person in the USA--Kare Bear--to keep you entertained the whole time. There isn't a better experience anywhere for travelers!

I love that there is no entrance fee for Mount Rushmore, but you do have to pay for parking. It was…read moreregularly $10 or if you're over 62 it's five dollars you take a ticket when you go into the parking lot and you will pay at a pay station before you leave. It will ask you if you're over 62 There is a lot of room to view the monument as well as a restaurant, gift shop, clean restrooms, and plenty of areas to sit on benches and such to enjoy the environment Definitely something you need to check off your bucket list

Really cool to see something in real life that you've seen in so many books, shows and movies!…read more In the summer, it is hot and crowded....unless you go early! We visited twice in the same trip--once in the afternoon that was super crowded and then again earlier in the morning around 7:30-8:00am and there were only a few people there and it was much cooler. The $10 you pay for the parking pass is good for 1 year so can make a quick trip another day if you want. The presidential trail is a nice little walk with a ton of stairs (go to the left towards Washington side to start and you'll go down most of them instead of up). It seems like the trail is closed for maintenance (or something) fairly often which is a bummer! There's a few exhibits and presentations, etc in the visitor center and a good amount of info about the sculpting/creation and the history side of things. Definitely worth a stop and a good hour or two there, but wouldn't center a whole trip around it. And, make sure your kiddos get junior ranger badges!

Dattebayo! *slurps ramen* All future hokage must visit Mt…read moreRushmore at least once. It's a rite of passage. I love how NPS laid out Avenue of Flags as a way to gradually approach the exciting national monument on foot as you grab many patriotic photos with your loved ones. Pleasant huge seating area to relax and soak in the magnificent views of the brilliantly sculpted stone faces. Also love the 1-km protected trail with ups and downs as you catch various angles of the visages. There's also a museum to learn more about the history of the planning and construction of these countenances. $10 parking. Visiting Mt Rushmore was an elating experience. Believe it!

We've been before, this time we came for the night show and lighting of the monument…read more The rangers speech and the video were both great! I read online you should come 1-2 hours early if you want a seat, at least at the end of may that was to early, 30-45 minutes early would be plenty. The park is very clean, the parking garage was easy in and easy out. And the gift shop has nice things not all cheesy stuff.

Longest and Last homestead gold mine in Lead, South Dakota (near Deadwood)…read more Everyone should check this gigantic hole out for themselves. The history is interesting, except for the fact that wealthy entrepreneurs exploited the common folks during the 1929 depression and bought their gold claims/homestead for less than market value. The museum was informative and had incredible exhibits but lacked a feature movie to chronically narrate its evolution.

This was not in my itinerary to go here. It was recommended by our friends who are residence of…read moreDeadwood. For sure make a quick stop here in Lead if you're on your way to Deadwood. Pretty cool to learn and see the mine from above ground. It was active until 1998. There are tours available.

They do a really good job with their coffee. They also have pretty good gelato that you can get…read morefree samples of. It's one of the few places in the area where they have free parking in a parking lot. They also have super nice restrooms that are very clean. Staff is very nice and they have fun collectibles and gift areas that you can buy gift samples or things from the area. There was a neat purse that had a telephone that actually worked like an old school corded one that you could plug into your regular cell phone and use the purse like an old school telephone. Kind of neat.

This place stands out just driving by. They got kid's playground, big chess boards, and foosball…read moreoutside. Their menu is pretty simple but tasty. Reasonable and they even offer free local wine tasting! Definitely a nice place to relax during a visit to Mt. Rushmore.